Farm and Tractor Party Round Up

Do you have a little one who is obsessed with tractors? My nephew is and he knows all the names of the different kinds too!
Today I have brought together a collection of some of my favourite tractor and farm themed parties I found on the internet.
First up from Kara's Party Ideas is this Down on the farm party.

I love the use of egg boxes to hold cupcakes and create a Farmers Market treat table. This party also uses lots of straw which is obviously just perfect for a farm party.
Again from Kara's Party Ideas is this farm yard party using lots of animals! I love this cake and have seen quite a few similar ones around (including one my sister-in-law made with piggies!).

I also love the use of the red gingham and I think it immediately makes you think farm.
Here's another party uses the red gingham from Birds Party.

I also love the barn boxes and milk cartons with cow print! How adorable! I also love the rosette table decoration and picket fence in this picture.

 Speaking of picket fences - they look so sweet!

You could make some fencing from lollipop sticks or card quite easily or if your little one has a farm set you could use some of that.
You could also use their tractor toys and other farm toys in the decoration if they'll let you! If they're a bit protective of their favourite toys then maybe get some new ones for them (second hand from charity shops?) and use them as decoration for the party first. Here are a few ideas...

John Deere is probably one of the more well known tractor "brands". In my village we have a John Deere shop with loads of tractors out front - my nephew loves to go past when he visits!! So if you have a tractor loving littly then I'm sure they'll love a John Deere themed party with lots of green and yellow.

And how about having a go at making your own tractor using large cardboard boxes?! Would be great for photos of the kids at the party too.

Well, that's it for this weeks round up. If you would like some party inspiration you can have a look at my Farm and Tractor Party Pinterest board.
Till next time, take care
Suz and the Party Padawans x

Keep the kids busy this summer with an "I'm Bored Jar"

I have been getting a little addicted to Pinterest lately! Anyone else have this problem?!
Anyway, one of my latest things I've been using it for is to find things for the kids to do over the summer. I think anyone with kids has heard "Mum, I'm bored" way too many times and if you work from home I'm sure it's worse as you're always there with them.
So after more than a week of researching ideas I have come up with my own set of ideas to put in our "I'm Bored Jar" and you can download a PDF I put together too.

My Bored Jar is geared to older kids as my youngest are 11 and 12 and it's also the kind of things I think my kids will like and I would like to try out with them. There are a couple of blank pages for you to add your own ideas and page of links to specific activities, posts with lists of activities and my Pinterest board with lots of pins to inspire you.
I haven't included too many chores in my jar as I think this would put my kids off (and they have chores they are expected to do anyway). I'm also going to draw up some rules with them for using the jar - for example: if they don't like the 1st activity they pick they can choose 1 more but then they have to do one of the two or find something else to do. If they can't do what they pick straight away because the weather isn't suitable or we don't have the things they need for it then that one gets put aside for another day when we can do it and they a free pick. You can decide on rules if you want to or just use the jar as something to inspired the kids to find things to do.
I'd love to hear your ideas for great boredom buster activities for kids so feel free to share any thoughts and suggestions in the comments.
Over the holidays I will post about the things the kids and I have done with little tutorials for some of the activities.
Take care
Suz and the Party Padawans
xx

Father's Day Party & Gift Ideas

This is a bit last minute but I thought I would do a Father's Day round up today. I don't actually celebrate Father's Day (or Mother's Day) as my family never have but I know plenty of you do.

OK, so first up is this amazing "Beer Cake"! A bit like a nappy cake but with beer and sweets!! I found this on Pinterest but couldn't find a website for it.

You could also make it using cans of pop instead of beer.

Next are these delicious looking cakes. Yes I did say cakes.

And a party dessert table idea from Birthday Express. The colours are so fresh and even if you can't get hold of the Mustache tableware, you can use black & white to really great effect with a dash of lime green to lift it all up.

And finally for our short round up today some yummy savoury treats from Tinkerbean.

I'm sure these would be fairly easy for the kids to do themselves too.

I'm dashing off now to help one of the Party Padawans prepare for a last minute mini party tonight! Check back tomorrow for details and photos from that!
Take Care
Suz and the Party Padawans x

Ship Ahoy!! Let's set sail for a nautical party roundup!

Well today is my big brother's birthday and as he used to be in the Navy I thought I'd celebrate with a nautical party round up.

First up is this cute 1st birthday party from Partylicious. I love the invitations!Aren't they just adorable? And the balloon decorations are just amazing.

