My Party File - blog

Posts Tagged ‘sleepover’

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.

This looks just like a soft serve icecream, but it is actually a cupcake. Pretty cool, hey?  This fabulous cupcake was made by Jayne Harrison, and she claims they are easy to make.

How to make icecream cone cupcakes

Use a cake batter of your choice, and pour it into flat-bottomed cones - filling no more than halfway.  Then cook according to your cake recipe or packet instructions.   You may need to keep checking the cakes with a skewer to ensure the cake batter is cooked through until you’ve worked out the perfect cooking time (afterall, it will depend on the size of the cones you use).  When the cake is cooled, trim any excess (you can see she has scooped a little of the cake out before adding the icing), then pipe vanilla buttercream on top, and then push a Cadbury flake into the icing.  No more effort than normal cupcakes!

Alternative:  For some extra scrumptiousness, use a bismarck piping nozzle to pipe some jam or chocolate spread into the middle of the cake before icing it.

Here’s an eggscellent idea for adding a little fun at a slumber party breakfast.  Draw silly faces on some eggs with a fine permanent marker.  The kids will get a real giggle when you open up the egg carton and ask them to choose their egg(s) for brekky.  Or let the kids draw on the eggs themselves before you fry them up or boil them (the eggs, that is - not the kids!).

Alternative:

Send kids home from your farm party with a funny faced egg.

Linking to:

Making the World Cuter

The Persimmon Perch

It’s so Very Cheri

The Girl Creative

Blue Cricket Design

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.

These rich chocolate tarts are delicious, and are so easy to make!  Great for a girls’ night in, a tea party, sleepover or a treat for mum on Mother’s Day.  I used Turkish Delight in half of them, and a Bounty bar in the other half, but I think a Peppermint Crisp or Fru Chocs would also be scrumptious.

You will need:

• 400g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 220g of Chocolate Bars of your choice (ie 4 x 55g Turkish Delight chocolate bars), cut into 1cm think slices
• 2/3 cup flaked almonds, toasted
• 12 x 6cm pastry shells

Arrange chocolate bars on base of tart shells.
Put chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on HIGH until smooth (about 1 minute), stirring halfway during cooking.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the tarts, and top with the almonds.
Put in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set.

This is a simple idea for a craft at a sleepover party, and it can double as a party favour.  The raw wooden words are available at craft stores (I got these from Spotlight), and come in a variety of words, including “dream”, “princess” and “diva”. Simply paint in a desired colour with acrylic craft paint. When dry, paint a coat of clear glitter paint on top.

My girls actually painted these themselves to give as birthday presents. We attached a tag that said “Handpainted by (name)”.

These tasty morsels are made from my favourite biscuits - Arnott’s Mint Slices, but you could use any biscuit that tickles your fancy (Not Quite Nigella used Tim Tams, but I think Kingstons or Mandarin Slices would be great also).

Mint slice pops are easy to make.  All you need is:

• 1 packet of Mint Slices (or biscuits of your choice)
• 65 gms light or regular cream cheese
• 125 gms milk or dark chocolate
• Wooden skewers or lollipop sticks

Pop the packet of biscuits and the cream cheese into a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth paste, stopping to scrape, as required. Put the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).  Scoop out some mixture with a small spoon and roll into truffle sized balls between your palms.  Insert a skewer into the base of the pop, and freeze them for a bit.  Melt the chocolate and dip each ball into it.  Stand them in a glass or florist’s foam, decorate with sprinkles and then leave them to set.

Here’s a “grape’ idea for a refreshing party treat on a hot day, or even a fun treat at a sleepover.  Frozen grapes are crunchy, sweet and somewhat addictive!  They do thaw quickly, but they’ll still be good.  To make frozen grape pops, you will need:

• Skewers
• Approximately 7 grapes per skewer (you may need more or less depending on the size of the grapes)
• Freezer safe bag

Wash and dry the grapes, then thread the ‘hole’ end of each grape onto a skewer.  Place the skewered grapes into the freezer safe  bag, then pop into the freezer for a couple of hours.  Frozen grapes will last between 2-4 weeks in the freezer - it depends on how fresh they are when you buy them.

To serve, place on a platter, or push the skewers into an upturned basket, a piece of foam, or into a container filled with decorator’s stone (or rice or sugar).

TIP:  You can remove the sharp point from skewers with a pair of toenail clippers.

NOTE:  Frozen grapes could be a choking hazard for younger kids.  You can let the grapes soften a little before eating.

These chocolate moustaches are a lot of fun for a pirate party, secret agent party or “My Little Man” party - and are even a good giggle at a sleepover.  It is possible to purchase a chocolate moustache mould in some countries, but if you are like me and can’t get hold of one, don’t despair - they are easy to make without the mould.

How to make chocolate moustaches on sticks

You will need:

• chocolate buds or pieces
• zip-lock bag
• baking paper
• skewers (cut in half) or lollipop sticks

Print out the chocolate moustache template and place a sheet of baking paper over it (or laminate it so you can re-use it).

Put the chocolate in a zip lock bag and melt it in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Cut a small corner off the bag and pipe over the moustache outline with the chocolate, then fill it in with more chocolate.   Place the skewer or lollipop stick in the middle of the moustache and pipe a little more chocolate over the stick.   To make the appearance of whiskers, use a fork to “brush” the chocolate.  Store them in an airtight container.

They also make great party favours - simply place in a cellophane bag and tie with a nice ribbon.