DIY Party Planning

I really do love to entertain and once I have a theme my obsession starts.

Here are a few things I put together for little Possum's 1st birthday. 

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Now I've already done a tutorial on how to make the pink shaded birthday cake.
If you would like to see it then scroll down below this post. 

FRUITY PUNCH

Fruit punch is always a hit and so I find myself bringing it out at all my parties. You can of course make it alcoholic or non-alcoholic. I personally tend to make it non-alcoholic and people often appreciate an alternative to soft drink or water AND kids can have it too! 

The recipe is very flexible and whatever you do you can't go too wrong.

This punch has pineapple, cranberry juice, orange juice, lemonade, variety of cut up fruit and roughly chopped mint from the garden.

SIPPY BOTTLES

These bottles I purchased over eBay for not much. When they arrived I realised they were quite small but they actually turned out to be a great size for the straws I purchased to go with them.

Inside the bottles I placed a raspberry and filled with punch.

Everyone loved sipping at these little bottles.

WATER BOTTLES

I purchased 24 water bottles for $8!

I got these from Officeworks, which were great because the original label came off easily and I could replace them with my own decorative ribbon that I purchased from Big W for $2.
Everyone wanted to take one of these home and were joking about using them at the gym.

PARTY COOKIES

These biscuits were introduced to me when one of my students had a birthday and brought them in to share with their peers. I asked the parent for the recipe and she shyly replied it was only a simple recipe from the '4 ingredients' series. "BRILLIANT!"

500g soft butter

5 cups self- raising flour

1 can condensed milk

1 cup of sugar

100s & 1000s

(I usually do these with choc chips instead of the sprinkles)

Makes 75!!! 

FAIRY BREAD

Who doesn't love fairy bread? This plate was gone in seconds and consumed mainly by adults. 

1 loaf of bread

margarine

100's & 1000's

LOLLY BUFFET

People love dipping into big lolly jars. I used mash mellows to hold up these beautiful pin wheels that gave height to my birthday table. Gorgeous. 

STREAMER WALL

Thanks to Deb from 'Learn with Play at Home' for this great idea.

Click here to learn how it's done. I received many comments about this idea.

SAUSAGE ROLLS

For some hot food I made some great sausage rolls. I made more than I thought I'd need but they turned out to be a massive hit with people asking for more! 

Click here to see how I made them. 

GOODIE BAGS

Okay so I'm know to always supply a goodie bag or two. I think it's a great way to end what has been a great day and allows your guest to take something away with them.

It's a nice thank you.

These boxes I got from www.inviteme.com and I included some fresh lollies that were all sealed in a snack zip-lock bag. I decorated them with some string and ribbon and they looked a treat.

BIRDS NESTS

Possum loves birds and so I had to include that somewhere in her party.

Here I used Changy Noodles, melted chocolate and peanut butter (obviously check allergies) and the 'egg' looking lollies came from Happy Lab.

POPCORN BOXES

These were so easy. I just found some cheap muffin cups and filled them with coloured popcorm that was $2 a bag, which I still have left over. 

CUPCAKES

An important party to any young ones birthday party. These were lots of fun to make and decorate. In fact I had a friend help me with the decorating because she is much better at it than me. 

STYLING

 Let's be honest, anything goes and so don't get too worried about it.
I thought it would be a great idea to have the birthday cake in the middle, the drinks at one end and the other party food at the other. 

I decorated the rest of the room with balloons and a large number 1. 

And so that was the party. It was a great day and I'm glad I was able to pull it all together. Sure, it felt like I was planning my wedding all over again but I know my little one had a great day and that's the main thing.

Kate