Category: Drinks

Tea Party Ideas

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All little ladies dream of having a tea party, dressing up and sitting down at a beautiful table with china cups and flowery table accents. So get ready to put on your fancy dress and a tea party hat. Here are some ideas you need to throw a beautiful children’s Tea Party;

Transform your home or garden into a family fun pastel coloured tea party getaway. Serve tea, lemonade or punch along with dainty finger sandwiches and fruit. Your little Tea Party guests will be over the moon.

Invitations.

Tea party invitations can be a tea cup, a tea party hat or just a beautiful tea party designed card. Just be sure to make them really special by using a fancy font and graphics that support the theme. Be sure to give the start time, end time, date and location of the Tea Party.

Decorations.

Set the mood for your party with great decorations like a garland archway and play some beautiful music. Cover the party table with a flowery tablecloth and a beautiful centrepiece. Create a beautiful tea party setting for your guests to enjoy the finger sandwiches and tea.

Party Games.

Sometimes the memories are even more special when guests get to take home the artwork that they’ve created themselves at the party. Whether they decorate tea party hats, tiara, or a special decorative item, it will be something special that helps them remember and share their event with others.

Costumes.

A tea party just isn’t the same without all the guests dressed with some fancy tea party dresses. If you are throwing a kids tea party, be sure to include a hat or tiara!

Drinks and Snacks.

Don’t forget the snacks and drinks for all of your tea party guests. Tiny finger food snacks and sweet flavoured tea drinks or lemonade are always top of the list. But it’s also fun to have some sweet pastries and fruit.

The cake.

A tea cup cake is always popular with those who like to bake. For those who prefer a simple and less complicated treat, individual cupcakes and ice cream in individual cupcake liners can reduce the mess of serving treats under pressure.

Places to eat with kids

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Hangar Number 4, Warrington

This restaurant is all aviation themed! It’s actually located inside an old railway arch and has part of a plane inside! Your food is delivered on an airline trolley and kids meals are even served on airline trays. We hear that the food is really tasty!

Rainforest Café, London

Enjoy a meal at this restaurant surrounded by the rainforest and some really wild creatures. The sights and sounds of the rainforest make you feel as if you’re in the Amazon -there’s moving animatronic animals, waterfalls and the occasional thunderstorm! You can tuck into a huge range of international cuisine.

Inamo, London

At this Japanese themed restaurant you can order your food from the interactive menu that’s projected onto your table! Kids can enjoy a delicious bento box and during the summer holidays there are sushi making classes that they can join

The Library Restaurant, Norwich

This superb restaurant is located in Norwich old library. The dramatic interior has booked lined walls, lots of original features and lots of squishy sofas. You can enjoy a feast of brasserie style meals, whilst admiring the beautiful surroundings

Ed’s Diner, Countrywide

Experience what American diners would have been like in the 1950s in one of these funky restaurants. Settle yourselves into one of the booths and enjoy the retro atmosphere, complete with the 1950’s music playing from a jukebox. Pick from a range of retro burger kids meals and wash them down with a milkshake made with real ice cream.

When you kid loves the Trolls

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The trolls are led by their fearless leader Princess Poppy who believes the world is made of cupcakes and rainbows. Trolls love to dance, sing, and hug so keep that in mind when putting together a Trolls themed party which your kids will love! Grab your karaoke machine and get the children’s party started!

Invitations

Princess Poppy does love her glitter so add a little hot pink confetti to the invitations. Who doesn’t love confetti in their invitations?

Decorations

Rainbows rainbow rainbows! The movie is bright and colourful so have fun with colour. Mini balloon flowers can be made out of water balloons and attached to the backdrop and the table for added colour and whimsy.

Princess Poppy is pink so the dessert table is a nod to our favourite Troll. A pink plastic skirt was secured to a fabric tablecloth to add a feminine touch. It is also perfect if your tablecloth isn’t quite big enough for your chosen table…no one will ever know.

Food

More rainbows! The dessert table is fit for a troll! Rainbow layered jelly can be prepared the day before and rainbow slushies, made from frozen ice pops, can be prepared several days in advance and left in the freezer. Rainbow fruit cups include (from bottom to top) blueberries, grapes, pineapple, cantaloupe, and raspberries. Prepare about two hours before the party. You do want these to be as fresh as possible. Poppy loves cupcakes so rainbow cupcakes were a must!

Activities & favours

 

  • Poppy really loves to scrapbook so creating a scrapbook station would be a great activity. If you have a portable printer you can print pictures on the spot and give each child a picture to remember the day.

 

  • Hair chalking is also a really fun activity and one that the kids can do for each other.

 

  • Pinatas are always fun! If your guests don’t want to hit the piñata you can always choose the pulling string type.

