Party Food – Chewy Choc Chip Cookies
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This recipe has been taken from Meals and More. Pop over there to see some more delicious recipes, especially the lemon meringue sponge.
These biscuits are delicious to eat any time but they are especially great for a party. Kids love them. Even better – they are chewy so they keep the kids busy for a while. It’s a lull in the noise level!
Preparation Time 15 minutes Cooking Time 10 minutes
Tools
Baking Tray
The Chefs Toolbox Baking Sheet
Ingredients
150g Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1 Egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups Self Raising Flour
1 cup Chocolate Chips
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C.
Cream butter and sugar until pale in colour.
Add egg, beat well.
Add flour and then chocolate chips, mix well.
Place heaped teaspoonsful (or 1 cookie dough scoop) of mixture onto baking sheet, allowing room for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Stand for ten minutes before removing from tray.
For crunchy cookies use 1 cup Self Raising Flour and 1/2 cup Plain Flour and cook at 180º.
Make Your Own Party Hats
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Making your own party hats (like the ones pictured on the left from Martha Stewart) is a great way for your child to be involved in the organisation of their own birthday party, or you could include it as an activity for all the party guests to participate in.
What you’ll need:
- Card – A4 sheets of 200gsm card are great
- Scissors
- Ribbon, crepe paper, streamers, stickers
- String or hat elastic
- Good sticky tape or stapler
- Craft glue
Draw a template onto each piece of paper (you can find one here).
Depending on the age of the kids, you might like to cut the template out for them, or have the children do their own.
Assemble the hat, fitting the tab into the slot and securing it with sticky tape or staples. On either side, make a small hole with the end of the scissors, or a hole punch and tie the string/hat elastic to either side, creating a strap to secure the hat under the chin.
Spread the ribbon, crepe paper, streamers, stickers and any other decorations and adornments you like (beads, buttons, glitter) on the table and encourage their children to design and create their own party hats.
It makes a fun activity for any party and the guests can take home a memorable item that they created themselves.
To remind them whose party it was, you can even provide each child with a small photo of the birthday child that they can include on their party hat.
Sweet Gifts For Under $10
By · CommentsThis week we have spotted some bargains at Rainbow Designs that we have to share with you because they are unbelievable value.
These gifts are all priced at $10 and include gift tag and delivery Australia wide!
- Little Princess: The gift pack includes an 18cm princess ballerina doll and a 60gm Freckleberry ‘Sweet Little Princess’ Chocolate.
- Snakes Alive: Who wouldn’t like 400gm of delicious Allens Snakes? Blue, red, green, orange and yellow – they’re all there! They are all packed in a glossy white noodle box for beautiful presentation.
- Baby Love: A blue or pink 20cm teddy bear with either ‘baby girl’ or ‘baby boy’ embroidered on the paws and 150g of Freckleberry Chocolate Freckles would be a lovely gift baby shower for the mum-to-be. It’s something for bubs and a little treat for her. All you need now are the invitations and we’ve got those covered.
These gifts are weekly specials so if you want them, you had better get shopping quickly. Remember to check back often because of course the specials alter each week.
So now you have the gifts, all you need is a party to go to!
How A Balloon Is Made
By · CommentsEver wondered how a balloon is actually made? Those bright colourful things we have at parties, use as decorations or bend and tie into different shapes go through quite a lot of steps when they are made.
Did you know they go through a treatment process to ensure people with latex allergies will not be affected? Did you know that balloons come in 53 different shades?
Have a look at this clip from the Science and Discovery Channel and see just what steps they go through in the manufacturing process. It’s fascinating.
Be The Star Of The Party
By · CommentsComing up with entertainment ideas for children’s parties is not easy, especially if you’re looking for something that is not too expensive.
Have you ever thought about becoming the entertainer?
With a few simple magic tricks you can keep a group of children enthralled for ages. We found these clips which will teach you a couple of simple magic card tricks to start off with. After a little practice you will be as good as the magician in the clips.
Oh, by the way, we followed the link to his website and found that he offers a free 17-Part Magic Course by email. We don’t know what it’s like but if you like the idea of becoming a magician it might be a great place to start.
Here you go. Get started.
The New Trend Of Smash Cakes
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Smash cakes are a relatively new trend to add that extra dimension to a party. A smash cake is a special cake baked especially for your child for their first birthday although it can be used for any celebration.
The fun part is that your child gets to smash up a cake, make a real mess and get covered in cake. After all, a one year old will do that with the real cake if you let him! At the same time it provides a great opportunity to take lots of fun photographs so the memories last forever.
For any smash cake celebration you should have two cakes of which the main one is the better cake that everyone can share and the other is the smash cake for total destruction! Often the smash cake is smaller and made from more basic ingredients as it needs to be easy to mess up and destroy.
For any smash cake celebration, be prepared for a mess that may go on clothes, the tablecloth, the floor and even other party guests. The smash cake should also have brightly coloured icing, lollies and/or other coatings that are safe as they will make better photographs.
