Party planning: The basics

Hi, it's M today and I would like to share with you one of my favourite things to do: plan parties. I though it would be nice to give you an idea of the basics of party planning for children. I've given ideas for younger and older children but it's up to you to customise it and make it your own.

Theme

When planning a party, having a theme can really help to pull the party together. It's not essential but can be very helpful.

Age

When thinking about age you want something appropriate. If its a toddler's party don't get them doing craft or cake making because they won't be able to do it properly and it won't work. Also you don't want teenagers doing what they did when they were 5. Just bare it in mind when planning.

Activitys

For a party to be fun and engaging, you really need to think about the hobbies of the child and their friends. For example, if the child really loves ice-skating then it might be a could idea to take everybody ice-skating and have a cake that is themed on ice-skating. Or, if you don't want to go anywhere, if the child loves dancing, throw a dance battle between different teams.

Budget
Although it may seem slightly annoying budget is one the most important factors to consider. If your budget is large, you may be able to go somewhere or hire a hall and a bouncy castle. But if you have a smaller budget then this may not be possible. You can still keep the party fun though and have a really nice setup at home. Instead of buying food, consider making it yourself and maybe even have a barbecue if the weather is nice.

Now you have an idea of what sort of things you could do, you need to actually make it happen. I would suggest planning a few weeks in advance and sending invitations at least 2 weeks in advance so people have time to get back to you.

Invitations

The first thing you need to actually do is create or buy invitations. For this you can go and buy them, paperchase and hobbycraft have some really nice ones, or you can make them. If your making them, a really easy way to do it is to get some small card stock and simply write invention on them. There's so many ways to do this so be creative. If you are making them, it's really easy to tie them into your theme. For my birthday, I went for a rustic autumnal theme. So I used light pinks and blues which I used in my thank you cards. Thank you cards are another thing to think about. I would advise sorting them out at the same time as inventions because they are very similar. If you really want to save money, you could text invitations or thank yous.

Structure

Next you need to sort out some kind of structure to what your doing; this is the bit where you decide exactly what you are doing. If you have younger kids you will probably want a more structured plan but if the kids are older you may be able to be a bit more relaxed. Also, if you have something booked like a restaurant or cinema tickets you will need to have a more structured plan. So, first of all, where are you meeting. If you are going somewhere are meeting there first or are you doing something else. If you are going to a specific venue then meeting there is probably a bit easier considering you may have to be there a bit early to get things ready. So, you are at the venue. What next? Well, if you have younger kids, you'll what to get them doing something straight away so I would suggest as a structure, doing activites then having food and then doing some more relaxed activity. For example, playing outside if you're​ at home and have a garden. If you have older this structure still works. For example, doing an activity like watching a film then having some food then just letting the kids relax and chat. 

Food

Now you have got everyone doing something, you need to feed everyone. Of course you have the classic party food of samwhiches and crisps which a great if you have lots of people who have lots of different preferences. However if you have a smaller group of people, you could buy plain pizzas had toppings and people can put what they want on their own pizzas. Or if there's not many people you can ask them what they want and buy certain food. Now, the most important food at a party is sugary food. Of course, there's birthday cake but there's more than just cake. If you like baking you could​ bake something however, popcorn and other sweets are great for older kids, especially at sleepovers. For interactive desserts, you could create make your own knicker-boker-glories or add your own icecream topping. These are great for younger kids but a change to get a bit messy for younger children. Remember, food is a great chance to include your theme a bit more. For example  the birthday cake could tie into a theme or plates and table wear if you are using table wear.

Since you have your party all planned out, all you need to do is add extra details like decoration and party bags.

Decoration

Decoration is where you can really pull your theme in. Things like birthday banners with your chosen colour of theme. Ballons in certain colours. Be creative. I think if you have time making your own decorations makes it much easier to pull in your design. Go to your local craft shop and inspired.