 

Planning the perfect party food

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Are you about to have a party for your kids special day? Are you busy, frantically planning for all eventualities? It has probably not escaped your attention, but the party menu can be a vital and often time consuming component in any children’s Birthday party.

First check for possible food allergies

Planning the food for any party can often be a challenge, as one has to always think about the dietary requirements of other kids. It’s quite possible that you will have some children with allergies or intolerances. Often the parents will have told you if this is the case but it is worth checking yourself to be sure. (maybe ask parents to mention this on your party invites)

If you do have certain allergies or dietary requirements to cater for then you may want to ensure the food for that child is on a separate plate so it makes life easier for them and also doesn’t run the risk of contamination of their food with things they can’t have e.g. for nut allergies.

Planning the party ‘menu’

Children are the most honest of guests. – If they don’t like something they won’t eat it. Some children won’t like ham, others won’t like tuna – so put on an even spread of sandwiches with a variety of fillings, so you aren’t left with some kids that don’t want to eat anything grand then go home hungry.

Trying to trick your own children into eating fruit and vegetables may be a constant battle at the best of times, but in a party scenario it could prove even harder. And it is a party after all so perhaps now isn’t the best time to worry too much about healthy eating.

Keeping the kids sweet!

There seems to be a law of balances involved at every stage of the menu planning process. On the one hand, too much sugar can turn your party into mayhem, whereas on the other, too little could make your food too boring.

Aiming at the middle is the way forward. Cake, crisps and jelly are the traditional vouch-safes; but you could also consider throwing in some chocolate-dipped fruit or fruit juice for good measure.

What to drink?

If presented with a choice, children will almost always opt for the sugariest option. Preparing drinks on a tray before-hand and distributing them as a matter of course can help deal with this issue. You could even try distributing glasses of milk, should the sugar intake be reaching dizzying levels. But to make life easier we’d suggest juice boxes as they’re nice and easy to put on the table, reduce spillages and are easy to throw away.

 

Get the party food just right

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An important part of planning a children’s party is the party food, and parents who are choosing to do the spread themselves will want to create a feast that is guaranteed to get eaten. Naturally, dishes you choose will be dependent on what kind of party your child is having but there are a few ways in which you can make sure that your party food goes down a treat.

It’s always fun to create your own fun dishes. You can get loads of ideas form the internet. No matter what you do it’s almost certain that some dishes will be more popular than others. You therefore should aim to create a spread that is a mix of good party food staples like cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, sandwiches, etc.…with ‘experimental’ plates like party themed cupcakes, food shaped as characters from a theme, etc.… Whilst planning the menu, make sure that you consider what leftovers you may have, and how you would use them too as there can be a lot of food left over.

With classic party food such as crisps and biscuits, buying multipacks and refilling will mean that any leftovers you have are fresh and easily used in lunch boxes and for snacks. With more ‘experimental’ dishes, make sure that you and your family will be willing to eat them if left untouched.

When sending out the invites, it might be suitable to request any dietary information from parents that will help you create a spread that can be enjoyed by all. Parents of children with severe allergies or special dietary requirements may already know they need to contact families prior to attending birthday parties to avoid issues on the day, but some will assume that they will be catered for or forget to mention it.

By asking families to provide details of special diets, you can include (or not include) certain dishes that means no one at the party goes hungry.

Of course if you’re making party food together as a family, before the party, then your kids will love this as it gets them involved in their party even more and it’s a fun activity to do with your kids.

 

Time for something different

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Children’s Birthday Parties can be a really fun and exciting time. Kids go wild at the thought of kid’s party entertainers being there and when the time comes to plan your own children’s party entertainment, you’ll probably find your child wants the same entertainer to come along to their party too. But parents often get to a point where they have seen so many kids party entertainers and wouldn’t mind a change. Loads of kids in the class have had the same type of children’s party entertainment or the same entertainer and it’s sometimes nice to spice things up a bit!

The problem is of course – what other options are out there? When you think children’s magicians or kids party entertainers, you often think of a silly man or woman in an outfit doing magic, games, dancing, balloons, etc. This is a classic formula for children’s birthday parties and it works very, very well indeed so you definitely shouldn’t necessarily overlook this. For years’ children’s birthday parties have consisted of this and kids still love it today. These are probably the most popular mix of activities for a children’s birthday party so if you haven’t tried that already then that’s probably a good bet to go for as the variety of the activities makes it a hugely fun and safe option.

But nowadays there is a lot of other choice available and if you’ve already seen lots of kid’s party entertainers doing this mix of activities already it might be nice to try something new.

