Evelyn’s birthday party; (Written by Evelyn’s mums, Carol)
I just love spoiling my children when their birthdays come around. This was the first party we have had for my three year old daughter, Evelyn, apart from small family gatherings. Her birthday is so close to Christmas and in previous years we have been travelling or simply too rushed. She was very much aware of the whole birthday party concept this year after attending her brother’s party and a few others.
“I want a pink party Mummy, with a princes castle and a princess cake and singing and dancing and face painting”, she announced after attending her friend Eliza’s party.
Well, I managed all of that, except the face painting. I did buy some face paints and even practiced painting her face in the weeks leading up to her party, but simply forgot about it on the day. Never mind. We’ll keep that in reserve for next year.
I was really pleased at how everything came together. I collected things in the months leading up to the party; table cloth, napkins, pink loot bags, party hats, plastic plates and cups and the pink fluffy tiara came from the $2.00 store. I also bought some crepe paper rolls which we used to make the streamers which hung from our outdoor canopy. They only cost about $1.30 per roll, but the pink and white streamers blowing gently in the breeze really added a magical touch to our back yard party.
I love decorating cakes and this one was no exception. It didn’t turn out exactly as planned. I usually use Madeira cake, but this time opted for mud cakes from Woolworths. Unfortunately the cakes were so soft and moist they sank a little with the weight of the top tier so my nice straight sides were a little sloped the day after decorating. Oh well, I’ll know for next time. It still looked pretty good and it tasted fantastic.
I began by slicing the top off the cakes and sandwiching together then covering with butter icing. I then used pre-made icing (available from cake decorating stores or even from the supermarket), which I coloured with ‘Wilton’ icing colours and rolled out. The icing was then draped over the cakes and smoothed out. I have an icing smoother which helps to achieve a lovely, smooth, flat surface. A small flower cutter was used to make the flower shapes and a tiny circle cutter was used for the flower centres. I also sprinkled some ‘disco dust’, an edible glitter available from good cake decorating stores on top of the cake to make is shimmer and sparkle. The cake was finished off with a plastic tiara and some pink ribbon.
I also made cupcakes and decorated these with pink butter icing. The tiny flowers were made with excess icing flowers from the cake. They were also sprinkled with disco dust. I absolutely love the wrappers I used. They are from my friends at the Cupcake Wrapper Co. Of course, they have other colours available but I simply had to have pink for Evelyn’s party.
Other yummy treats included marshmallow teacups which are so incredibly easy to make, pink fairy bread, pink fudge, pink musk sticks, watermelon, grapes, strawberries, mini marshmallows and some pink wafer biscuits. To make the teacups you simply need tic-toc biscuits, pink and white marshmallows, some chocolate freckles and some lifesavers for the handles. Use an icing glue, sugar syrup or icing to join all the pieces together. Easy peasy! I also served pink cordial, fruit juice and water. Hint: I found it difficult to find lifesavers.
We entertained the children with song and dance, with party games like pass the parcel, musical squares (I used coloured squares of fabric and laid them out on the lawn) and sack races. We also had a craft activity, a dress-up box and free play time.
The craft activity was very simple. I bought some wooden photo frames from Ikea and, with Evelyn’s help we painted them in pretty pastel colours before the party. The children then decorated them with stickers, decals and glitter.
The loot bags were very special. Rather than giving the children bags of lollies, I made polymer mugs with their own custom design and name. This took me ages! I sat up late on a few nights creating these. I am lucky to have the equipment necessary for making the mugs from my business, “Little Critters”. The mugs will last for many years and are a great keepsake. I used matching designs for the stickers on the pink goodie bags. Also included in the loot bags were a Freddo Frog, a Chuppa Chup and a crazy, bendy straw.
Excessive? Absolutely! But I did have lots of fun creating all these treasures and there were lots of happy, smiling faces at the party.
Shame about the face painting but I’ll try to remember for next year.
Hint: Prepare as much as you can ahead of time so you can enjoy the party with your child. Small children will often be overwhelmed with all of the activity and excitement on the day so don’t stress if they need time away from the excitement or if things don’t go exactly according to plan. Remember, parties are supposed to be fun.
Carol
xx
pixelbypixel
(I can personally vouch for carols talents in both her businesses, Little Critters and pixelbypixel, as I have a couple gorgeous hand prints at home and have used her photo services. She certainly knows her stuff!!) Thank you Everlyn and Carol for inspiring us all!
Below are a few ideas to help kick start your own perfect party from La Toriana online baby boutique
La Toriana’s FACEBOOK Profile
At La Toriana we have a passion for baby & kids fashion.
Our labels include, Alimrose, annieB, Lambykins, Princess Allure, FairyFloss Creations, Eternal Creation, Vanchi, TikiBoo Kids, Little Pearls for Little Girls, Tea Princess, Three Little trees, Tummbear, Dolly Up, babyjo bamboo baby wear, nest organics, early birds premature baby clothes, teeny weeny premmie baby wear, Oopsidaisi, boxy design, anamalz, Briit design, Bump buddy, cheeky little soles, Sounds for silence, Deshabille, eco peko, fINNIGAN fINN, gertie and me, Hey baby, huggalugs, i candy, lazybones, Knuffle Kid, Ogilvies Designs, Bethany’s Child, locolili, miniwhisk, mon tresor, nana huchy, nanny pickle, OOBI baby, penny scallan, Tabitha Emma, Tippie Toes, Robert Gordon Australia, Sweetie Pie, Princess Ratbag, Alannah Rose stationary, Mulberry Muse, Vintage Kid, Wild Things of Noosa, YmamaY, Xanna, and so many more!
.png)
