The Important First Steps

If I look back on it now, I realise that kids in the ages of 2 years to maybe 5 years, don’t really have to have a theme party. I tried to put a lot of colour into [...]]]>

So Mia’s 4th birthday party has come and gone and I can share a few photos with you.

If I look back on it now, I realise that kids in the ages of 2 years to maybe 5 years, don’t really have to have a theme party. I tried to put a lot of colour into the party decorations and even the food. One thing I noticed was that they could have cared less about all the hard work and preparations. They played, they ate and drank and most important of all, they enjoyed it all.

So it is ok if you can’t come up with a theme for your child’s birthday party or don’t have the finances to do it. Although kids love theme parties, as long as they enjoy the party, then it was successful, no matter if there was a theme or not.

Ok, let’s look at some of the party photos…

My son came up with the idea to tie the balloons to the willow tree’s branches and it immediately added a festive touch to the party settings. It was a lovely summer’s day here in South Africa and even though the inflatable swimming pool was a bit small for all the party guests, it was the main attraction of the day.

Adri (Mia’s mother) used different coloured frosting for the cupcakes to further give a colourful look to the party. The 4 pink ones was for Mia although she did not even eat one of them. One of the younger boys actually ate it after she blew out the candles (with a lot of help from the party guests…).

Here’s the recipe I used  for the cupcakes

Funnily enough the crisps in the foreground was not really a big hit at this party, the children actually ate a lot of the home-made pizzas, cocktail sausage rolls and the fried Vienna sausages.

It just goes to show that children will eat if there are food available, especially at a party. I really feel it is important to provide “real” food when you host a birthday party for your kid. It may be a little more work than to just put out crisps and candies, but so much healthier.

The only other food  I made was Marie Biscuits with a Marshmallow Filling.

This is one easy party snack that can be done in no time at all. My mother used to make this for my kids when they were small and in later years for all her other grandchildren as well.

You just need a packet or two of Marie Biscuits, marshmallows and a microwave oven. Place a marshmallow on a biscuit, pop into the microwave for about 5 – 15 seconds on high and watch how the marshmallow swells to double it’s size.

Take it out of the microwave and just place another biscuit on top, press down lightly and leave to set. I rolled the sides in 100′s and 1000′s while the marshmallow was still warm.

I printed these cute butterflies to decorate the straws, but to tell the truth, it was not a big hit with the kids although they did take the straws home afterward. They did not use the straws at all, maybe all the swimming made them so thirsty that they did not have time to use straws to drink their juice.

When I saw these lovely coloured paper in a shop a few days ago, I knew it would be perfect to make favour bags from and it practically cost next to nothing. Although I bought four rolls of paper, I could easily have made four bags from one roll of paper. The party favours consisted of a pencil and a cute animal eraser, two small bars of chocolates, a candy bracelet, a lollipop with a whistle handle and a noisemaker.

Of course there has to be bubbles at every kid’s birthday party and as always, it was a big hit with the party guests. Adri bought a pack of 24 bottles at a discount from a wholesaler that specializes  in children’s party supplies, so the party guests were also able to take a bottle of bubbles home with them.

The face painting session went really well. In an earlier post on face painting I mentioned that you need a lot of patience when you paint kid’s faces but it is mostly to curb their excitement and getting them to wait their turn. Even though Adri and I are no experts and we only did a few basic lines and dots, the kids really enjoyed this activity.

I also made some play dough as a party favour. A few of the kids wanted to stay on after the party was officially over, so they kept themselves busy for quite some time with the play dough and all my cookie cutters that Mia “claimed” for herself when I made her her first batch of play dough when she was 2 years old.

My conclusion about this party without a theme? It had all the elements for a great party… balloons, food, games and activites and above all, fun! It was also done on a low budget.  So next time don’t break your head coming up with a theme if you have no idea about one, just follow your head and plan the party with what you have and can afford to buy. It does not have to be perfect, it just have to be fun for your kid and the party guests.

Maybe you have noticed that I did not say anything about party hats?  There were NO party hats; I wanted to make “crowns” from the willow branches but the kids were so busy enjoying themselves that it totally slipped my mind.

Oh well, this was certainly not the last party I will plan for Mia and since I have this easy party hat template on my computer, I will be able to make the party hats in no time at all.

Don’t forget to have fun when you plan your kid’s next birthday party!

With a little imagination you can create rainbow bubbles of all sizes.

You will need:

5 cups warm water 1 tablespoon glycerine 5 tablespoons dishwashing liquid a large plastic bowl and mixing spoon

To make:

Fill the bowl with 5 cups of warm water. Add the dishwashing [...]]]>

Kids love blowing bubbles and bubbles are also an essential part of any kids theme party.

With a little imagination you can create rainbow bubbles of all sizes.

