A “Cat in the Hat” 3rd Birthday Party

By on

It has been a funny ol’ 12 months, that’s for sure. Between fires, hailstorms and a global pandemic, along with all the usual craziness of life with 3 kids (and a dog), I’ve found myself with little time to sit down and blog about the goings on. Or perhaps there has been a bit of a lack of motivation on my part, too.

But in amongst the craziness, there has been a lot going on. We may not have done any travelling, but we have taken many culinary journeys with weekly themed dinners. Work has been kicking along, and despite some long hours, it has been a productive and fulfilling year. We also spent a week in the Kangaroo Valley after Christmas where, despite the drizzle, we had a ball kayaking, exploring and warming up in the heated outdoor spa (with valley views to die for!).

And the kids, boy are they growing up so fast! They all have busy sport and social calendars and are (mostly) keeping out of trouble. We are currently planning Miss J’s 6th (!!) birthday party, which made me realise that I never shared Miss M’s 3rd birthday party details from, ahem, 6 months ago.

The theme was chosen by Miss M with vigour for, at the time, she was well and truly obsessed with Dr Seuss. So with the help of Thing 1 and Thing 2 – we got to work transforming our house into a Cat in the Hat inspired party!

Blue, red and chevron were our colours and patterns, and although we set up tables inside, we were fortunate that the sun came out in what can usually be a frigid July.

We played a few party games, including pass the parcel and our very own ‘pin the hat on the cat’ (which most certainly tested my artistic abilities…)

As for the food – we had all the usual party trimmings – including (red fish blue fish) jelly cups, thing 1 and 2 cupcakes, hop on pop (corn) and truffalo fruit skewers.

The cake was rather rustic (not that I think the party girl minded) – comprised of mudcakes covered and decorated in fondant topped with a cake topper that I found online.

And, as the afternoon drew to a close, our guests left with a little Dr Suess party box and book of their own.

A great day was certainly had by all! It’s hard to believe this was 6 months ago!

A “Frozen” 4th Birthday Party

By on

And just like that, our little Josephine is not so little. She turned 4 this week and, because I really can’t help myself when it comes to kids parties, we threw her a big birthday bash!

Her chosen theme was “Frozen” – for she is pretty much obsessed with the movie at the moment. I’m not sure whether it is the sister storyline, the silly Olaf antics or the fact that her favourite colour is blue (or perhaps that she shares Elsa’s hair colour) – but there was no doubt in her mind that Frozen would be the theme. No doubt. At all.

So her wish was my command! Blue, blue and more blue, with lots of snowflakes and sparkles – which was rather funny given that it was a hot and sunny 35C day outside.

The food

I opted for food that I could largely make ahead. We had muffins, fruit, Sven’s snacks (hummus cups with vegetable dippers), rice bubble slice, snowflake cookies, sandwiches and floating Olaf jelly cups. Not to mention the usual array of chips and lollies, and some homemade sausage rolls.

To drink – we offered apple juice, lemonade (coloured with a little blue food colouring) and bottles of “melted snowman”. Josie was positively horrified when she saw the kids drinking the water bottles though, exclaiming on more than one occasion “noooooo! ewwwww you are drinking Olaf!!!!!”.

The cake

Another year on and J is still not a fan of eating cake – but she is certainly still a huge fan of the ritual that comes with a birthday cake. The colour, the candles, the song – she loves it!

I kept things pretty simple this year (aka I cheated) – covering some pre-made mudcakes with Nutella frosting, and using white chocolate wafers as a border. Topped with blue sprinkles and some fondant snowflakes, along with a custom topper, and you’d never know that it took no time at all to put together.

And yes, the birthday girl was suitably impressed!

The entertainment

As we had around 16 little ones to keep entertained, ranging in age from 7 months to 10 years, I left the entertainment to the professionals – and I am so glad that I did. Lucy Sparkles and Friends sent both Elsa AND Anna – who had the kids utterly captivated with their singing, dancing and games .

The favours

I can never resist sending our little guests home with a treat to thank them for coming. I found some great snowflake boxes online, which Charlotte and Josie had a great time helping me fill with an array of treats.

And before we knew it, it was time for our little “Elsa” to say goodbye to her friends (and start to recover from her sugar high). Safe to say she had a truly wonderful day!

And I’m left wondering – just how is it that she is FOUR already?!