Party bags

Party bags aren't necessary but if you have a layer budget then they are a good option. If you have younger kids then all you need is a plastic bag and some cheap little toys to keep them entertained. However older kids still don't mind silly things. Boncey balls, blow and realise ballons and lots of chocolate and sweets make a fun party bags for most children. If you want something more sepfisticated, then you can really get creative. I made custom flower crowns to match my theme. There's no limit to what you can make.

Well that is the basics of having a functining party. If you want to see more things like this then leave a comment. I would love to do some more detailed and sepcific party's. As summer is approaching, I was thinking about doing a summer party planning post. Well I will speech to you another time, bye for now and have a good party!

Salt Dough Decorations

So Christmas is coming, and decorations are expensive. Plus I need something to do.

Well these are perfect.

Salt dough is cheap and easy to make and you can decorate it however you like.

You Will Need:

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• 1 cup of salt

All you need to do is mix together the flour and the salt and then slowly mix in the water until it becomes a dough. Kneed it, roll it, cut it, and pop it on a baking tray.  Use the blunt end of a square to pock some holes so they can be hung up. Bake in an oven at about 170 degrees c for about 30 mins. Take them out and allow them to cool.

Now is the fun part, decorating.

You can paint them, use permanent makers and draw on them, you could glue on glitter.... The possibilities are endless. Really use your imaginations and create something amazing!

I hope you have fun making these. Thank you for reading!

Summer best bits

So as we haven't done a favourites post for a while i thought id just round it up into one big post...

1. Delouse summer smoothies
These are great for summer get togethers. There is a great recipe on  our cooking blog Monday Mixing

2. Beach bags
If your heading to the beach, grab yourself a beach bag, you could even make your own. A large tea towel might make a great piece of fabric.

3. Picnics
Go to the park or just in the back garden picnics are great for summer days. Perhaps bring along a homemade picnic blanket.

4. Projects
They are a great way to keep yourself entertained in the long summer days. Why not go to your local library and pick up some crafting books or get some inspiration. Or have a browse on pintrest.

I hope you all had a great summer!

Easy and Cheap Halloween Decor

Now, you may be thinking: Oh my goodness, I need to sort out my Halloween stuff. Well don't worry because I have you covered with a few simple decor pieces and where to check out if you don't have time for making it yourself.

1. Halloween Banner
This one is super simple but a little time consuming. Shops always sell expense banners saying things like 'Happy Halloween' but I thought instead of spending loads of money that I would just make my own. The best bit about it is that you can make it in what ever colour or pattern you want.

You'll need

• Some card
• A hot glue gun
• Scissors
• A pen
• Some string

1. Take your card and cut out the different letters of your message. Remember the letter will come out backwards to what you draw on the back of your card so take your time to do it right.

2. Arrange all your letters on your string and glue them on with a small amount of hot glue. Be careful with the glue because it does get very hot. 

3. Put it up somewhere and you're done.

2. Hanging ghosts

These are classic and so, so easy

You'll need

• Some white card
• Scissors
• A pen
• Some string
• A hot glue gun or whole punch

1. Draw out the shape of your ghost on the card

2. Cut him out

3. Draw on some eyes

4. Use a small amount of hot glue to attach some string or you could use a hole punch but I found the glue looked neater. 

Theses DIYs are perfect for a small decorated area but if you holding a party or want to make your front garden really spooktacular I have got the shops to go to.

1. ASDA

ASDA has the most amazing Halloween stuff. It was always the place I would drag my mum to. Their decorations and costumes are cheap and they have a good range of childish to a bit more grown up. Its a great place to go if you are throwing a party because they have great themed serving wear.

2. The Range

This place goes all out during every season but I have too say this year their stuff is amazing. They have soo many huge statue type things and lots of decorations. Its definitely stuff to save for next year. They have great deals on high quality face paints and an array of masks for the lazy costumers. 

3. Home Sense

If you want to do Halloween like an American then this is the place to go. It is chock full of every decoration under the sun and definitely has something for everyone. 

