My Party File - blog

Posts Tagged ‘rainbow’

I just had to share this stunning cake!  It was made for a birdie party, but it would also be lovely for a rainbow party.  You can find all the details at  Heartfelt Handmade.   It’s not something you’d want to attempt if you are a novice at cake decorating, but that’s what the bakery is for, isn’t it?

Any little girl will be excited to find nail polish in their party bag.  You can add it to all sorts of themes, from princess and mermaid parties to circus and movie parties.  I found these small bottles in a pack of seven, which made them very affordable - about $1 each.  I also included a coloured nail file, which you can get in bulk from a variety store.

Alternatively, use these as prizes or even make an activity out of painting guests’ nails.

Making necklaces can be a fun activity as guests arrive, or you can add them to the party bags.  For this mermaid party we picked up an assortment of beads including shells and rocks.  We used stretchy nylon (which you can pick up from a craft or variety store) to make it easy for the kids to thread and simple to tie together without the need for fixings.  Guests were invited to make a necklace as they arrived and while they were waiting for other guests.

Another idea is to create small necklace making kits for goodie bags.  Put some beads in a bag or jar and cut some necklace string.  The kids can enjoy the activity at home.  If you have an assortment of buttons accumulating in your cupboard add these to thread - buttons make gorgeous necklaces and add wonderful character.

I picked up these tiny lip glosses for under $1 each in a bulk pack, to include in party bags for my daughter’s mermaid birthday.  They are fantastic to use for prizes or to add to all kinds of party bags for little girls.  You should be able to find similar lip gloss in your local variety store.

I have seen kids eat slices and slices of this popular Australian party food - and they still go back for more!!    Spread slices of white bread evenly with butter or margarine (don’t spread too thinly as you want the sprinkles to stick), then sprinkle with Hundreds and Thousands. Cut into triangles and then arrange on a plate.  You can make the fairy bread up to four hours ahead, just cover with cling wrap.

Alternatives

• Cut the crusts from the bread
• Use chocolate sprinkles
• Cut the bread out with novelty shaped biscuit cutters

Sack races are an oldie but a goodie!  And don’t despair if you don’t have a pile of hessian sacks lying around - you can use the eco fabric shopping bags as an alternative.  The kids can climb into the bags and hold onto the handles, or you can cut the base off of a bag and sew it to the top of another.  Much cheaper than making them from scratch.

Hold sack races as a stand alone game, or use the sacks to tie in with other games.  For example, at the dinosaur party, I read a letter to the kids telling them we needed to go on a dinosaur hunt, but the only way to get there was with “dino” sacks.  The kids were only too keen to climb into the sacks and jump their way to the imaginary destination!  This is a good way to eliminate the winning/losing scenario that younger kids don’t always deal with too well!

Sacks can even become cocoons for a butterfly party or mermaid tails for a mermaid party!

These Jelly Boats are always popular and you can easily incorporate them into any party theme  - add a pirate’s sail for a Pirate Party, a plain sail for an Under the Sea Party or Mermaid Party, or line them up in their colours for a rainbow party.  They still look fabulous if you leave them undecorated - simply select jelly colours that tie in with your party colour scheme, such as green jelly for a dinosaur or alien party, or blue, yellow and orange jelly for a Rubber Ducky Party.

You will need:

• 4 Oranges, halved lengthways
• 2 packets of jelly crystals such as orange, raspberry, lime, strawberry, lemon - choose two colours
• 16 toothpicks
• Paper
• Sail template

Directions

1. Make the jelly according to the instructions, but only use half the amount of water as it needs to be more concentrated to hold its shape. Allow it to start cooling.
2. Scoop out the orange flesh, taking care not to pierce skins.
3. Arrange the orange shells on a tray (a muffin or cupcake tray is useful to keep them steady, otherwise support them with crumpled foil, if necessary).
4. Fill each orange with jelly. Leave to set.
5. Once jelly has set, cut each orange in half again with a sharp knife.

For a pirate party, print the sails template, cut out each sail, poke a toothpick through each sail and attach the sail to the middle of each orange boat.

Another simple rainbow birthday party idea that will impress the kids.  These rainbow jelly cups will go down a treat!

Pick up some elegant plastic cups to present the jelly in.  Starting with purple, make jelly as per the instructions on the pack and pour a layer into the cup.  As each layer sets, pour on the next layer in the colours of the rainbow.  We used purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

A few tips:

• quarter the jelly recipe so you don’t end up with litres of jelly at the end!
• Make sure the jelly is cool before you pour on the next layer - you don’t want to melt the last layer
• You can always measure each layer with a ruler and put marks on the side of the cup so you get a consistent effect
• Cover your jelly with cling film so that it doesn’t end up tasting like the fridge
• Be patient.  Walk away from each layer and come back later

This is so simple, yet so effective.  It makes a wonderful take home gift for the children after a rainbow party.  You can pick up these tiny containers from your local variety store - they are sold as craft containers and they screw together in a stack.  They are cheap and they can be filled with any kinds of treats or surprises.  In each layer stick to one colour and when you screw them together you will have a beautiful rainbow effect.  Fill each layer with lollies, hair ties, beads, jewellery or small toys - you’ll be surprised what you can collect!

This one can either be an activity or just a party favour to take home for a fun rainbow party.  Collect some plastic bottles (the smaller the better) and some rainbow coloured shakers - beads, shells, rocks, rice, buttons, smarties, whatever you can think of.  You can let the kids fill up the bottles at the party, or do it yourself.  Add some coloured streamers around the lid and you have a fun rainbow shaker they will love!