The popularity of the smash cake trend has meant that they are used in other celebrations including weddings – but make sure all people are willing participants. Not everyone has the one year old’s joy in a beautiful mess.
Candles For Birthday Cakes
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Looking for the extra bit of bling to add to your cake? Candles can add that special finishing touch to any cake as they can be based on a theme as well as add a flash of colour. Have a look at the following as we have a huge range to choose from:
- Princess Candles: These handmade candles contain 8 pink letters that spell out Princess and 2 white hearts.
- Car Driver Candle Set: This brightly coloured set of candles comes with 3 drivers and 2 race cars.
- Dinosaur Candle Set: These candles are made up of 3 little dinosaurs and 2 volcanos.
- Pirate Candle Set: These candles are great for a pirate theme party and includes 3 pirates and 2 treasure chests.
- Mermaid Candle Set: This set of candles comes with 3 adorable mermaids and 2 fish.
- Space Candle Set: These candles come with 3 astronauts and 2 stars with Happy Birthday written in wax.
- Builder Candles: For that budding handyman this candle set includes 3 construction workers and 2 stars with Happy Birthday written in wax.
All these candles are slow burning and will last for many relights. Check out our Cake Bling section for other great ideas.
Party Games Using Music
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A fantastic way to keep kids entertained and add an extra dimension of fun is to get them playing some games using music. Here are some classic games and simple ideas that are sure to burn the energy of the most active bunch of kids.
- Musical Statues: Everyone moves and dances while the music plays but when the music stops they must keep as still as possible - any one caught moving will be “out”. Judges may need a bit of discretion but they can pull funny faces to make the kids laugh. The last one standing wins the prize.
- Musical Chairs: Play music while the kids circle the chairs and then when the music stops everyone scrambles for their chair. The kid who misses out on getting chair is “out”. Remove one of the chairs and repeat the process. It is always good fun and it can be a bit boisterous so make sure nothing of valuable is in the area.
- Pass the Parcel: Wrap up a present with lots of layers of paper and then pass around the group of kids. When the music stops, the kid holding the parcel unwraps a layer from the parcel. Continue the process until the last layer is unwrapped with that kid winning the prize.
- Pass the Bomb: All the kids sit in a circle and pass an object around; ideally something that looks like a bomb but could be anything. The kids holding the object when the music stops is “out”. As each kid leaves the game, make the circle smaller and repeat the process.
All these games can be played both inside and outside and to add that extra dimension you can use lights and create a really great atmosphere. The great thing with these games is that they are interactive, they add an exciting dimension to the party plus they are just great fun for the kids to play.
Great Places For Toy Shopping
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Looking for that ideal gift for the upcoming party can sometimes be hard, time consuming and costly. Here are some great stores that I recommend to make this task a whole lot easier. They stock quality toys and their service is excellent. Each store specialises in a different area and they are experts in their fields.
- Shop 4 Toys: They provide a huge range of age appropriate toys that are great fun, educational and get the brain working. Toys range from arts and crafts through to science kits as well as games. For each toy purchased they provide a free birthday gift wrap and handwritten card. Shop4Toys specialises in gifts for children who might not be geographically close which can make it difficult to know what to choose. Shop4Toys will help you work it out.
- The Toy Bug: The owner of the Toy Bug has a son diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the idea for the store came about by looking for toys that gain a child’s attention, are interactive as well as being great fun. The toys are chosen to help children learn while they play. There are toys that help with sensory issues as well as social skills. The range of choice is huge.
- Bunyip Toys: This store stocks a wide range of toys from many different suppliers and has the largest range of Playmobil toys in Australia. You won’t find licensed or screen based toys here. Bunyip Toys like to encourage unstructured play that is not influenced by advertising or TV shows. They choose toys which allow your child to use their imagination and develop their creative spirit.
As an alternative to buying an individual game or toy we can help you construct a fantastic loot bag that is full of fun games, toys and other goodies that adds that extra bit of variety for any party. You can select your theme from a wide range suitable for all ages. When your child prefers lots of things instead of one big gift, a loot gift is perfect.
No matter what your child loves to do, there is a toy that will make it fun and special for them.
Cake Pops for Easter?
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Cake Pops are a party must have at the moment. They look fantastic but can take a lot of work to decorate and present properly.
The Cake Pops were invented by Bakerella (Angie Dudley) whose invention was so popular that she was featured on the Martha Stewart show. Cake Pop mania took over the world after that.
You can see why they are so popular but there is a certain level of skill needed in making and decorating them.
As shown on the left, this is an Easter egg cake pop and if you’d like to have a go at making it, this article at Kentucky.com will tell you step by step how to create one.
If you still need inspiration, have a look at these glorious and delicious creations by Bakerella.
They are little works of art on a stick and look almost too good to eat.
You still have time before Easter to get into the kitchen and become creative.
Then, when you’ve got icing everywhere and bits of cake crumbled all over the floor, you’ll know who is responsible for it all.
That Bakerella woman has a lot to answer for.