Science Parties are becoming bigger and bigger at the moment. Think science is boring? Think again! Science parties are barrels of fun! They use really engaging science experiments and demonstrations that are absolutely visually stunning and get the kids involved and are a great way to give kids a brand new and exciting experience. Science Parties are becoming increasingly popular as a form of children’s party entertainment and they tend to be suitable for any age from about 4 all the way to teens. The kids get to see loads of amazing and visually stunning science demonstrations as well as trying out their own super cool science party experiments, where they learn just how much fun science can be!

Bubble parties are another great idea for children’s birthday parties. Ever seen a kids get wrapped inside a giant bubble? Kids love it! Why not give it a try?

Other great options are activity parties, drama, clowns, discos, the fact is that when it comes to kid’s party entertainers or children’s party entertainment, the sky’s the limit.

Of course you do have to think about budget. Often going bigger with kid’s parties will mean costing more. But then if you’re on a tighter budget, you needn’t be limited by choice. There are lots of themed parties that you could go for that can help inject fun and creativity into children’s birthday parties. Why not try a cool spy party or an around the world party where you play games that are linked to the theme?

One other helpful tip is to not get too carried away with organising your little one’s special day. It is easily done with all the exciting choices out there. So do remember to talk through what your child wants and that what you are organising is what they’d like to have and not what you think they’d like to have or what you rather like the sound of. After all it is their day and they may still be happy with the original mix of activities that they have seen before.

 

Menu’s for fussy eaters

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Children are the most honest of guests. – If they don’t like something they won’t eat it. Some children won’t like ham, others won’t like tuna – so put on an even spread of sandwiches with a variety of fillings, so you aren’t left with some kids that don’t want to eat anything grand then go home hungry.

Trying to trick your own children into eating fruit and vegetables may be a constant battle at the best of times, but in a party scenario it could prove even harder. And it is a party after all so perhaps now isn’t the best time to worry too much about healthy eating.

That said, learning to hide the greens is still possible – have you thought about cooking a delicious vegetable cake, for example a carrot cake?

Our suggestion though would be to have a good mix of sandwiches, fruit and veg that can be eaten by hand.e.g. cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, cheese cubes, then a nice range of crisps and sweets. A simple range of food like this makes life easier and also reduces allergy issues.

Planning food for children’s parties can often be a challenge, as one has to always think about the dietary requirements of other kids. It’s quite possible that you will have some children with allergies or intolerances. Often the parents will have told you if this is the case but it is worth checking yourself to be sure. (maybe ask parents to mention this on your party invites)

If you do have certain allergies or dietary requirements to cater for then you may want to ensure the food for that child is on a separate plate so it makes life easier for them and also doesn’t run the risk of contamination of their food with things they can’t have e.g. for nut allergies.

There seems to be a law of balances involved at every stage of the menu planning process. On the one hand, too much sugar can turn your party into mayhem, whereas on the other, too little could make your food too boring.

Aiming at the middle is the way forward. Cake, crisps and jelly are the traditional vouch-safes; but you could also consider throwing in some chocolate-dipped fruit or fruit juice for good measure.

If presented with a choice, children will almost always opt for the sugariest option. Preparing drinks on a tray before-hand and distributing them as a matter of course can help deal with this issue. You could even try distributing glasses of milk, should the sugar intake be reaching dizzying levels. But to make life easier we’d suggest juice boxes as they’re nice and easy to put on the table, reduce spillages and are easy to throw away.

Tips on catering

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An important part of any child’s birthday celebrations is the party food, and parents who are choosing to do the spread themselves will want to create a feast that is guaranteed to get eaten. Naturally, dishes you choose will be dependent on what kind of party your child is having but there are a few ways in which you can make sure that your party food goes down a treat.

It’s always fun to create your own fun dishes. You can get loads of ideas form the internet. No matter what you do it’s almost certain that some dishes will be more popular than others. You therefore should aim to create a spread that is a mix of good party food staples like cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, sandwiches, etc.…with ‘experimental’ plates like party themed cupcakes, food shaped as characters from a theme, etc.… Whilst planning the menu, make sure that you consider what leftovers you may have, and how you would use them too as there can be a lot of food left over.

With classic party food such as crisps and biscuits, buying multipacks and refilling will mean that any leftovers you have are fresh and easily used in lunch boxes and for snacks. With more ‘experimental’ dishes, make sure that you and your family will be willing to eat them if left untouched.

When sending out the invites, it might be suitable to request any dietary information from parents that will help you create a spread that can be enjoyed by all. Parents of children with severe allergies or special dietary requirements may already know they need to contact families prior to attending birthday parties to avoid issues on the day, but some will assume that they will be catered for or forget to mention it.

By asking families to provide details of special diets, you can include (or not include) certain dishes that means no one at the party goes hungry.

