My Party File - blog

Archive for the ‘drinks’ Category

Inspiration for a party theme can come from anywhere… My youngest daughter has a favourite nightie that is covered in big colourful spots.  She loves this nightie so much she has decided she would like a “spotty” party for her fourth birthday!  So the planning for a spotty (aka polka dot) party has begun.  Here is one of the first ideas we tried out - a polka dot drink.  This was made by cutting marshmallows in half, and sticking the cut side to the inside of the glass.  Then we added milk.

You can use a variety of coloured marshmallows to suit your party theme, and use strawberry, chocolate or any flavoured milk.  Just ensure you press the marshmallows firmly onto the glass.

I recommend using normal or larger sized marshmallows.  I tried the little mini mallows, but most of them came unstuck from the side of the glass when I poured the milk in.

Can you believe these are sugar cubes??  They would be such a ’sweet’ touch at a kids’  Tea Party - or even an adults’ High Tea!  I found them at Such Pretty Things.

To make these shaped sugar cubes, you will need:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• food colouring of your choice (liquid or powdered)
• 4 teaspoons water or 4 teaspoons reconstituted powdered egg whites
• mould or small biscuit cutter

Thoroughly mix the sugar with the food colouring.

Add the water or powdered egg whites into your sugar.  Water works just fine, but your sugar hearts will be much stronger if you use the egg whites.

Firmly push the sugar mixture into a mould of your choice, making it as compact as possible.  If you are going to use biscuit cutters, you will need to pour your sugar mixture out onto a smooth, non-stick surface (parchment paper on the counter top works well) and press it down firmly with your hands, a rolling pin, or the bottom of a plate, until the sugar is as compact as possible. The thickness will depend on the depth of your biscuit cutters, but about 1.5cm works quite well.  Press the cutters straight down into the sugar and carefully release the shapes onto a parchment lined Biscuit sheet. If the sugar isn’t holding it’s shape well, try adding a bit more water or egg white - but be careful not to overdo it or you’ll just get mushy sugar!

Harden the sugar by air drying for a day or two (or you can speed up the process by placing them in a 200 degree oven for about ten minutes).  Once they cool, they will become really hard - just like sugar cubes.

Alternative:  You can add whole vanilla beans or used vanilla bean pods to your sugar a day or two before you make your “cubes” - this will give them a hint of vanilla flavour and an incredible fragrance.

Dress up your drinks with these pretty rose petal ice cubes!  I saw these on www.brides.com and thought this would be a wonderful idea for a fairy, princess, garden or tea party.

To make petal ice cubes, you will need:

Rose petals
Ice cube tray(s)
water

1. Gently rinse the rose petals and blot dry.
2. Boil water for 2 minutes, then let the water cool until room temperature (This ensures that the cubes are crystal-clear).
3. Arrange a couple petals at the bottom of each ice cube section of the ice cube tray.
4. Fill each compartment halfway with the cooled boiled water and freeze until solid.
5. Finish filling each ice cube compartment to the top with the remaining boiled water.
6. Refreeze and allow them to remain in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

For extra effect use ice cube trays in certain shapes, such as hearts or stars.

Refresh the kids with beautiful drinks that match your colour theme.  We hired a slushy machine with two barrells and used cordial in the colours of our mermaid party.  Its quite easy to pour the two layers over each other because the slushy is so viscous.  Kids just love frozen drinks.

This is a fun touch to add to your Easter party. Print the bunny straw decoration template onto card (or paper, then laminate).  Cut around each bunny, then use  a stanley knife to make a 1.5-2cm slit horizontally under the bunny’s teeth.  Slide a straw through the slit, then use a piece of sticky tape to secure the straw to the back of the bunny.

It has been lovely getting your feedback about our blog, and hearing from those of you that have tried out our ideas or used our templates.  Here are some of the ideas that have proven to be popular.

1. Tiny Teddy Cars
2. Handmade Mickey Mouse Invitations
3. Easy Teddy Bear Cake
4. Ladybug Plates
5. Secret Agent Bomb Invitation
6. Cucumber Crocodile
7. Rubber Ducky Goody Bags
8. Frog Eye Drink
9. Rainbow Cupcakes

You may also like:

• lego party invitation
• alien slime
• jelly pumpkin heads
• marshmallow teacup biscuits

If you want your guests to have a dino-mite time at your child’s dinosaur party, you might want to draw inspiration from some of our ideas here.

1. Handmade Dinosaur Invitation
2. Dinosaur Crossing Sign
3. Dinosaur Footprints
4. Dinosaur Water Bottle Labels
5. Dinosaur Eggs
6. Dinosaur Hunt
7. Dinosaur Jokes Party Favour
8. Volcano Cake
9. Dinosaur Straw Decorations

Want more ideas for your dinosaur party?  Click on the “dinosaur” link under “themes” on the left.

Serve this fun drink up at your frog party.  Make lime or mint milkshakes and pour into cups.  Take two white marshmallows and push a mini m&m or jellybean into each one.  Then place onto the milkshake.

Plain drinking glasses just didn’t seem right for a princess party, so I decided to jazz up these plastic ones.  Initially, I tried sugar rimming the glasses, but the sugar didn’t stick to the plastic as well as I would like.  So instead, I dipped the rims into some melted chocolate, then rolled them gently into some sprinkles.  I continued the pink princess theme by serving pink soft drink and strawberry milk (not together!).

These straws add a sweet touch for all kinds of insect and garden parties.  Simply cut a leaf shape from green card and attach an insect sticker.  We found these ladybug stickers at a variety store.  Put a hole in your leaf and push it through a straw.

These straws can also be good to label the kids’ drinks.  Write their names on the leaves and you’ll know which drink belongs to whom!