You will need:

5 cups warm water
1 tablespoon glycerine
5 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
a large plastic bowl and mixing spoon

To make:

Fill the bowl with 5 cups of warm water. Add the dishwashing liquid and glycerine to the water. Stir the mixture very slowly with the mixing spoon. The mixture is now ready to use. Make sure you blow them outside as the mixture may stain some of the furnishings around the house.

Ideas for bubble fun:

Collect a handful of drinking straws and tape the two ends together. Dip this in the mixture and blow through one end for a whole lot of bubbles.

Make a hoop from flexible wire and make one big bubble. Dip the hoop out of the mixture carefully otherwise it may break.

Here’s an article with some interesting information about balloons and why you [...]]]>

Balloons are one of the must have items at any kid’s theme party. Balloons come in all shapes, colours and sizes and if you are able to twist the balloons into fun shapes, I can guarantee you that the kids won’t become bored easily.

Here’s an article with some interesting information about balloons and why you should be careful when using foil balloons when hosting a kid’s theme party

Party Must Have: Balloons

by James Brown

Guess what would be an excellent ingredient to make your child’s party more festive and fun? They come in red, green, yellow, pink, blue and any other color in a rainbow. They come in all shapes too. There is your basic round, the elongated variety, the zigzags and the twisted ones that could take up the shape of almost anything from an egg to a dinosaur. Give up yet? Balloons!! Balloons are definitely the one party good that your child’s birthday party should not be without. For one thing, nothing lights up a child’s face than seeing this floating icon on a string.

A balloon is basically a flexible light material bag that can be inflated and filled with heated gas such as air, hydrogen, nitrous oxide or helium. The name comes from “ballon”, a French word which means large ball. A priest from Brazil, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, invented the very first balloon in 1709. The earliest balloons were made to aid in experiments with hydrogen. Nowadays however, balloons evoke happier times and are greatly associated with parties and social events.

There is a great selection of party balloons available in the market these days. The two main categories include latex balloons and foil balloons. Latex, which is actually a vegetable, makes up the popular high quality rubber balloons that we have today. The material is biodegradable so it can decompose quite easily after being exposed to air and all other elements. These balloons are either filled with air or with helium. Balloons with helium most often can stay afloat for more or less eight hours. Latex balloons are known to make a big bang when they burst. The bang usually is a result of the high pressure gas enclosed in the balloon that may be suddenly released. This happens when the latex is stretched too far or when it cracks after getting pricked with something sharp.

Foil balloons on the other hand are made of sheets of plastic and nylon that are sandwiched together. They are further coated with aluminum which gives them a silver metal finish. These inflated bags are known to be more expensive to make than their latex counterparts. Foil balloons are definitely not biodegradable as they contain aluminum. Extra care should be given when letting children play with foil balloons. The metallic component of the balloons conducts electricity so it is best to keep an eye on the young ones. Because of this same reason, it is duly advised that foil balloons should never be released out-of-doors. In the event that these balloons get enmeshed or caught up in power lines it could cause outages or power failures. Balloons are definitely fun. Albeit, it is always best to exercise standard caution.

On the bright side, whatever type of balloon you will choose for your child’s birthday party, they are sure to create gasps of delight. As an added thrill, artists have crafted balloon sculptures. With a creative twist here and there, one could produce a four legged animal such as a cute poodle or even an eight legged one such as a spider in a manner of minutes. The ingenious ones can smoothly produce a caricature of the celebrant effective to acquire bounds of laughter and smiles of glee. Author Resource:- James Brown writes about Costume Craze coupon, HalloweenMart key code and CostumeHub.com web code

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It is not necessary to invite everyone you or you child can think about. You can limit the guest list to your child’s close friends and family members if they live nearby. Don’t worry if the mother of one of the children not included in the list, feels offended. It is [...]]]>

Keep the guest list short:

It is not necessary to invite everyone you or you child can think about. You can limit the guest list to your child’s close friends and family members if they live nearby. Don’t worry if the mother of one of the children not included in the list, feels offended. It is your child’s party and if he or she is not friends with this other kid, let it go. The mother will also get over it in time.

Time the invitations:

A child’s birthday party invitations can safely be send out two weeks before the party. People tend to forget and the invitation can get lost amongst other letters if you send it out earlier. State the time the party start and end clearly on the invitation. That way people will know not to overstay their welcome.

Don’t expect everybody on the list to let you know that their child/children will attend the party. It is good practice to phone the ones that have not responded to find out if they will attend so that you can cater more accurately.

If parents drop off their children for the party, remind them about the time they must pick up the children again or else you will have a few tired, grumpy kids on your hands until the parents eventually remember to pick them up.

Avoid weekend parties:

If you plan a small party for your child, it is best not to have it on a weekend. You will find that the brothers, sisters and even cousins will tag along and you may have to budget for more children than you originally planned for. Friday afternoons can be quite a good time to have a smaller party as all the extramural school activities normally run from Monday to Thursday.

However, if you do enjoy huge parties and family gatherings, have the party on a Saturday and enjoy it!