Next up is a lovely pastel coloured party. I like the colour scheme of this party as most of the ones I found focused on blue, red and white. The photo booth in this party is great too - go check it out!

OK, so on to something sweet to eat!! These little jelly (jello) pots are just perfect for a nautical or sea themed party. I still need to have a go at making my own blue jelly! I think kids would go mad over them!!

The next party I'm sharing from We Heart Parties has a lovely vintage feel to it. The colours are gorgeous and all the decoration elements really bring the party together.

This next one from My Clever Nest has a great tutorial to make a life preserver and it looks pretty easy too. There are also lots of other ideas and instructions for great things to make for your nautical party.

We'll finish up with this party featured on Kara's Party Ideas. It really is gorgeous! I think using white decor in your styling gives the party a really crisp look and is a good idea as you can have a basic stock of white table ware and just add a splash of colour for different themes.

Oh and I really want one of these boat shelves! Who wouldn't?

Well that's this week's round up all rounded up! Please pop over and have a better look at each of them.

Take care and have a lovely weekend
Until next time
Suz x

Frozen has invaded our house!

A few days I decided to try out some blue pudding in preparation for Theo's Super Hero party in 2 weeks. This is what I made for the kids to try out!

It made me think of Disney's Frozen with the lovely blue colour. Then I had a major crisis as I couldn't find any more vanilla Angel Delight type pudding mix! The one I used had been in the cupboard for awhile! For those who have never heard of Angel Delight - it's a custard based flavoured pudding mix  - you just whisk it up with milk. I looked at Tesco and Home Bargains while I was out shopping to no avail. So when I got home, I visited the Angel Delight webpage and found out they no longer made vanilla flavour. I tried Asda online with no luck either! So I started to look for vanilla pudding recipes online - not as quick but hopefully they would taste good. Then I happened to be at a different supermarket today (Morrisons) and thought I would see if they had some own brand vanilla mix. And I'm very pleased to say they did - major happy dance from me as I pulled 5 packets off the shelf!! Only 5! Quite restrained I think!

So would you like to know how to make your very own Frozen Pudding? It's really simple - my daughter, now known as my Party Padawan made ours!

1. Mix the Pudding mix according to instructions.
2. Add blue food colouring until you get the desired colour.
3. Chill in fridge for 5 minutes.
4. Once set, add some sugar snowflakes (you can usually get these at Christmas in most supermarkets). We also added blue sugar crystals and some silver edible glitter. 
5. Grab a spoon and enjoy!

You could coat the rim of the glass with sugar or blue sugar before for an extra special touch!

I think we may have a Frozen themed Christmas this year!!

Do you have any Frozen food ideas? I'd love to hear from you if you do.

Take care

Suz and the Party Padawan Nienna x

P.S. Here's Nienna showing off her blue tongue!!

xx

Super Hero Party Round Up

Over the next few months I am hosting 2 super hero parties so I've been scouring the net for inspiration and ideas. So here are some of the parties which really caught my eye.

First up is this bright party featured on Chickabug Blog. I love the use of primary colours and the skyline table centre!

Next, another party using primary colours - they work so well for a hero party.

This one is from This Girl's Life and is a wonderful example of how you can throw an awesome party in your own home. I love how they have decorated the fireplace and all the other DIY elements they used look fabulous.

This Captain America inspired party from Creative Green Living is packed full of cool game ideas.

I really like the look of the strawberries too! I'm sure they will feature in one of my parties!

And remember, Super hero parties aren't just for the boys! My younger and myself both love our super heroes but we still have a girly side so I think this party from Lily Paul Designs is totally adorable.

Silly string and Kryptonite shooters are surely a must at any self respecting super hero party! And giving your little guests their own super cape is a lovely way to get everyone in the spirit.

This next on Spaceships & Laser Beams party uses lovely colours which would be lovely for the littlest heroes.

And finally, from Liebsbotschaft come this party in red, black and white.

This colour scheme is one of my favourites - it's so simple and classic. The gumball machine works really well and the little figures look great.

Well, I hope you have lots of fun looking at these parties more closely.
Take care
Suz x

Summer Theme Party Round Up

I thought I would have a go at my first party round up today! I've been meaning to do one for ages but never quite gotten around to it!
With summer just around the corner I thought I would look at summer themed parties - so here are some of my favourite ideas I have found.

