In some Christian countries including the United Kingdom it is tradition to cook pancakes (crepes) the day before lent starts.

This is because traditionally people would not eat sweet food for the next 40 days and 40 nights so to stop it from going to [...]]]>

A Guest Post by Ewan C. MacDougall

In some Christian countries including the United Kingdom it is tradition to cook pancakes (crepes) the day before lent starts.

This is because traditionally people would not eat sweet food for the next 40 days and 40 nights so to stop it from going to waste they would fill pancakes with it and enjoy it all that night.

Making pancakes is a really easy cooking activity that kids love to get involved with, it doesn’t involve to much fancy cookware and if your child has a birthday around that time of year, or you’re just looking for an excuse to have a party why not throw a pancake party.

If you decide to do this you will need to prepare enough batter in advance, a pint of batter will make about 15 pancakes depending how big and thick you make them.

The recipe:
The Pancakes (for 1 pint of batter)

•  4 eggs
• 1 pint of milk
• 8* oz flour

(*note: if you prefer thicker pancakes you can increase the amount of flour slightly. Thicker pancakes are also a little easier for children to cook as they are less likely to fall apart)

1. Mix all the ingredients together and then leave to sit for 20 minutes.
2. Use an oil soaked cloth to finely coat a frying pan, and then heat the pan until the oil smokes.
3. Pour enough batter for one pancake into the frying pan and move the frying pan in a circular motion to spread the batter evenly.
4. If the pan is hot enough the bottom of the pancake should cook almost instantly, allowing you to flip the pancake. (You can either do this the fancy way, or if you’re feeling less brave flip it with a spatula.)
5. Once the pancake is flipped reduce the heat and slowly cook the other side of the pancake until it is cooked through.

The fillings:

This is really up to you, everyone has their own preference. The most traditional pancakes have lemon and sugar; you could also try filling them with stewed fruit.

At a children’s party the easiest option would be to have a selection of flavoured sauces normally used for ice cream and jam. You can also find some more fancy filling recipes here.

Making it a party:

Use your best judgement in how much you let the children do based on their age and how much you trust them.

For young children you might like to make the pancakes all in advance and then just let them choose their own toppings. Slightly older children might like to try flipping their own pancakes, and older children still can be involved in the whole process.

Having at least two adults supervising this party is advisable, one to supervise the children and the other to supervise any cooking. This also allows you to have the children cooking in smaller groups which are safer.

Enjoy pancake making, even if you’re not having a party, it can be a great fun thing to do with your family.

Author
Ewan Cambell MacDougall has spent several years working with children at Kids Summer Camps.  He currently works in online marketing with several different companies.

Metric Converter for Ewan’s Recipe

Disclosure and/of Material Connection:   Sponsored posts are written by others and may highlight services or products that I have not personally tried myself. The author and/or  company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

When choosing a [...]]]>

If your kid’s birthday party is coming up and when you want him or her to have fun with their friends, then by all means, throw a  theme party. Since every party must have a theme, you should think about that carefully since the décor and birthday cake will depend on that.

When choosing a birthday party theme, it is best to get everyone involved,  including your kid. The circumstances are different of course if this is a surprise party. If they do know, then they should help out in the planning so talk to them in a way they understand and let them decide what the theme should be.

For parents who are throwing a theme party for a boy, it will probably be something like Batman, Superman or one of those masculine superheroes. It could even be Peter Pan or any other Disney character. If you have a girl, it could be Cinderella or one of those Princess or Ballerina themes so your list of options are not that long.

Once you have decided on a theme for the party, make a list of everything that you will need for the party before you go shopping.  Party specialty stores are great for starting your search for décor and other items, but you will also find many online stores that stocks everything you need for a theme party.

If you don’t know yet what your theme will be, ask for help or brainstorm among your friends and then present this to your kid. Look at their reaction because they may not say they want it out loud but you can see how excited they are when you look into their eyes.

Do you need to get a second opinion regarding your kid’s birthday party theme? The answer is no. That is your decision and people will just have to accept it.

Before you go too far ahead with the theme of your birthday party, make sure that this is within your budget. In these hard times, no one can afford to just throw money around so you also have to play it smart and do some price comparisons before buying things that will be used for the party.

Everything else will be easy once you  have decided on a a theme for the party. The only thing you have to do now is pick out a venue, send out the invitations, plan what food will be served, confirm who is coming and then set up the décor.

All of these details should be done at least a month or two in advance so that you can plan everything to the last detail rather than panicking when it is a week or two away and there is a big possibility that you could forget something.

Every kid’s birthday party must have a theme and it does not matter what it is.  The important thing is that this is something you and your kid want because this is their special day. Don’t forget to take lots of picture and even record a video because this is a one time event that you don’t want to miss.

If you had a challenging time thinking of the party theme this year, just imagine what will happen the next year since you will have to go through it all over again. Is it worth it? Oh yes, especially when this puts a smile on your kid’s face.

To host a party for your kids can be a lot of work [...]]]>

Here are a few photos of birthday cakes that I have made for my son when he was a kid… he will be 31 in a few weeks and I realised when I looked at the photos how quickly time goes by.

To host a party for your kids can be a lot of work but to see the wonder on their faces when you bring out the cake and other goodies is worth all the time spend on preparing the food and putting together a theme for the party. The personal joy one experiences cannot be compared to anything else as well. So enjoy organising theme parties for your kids and make memories that will last a life time.

racing track cake for boys

racing track party food

I used a racing track theme for his 3rd birthday party at the day care centre that he attended at that stage. Click on the photos to open in a new window and get some ideas on how to use store bought cookies, sweets and vienna sausages to make racing cars and “spectators”.

Kids Alien Space Ship Birthday Theme Party

On his 6th birtday I tried a space ship theme but the cake eventually turned into an alien monster kind of space ship but the kids were very impressed with it…lol. Store bought wafers and ice cream cones turned into smaller space ships and boudoir finger biscuits became small planes.

Alien Spaceship Cake

alien spaceship party food

Train cake

I tried to make a train cake for his 4th birthday but now that I look at the photo again, it is actually a far cry from a train, still it was a lot of fun to make the cake.

Train cake for a boy

The radio cake for his 8th birthday looked more realistic and suited his passion for certain songs on the radio at that stage.

radio cake for a kid's party

If you have read my post on where to find ideas for theme parties, I hope these few photos will help you realise that it is really not difficult to come up with a kids-theme-party idea.

Remember to have fun planning your kid’s next theme party!