4. Aldi

Although this isn't somewhere you would expect to see good Halloween stuff you would be surprised. They had great prices on pumpkins  so if your on a very small budget you'll find what you need there. 

I hope this helped in your Halloween quests and have a happy Halloween!

Autumn Decor

I love Autumn, it is by far my favourite season of the year. However this year there has been a big heat wave and it doesn't feel like Autumn so to get in the mood I decided to do a bit of Autumn decor.

1. Leaf Bunting

Whats the first thing you think of when you think Autumn? Leaves, so I found a way to get some beautiful
Autumn leaves into my room.

What you need:

• A bunch of leaves
• A hole punch
• Some string
• A pair of scissors

Now this one is quite simple. All you're going to do is hole punch your leaves then thread some onto some string. I cut off most of the little branch bits to get a cleaner look but it really doesn't matter. It took no time at all and was really easy to make while also incorporating the feel of Autumn into to my room. 

2. Autumn Inspired Quote Frame

Now, this one is a bit more complicated and can be replicated for any season but I love the idea of giving it an Autumn theme.

What you need

• One frame (I prefer a large one)
• A lot of quotes (Can be handwritten or printed)
• Some paper to back the quotes (optional)
• Any other decorations for your frame (optional)

So, to begin get all your quotes and lay them out. Get the cardboard bit out of the back of your frame and start to lay out all your quotes. This might take a while but make sure you take our time and keep it all nice and neat. If you want you can glue some paper onto the cardboard back but most of it will be covered so that's optional. Then all you have got to do is use some glue to stick down all your quotes. I would suggest using prit-stick because its easy to move around once its stuck. Then all you have to do is place the cardboard part back in the frame and hang it up. I really like this one because it's super customisable to all seasons and room styles.

Summer Projects

Its now coming to the end of the summer holidays but I still have 3 weeks left. Last week I didn't have anything to do so I found some summer activities that are much more fun than re-watching a lot of old Disney films.

1. Tie dying
I'm sure you've probably heard of this before but its so easy. Instead of buying a tie dying kit you can just use regular die for a one coloured pattern.

You will need:

• A pack of die
• Salt (read the instructions for the amount)
• A lot of water
• White or plain cloths
• Some elastic bands
• Something to stir with

All you have to do is follow the instructions on your die. To create the patterned effect you will need to tie your cloths in some different patterns. You can really experiment with this and have some fun!

2. Paint some furniture
This might sound really boring but its actually very rewarding.

You will need:

• Paint - a base coat and some tester 
• Paint bruses
• A piece of furniture
• Newspaper/dustsheets

We had some wooden chairs in the garage that I decided to paint but if you don't have anything lying around you can have a look in a charity shop for some cheap bargains.

All you have to do is put down your newspaper and paint. I did a base coat in a blue colour then painted a spindle and a leg pink. I also painted a chest of draws in the same way but I painted a   colourful pattern. It was really fun and it looked great when it was finished.

3. Rummage through a charity shop and find some cloths and transform them.

This might seem a bit odd but I find it really fun to transform clothes and charity shops are a great place to find cheap bargains. Slightly similar to the school project we did. It's also a great way to use up any scraps of fabric to create something completely unique. Although it's not a massive change, I transformed a grey jumper into a cropped jumper.

I hope you have a go at some of these activities and get really creative with your own ideas.

March's Best Bits 2016

I know this is a bit late but a compiled a few things for this month. The weather has only just started to get warmer and it's almost the middle of April.

1. Easter

Well this obviously has nothing to do with craft but I can't not put it when it's March. I especially love all of the chocolate you get to eat and I am currently still on my Easter holidays which I am thoroughly enjoying.

2. Gardening and Decorating

The time has come again where the weather gets warmer and you need to start decorating and gardening again. Why not put up some bunting and plant some pretty flowers to make your garden look wonderful, big or small.

3. Painting

As the weather is getting better, you can finally sit outside and paint some wonderful countryside scenes. I definitely use some watercolours as they create a really nice effect.

I'll add some pictures on really soon.