Do try not to add unnecessary stress or pressure on yourself. Most parents are on the quest to create the perfect children’s birthday celebration and therefore may think that presentation of their party food is essential. Of course it’s fun to make things look nice and show some thought. Although presentation and display of party food may be important to adults, do remember it’s not necessarily noticed by the children and it is a kid’s party after all.

If you have the natural creative flare and want to put on a great spread of fantastic looking party food, then why not!! But if it’s going to stress you out then do remember that with all the excitement that is created from entertainers, party games, and celebrating with friends, when it comes to picking from a selection of party food, children won’t be too fussed about any delicate arrangement, but more about taste and variety and you could have gone to all that trouble only to find it not being appreciated afterwards.

Of course if you’re making party food together with your children, before the party, then your kids will love this as it gets them involved in their party even more and it’s a great activity to do with your kids.

Movie star parties

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This party are for girls (or boys) that would just love to be in the movies…

INVITATIONS:

For the invitation, buy some really good stationary, and cut it into a star shape. Then, punch holes in it about every inch or so and thread gold or silver ribbon through the holes. Then in calligraphy write “you are cordially invited to spend (date) at the Oscars. Please arrive at (address) at approximately (time). To make your final reservation, please reply to the home of (child’s name) at (number).

DECORATIONS:

On the front walkway, we laid out some red felt made to look like the red carpet, and stuck sticks of wood about 1 foot away from each other along the sides, where I tied gold, silver, and white balloons to. Inside, I let some more balloons float.

ACTIVITIES:

The main activity of the party was Making the movie, but before that, we got all the actresses ‘ready’ by sending them to the ‘spa’. Throughout the house, there was a different station, and one was in the birthday girl’s bedroom. The first station, the spare room, was home to the nail and hair salon. In here we had some friends dressing the girl’s hair with pins and clips and my other friend did the nails. The other station, in the downstairs office, was makeup.

The last station, in the birthday girl’s bedroom was the dressing station, here, there were all kinds of dress up clothes that the girls could choose from. After all the girls finished at the spa, we made the movie. Before the party, we had written a simple script based on the movie, “the Princess Diaries”, where a normal teenage girl finds out she is a princess. We handed out these 3 page scripts, and each girl was given a part and five minutes to look it over quickly. Then we filmed it. Afterwards, we showed it to the girls on video and they were very proud.

Then, last but not least, we handed out the actual Oscars. Before hand, we had cut trophies out of cardboard and painted them with each girl’s name on it. For the ceremony, we had 10 categories (there were ten girls). Some of the categories were best script remembered, funniest costume, etc. We called each girl up individually to receive her award. (since we didn’t know what category each girl was going to win, when the girls came up, we wrote it with a pen on the back). After this, we had dinner at our homemade restaurant and then, to make the girls sleepy after the excitement, we showed them a copy of the proper Oscars, which featured all their favourite actors and actresses.

KIDS PARTY FOOD:

In the dining room, we had table settings that made it look like a posh restaurant. For each girl’s plate, we had a typed name card, a folded cloth napkin with a napkin ring, and we even had real silverware instead of plastic. We served chicken, rice, soup, and a chocolate cake that looked like an Oscar award. 
PARTY BAGS

When the girls were watching the movie, we made 10 copies of the video we made. We gave these out to the guests along with a bottle of nail polish.

Kitty Cat Party

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Is your child ‘Cat crazy?’  It could be anything from Hello Kitty or the cute furry things themselves. Why not create your very own cat party for your child?  Here are a few ideas that other people have done and we hope you are inspired to follow:

For the party invitations you can always find pretty stationary with cats on them, you can write invitations on these and will be a lovely keepsake for anyone loving cats.

When your guests arrive why not face paint the guests as cats? You could paint a nose and whiskers and also think about headband ears made of felt and glitter, or get your guests to make a pair?

Now, what about games? You could play ‘pin the tail on the cat?’ or as cat’s love string you could create a sting maze. Attach a toilet paper tube to both end of 7 pieces (for approx. 14 guests) of string or wool, on one end, the tube has a picture of a cat, the other tube has a picture of a mouse. Maze them around the room, underneath chairs, tables and benches and each child has to find who is on the other end of their string.

For crafty children’s party ideas you could buy a set of paper white plates with black card, pipe cleaners for whiskers and googly eyes, guess what these are going to be make into? Yes, you have guessed it, cat faces!!! 

For food, make it fun with little sandwiches cut into goldfish shapes.  If you are feeling adventurous food bowls could be decorated with cat ears and whiskers!!  And don’t forget to serve milk!!

For the cake, you could obviously buy your own, but why not make a cake similar to your child’s favourite kitty? Hello Kitty is a favourite, but if he or she has her own special cat why not model the cake around this? 

Party Bags can be filled with chocolate cats or mice and cute cat stickers and anything you like that involves cats. This is sure to be a success and at a reasonable price too.