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

Win, win, win!!! Competition Time!

Good Morning!
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Mustache, Dicky Bows and Ties Father's Day Party

The Party Padawans threw this awesome surprise party for their dad last night.

Daddy had made a TV date with Theo to watch England's first World Cup match when he got home from work so as it was nearly Father's Day we decided to mark the occasion with this little party.
I quickly designed some printables and the littlest padawan cut out the beer bottle labels and party circles.

We also made some doughnuts - Theo wanted Bannoffee with coffee! Recipe at the bottom of this post.

They had the perfect nibbles for watching footy - crisps, popcorn and a selection of sweets!

And here's the recipe for our bannoffe -coffee doughnuts.

Ingredients:
100g plain flour
50g soft brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
70g banana mashed (approximately 1 banana)
100g natural youghurt (you could also use toffee or banana flavoured youghurt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp toffee sauce
1 tsp instant coffee

Topping:
100g Chocolate
2 tbsp toffee sauce

Directions:
1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to allow the coffee to dissolve.
2. Mix again to combine the coffee. Spoon into a doughnut maker or doughnut tin.
3. Bake in oven at 180C/350F for 10 to 12 minutes or if using a doughnut maker for about 5 minutes.
4. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
5. To make the topping, melt chocolate over a bain-marie. Add toffee sauce and mix well.
6. Spread over cooled doughnuts and sprinkle with chocolate vermicelli.
7. Eat and enjoy!

That's it from us. Wishing you all a happy Father's Day
From Suz and the Party Padawans x

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

Avengers (And Other Random Heroes) Assemble!!

Firstly, sorry I didn't get around to doing my Saturday party round up last weekend. It was quite hectic getting everything ready for Theo's party. So today I'll share some of the photos from his super celebrations and we'll get back on track with the round up this weekend!
My idea of a red, white and blue theme was overshadowed by Theo's ideas and all the different colours of the various heroes he wanted but I still like the look of everything and most importantly he liked it!

Theo insisted on having a candy buffet again this year and like last year it was extremely popular. We had lots of different types of sweets for the children (and my husband!) to choose from.

I made some buildings from different sized boxes covered with black paper which were used to decorate the table along with some of Theo's superhero action figures. Here's Spiderman keeping an eye on our yummy blue cupcakes with edible toppers. 

I also tried my hand at icing biscuits with hero logos. I actually printed out the logos and iced onto waxed paper over the top of them rather than directly onto the biscuit. They're not perfect (I still need to practice getting the right icing consistency) but I had fun doing them I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. I do like to try these things myself when I can!!

Theo also wanted an ice cream bar this year just in case we didn't have enough sugar!! I think they just enjoyed getting free reign to add lots of sauce and toppings to the ice cream!

The final dessert was Captain America Jelly shots! And we also had fruit skewers for a bit of healthy balance!

The main part of the party was spent at the amusement park, where the boys went on rides and played crazy golf. When we came home they played computer games and just hung out. I made a target shooting game with Nienna for them to play and the also had their photos taken in front of my painted backdrop.

All in all, a good time was had by everyone and Theo coped really well throughout the day - I got lots of hugs and cuddles and a huge thank you from him for making his day special which just melted my heart! 

He was especially pleased with the special glasses I made as party favours using transfer paper. 

So that's it for family parties until August when I'll be doing the annual garden party with my friend and Nienna's birthday party. Better get started!! 

Take care

Suz and the Party Padawans xx

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