My Party File - blog

Posts Tagged ‘tea party’

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.

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.

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.

This icecream is guaranteed not to melt, and the kids will find surprises hidden in the cone.    To make them, simply fill a cone with small lollies, trinkets and/or a message, place a little melted chocolate around the rim of the cone, then press a meringue (or large marshmallow) on top.  To make a double scoop, put one meringue upside down into the cone, spread a little melted chocolate onto the base of another meringue, then place that meringue on top.   Serve them up at your party, or send them home in a cellophane bag as a party favour.

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 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

No baking is required and you can prepare these biscuit pops weeks ahead - just store in an airtight container.  To make biscuit pops, buy a packet of jam or cream filled biscuits (I used Griffin’s Cookie Bear Shrewsbury biscuits).  Gently push a skewer through the filling until it is secure.  Tie a piece of ribbon underneath the biscuit, then place into a container that has been filled with decorator’s stone (or rice or sugar).  These are so easy that young kids can help prepare them.

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!).