Ice Cream Party
Ice cream is the perfect summer treat and is perfect for indoor and outdoor parties (the weather in Scotland can be unpredictable so it's good to have plenty of indoor ideas!).

Provide your guests with plenty of toppings and sauces and don't forget you can include some yummy summer fruits for a healthier option!
I love the idea of an ice cream bar as you can use it on any scale and it can be set up quite quickly so if the kids have some friends round you could surprise them with a mini ice cream bar treat. You might find you have twice as many kids at your house the following week!

Watermelon Jellies
How about these cute little jellies for a watermelon themed party or just as a sweet way of serving up pudding?

Luau Party
An Hawaiian theme is great for summer. There are loads of UK based companies who stock Hawaiian themed party products too.
 

Cupcake Cup Covers

I'm sure we're all familiar with flies getting into our drinks at outdoor summer events so this simple idea is great.

Buckets & Spades

I think the use of buckets and spades in your summer party decor is a must!! You could use plastic buckets for a fun party or those little tin ones in pretty colours for a more chic sophisticated feel.

Glow Stick Fun

Who doesn't love glow sticks?! And you can get them at Pound shops too so they are a great cheap way to brighten up your party when the sun starts to set! 

There are lots of fun ways to use glow sticks at your party. Personally I wouldn't use any that suggest using the liquid from inside the sticks unless you can be sure it's sealed in a jar or bottle. 

You can make cheap lanterns by cutting the end off a couple of glow sticks and pouring the contents into jars or bottles of water. Make sure you secure the lids well (maybe some tape or glue).

Use them to make a ring toss or bowling game or bury some in an ice bucket.

Well, that's it for today's round up. I hope it has helped to inspire you!

Check back soon for more party fun!

Suz x

Pizza Boats!

We had a very busy day yesterday at LHPC HQ!!
After the lovely banana dolphins at lunchtime we went to the school's Daffodil Tea and Theo had lots of fun operating a digger and getting his face painted!
I decided to make mini baguette pizzas for tea as it was just the two of us but had a brainwave as the rolls I got reminded me of little boats!! So, after I had quickly drawn a template and cut out these little sails, we spent an hour decorating them.

Theo wanted to make a classic skull and crossbones sail first, and then he wanted to do the British Flag. I went for flowers and butterflies for my first sail and then thought I'd honour my Viking heritage with a Viking long ship sail!! I used a sticker on this one too!

We then used kebab skewers as masts (I cut about 2 inches of the top so they wouldn't be too long). Theo got his Lego figures out to sail our ships for us!!
Below is a template you can use if you would like to have a go at making sails yourself. Try them on different food - hotdogs, sausages, cakes!

I hope you have lots of fun making food interesting and do please share any photos of your creations!

Take care

Suz (and Theo)

Banana Dolphins!!

Hello, I hope you're all well.
I spotted these adorable banana dolphins on Facebook yesterday and just had to try them out for myself!!
They are so easy to make - I made them while waiting for the bacon to grill - and they were a big hit with Theo!!
The original idea is from Luz's Unique Creations - check out their Facebook page here.
So, how to make them? This is what I did - cut a banana in half (the top half looks much better but I didn't want to waste the bottom bit so I used that too). Cut a slit in the end to create a mouth. Put a grape, raspberry or something into the mouth to keep it open slightly. Put the banana in a small bowl or tub and fill with small fruits - whatever you have or are your favourites! I used a felt pen to make the eyes but you could use edible markers or raisins. I was doing it very quickly and as you don't eat the skin from a banana felt it would be OK to use a normal felt tip.

In other news!! I am officially relaunching the website this weekend! To help celebrate, I have a great competition on my Facebook page - please pop over and check it out here for a chance to win a £5 voucher!

Well, that's it from me for today - I'm taking Theo to the Daffodil Tea at school this afternoon so better go and get ready.
Take care
Suz x

A Night At The Movies

We had a lovely trip to the Living Room Cinema last night. The food was fantastic and included hot dogs, nachos and cheese, popcorn, pick and mix, cupcakes and sodas.

 I used a stash of old 3D glasses to decorate the table. Large tin buckets from Poundland were used for popcorn. I added depth using boxes wrapped with white wallpaper and a few paper doilies added a nice touch.

We watched Oz, The Great & Powerful and everyone had a great night.
If you want to download any of the printable products click here. And I'd love to see any photos of your movie nights.
Suz x