Archive for General News
Helping you find information
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve had a lot of information coming through our blog so we thought we should do a summary post to help you find things. We have listed our recipes, kids games and informative articles in the one spot. We hope this is useful.
Recipes
Perfect Pineapple Pops (food allergies)
Party Games
Articles
How to Write a Birthday Party Invitation
Making your Party Eco-Stunning
Creative Food for Baby Showers
Posted by: | CommentsI have been looking at decorating ideas for baby showers and I found this great tutorial on how to make a baby carriage/pram out of a watermelon.
The video shows you step by step how to do it and the end result looks colourful and healthy. I thought it might appeal to you.
Treasure Hunt with Shopolat
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This week we have joined in with the Treasure Hunt being run by Shopolat. It’s the first hunt The Spotty Napkin has been part of and it has been great fun.
Have you joined in? It isn’t too late to join. The Hunt officially started on 1 August but it doesn’t end until tonight.
All you have to do is to go and register then follow the clues. Here is a link to some FAQ about the Hunt and how it works. There are some great prizes up for grabs!
I hope to see you online today as you pass through on the Treasure Hunt. Good luck!
Do you send thank-you notes?
Posted by: | CommentsRecently I went to a child’s birthday party. She was turning 3 so you can imagine the number of toddlers we had to navigate around! We chose a gift that we thought she and her parents would appreciate and they seemed to like it. The day went loudly but well.
A week or so later we received a thank you note in the mail, telling us how much they appreciated our gift. This is when my sense of guilt began to kick in.
Do you send thank-you notes to everyone who gives your child a gift at his or her party? I did some research into kids party etiquette and it seems as though we should always send a thank you note. I don’t know about you but I didn’t seem to have time to do this. If I could shoot off an email I might have more luck, but to sit down and write a thank-you note to everyone who came to my child’s party would take me a long time to do. Imagine trying to think up the wording for each note just so you show that you know which was their gift?
I don’t have toddlers anymore so my kids can take care of their own notes. I would like to know your thoughts. Do you send thank-you notes? Do you get thank-you notes in response to the gifts you have given?
Spoilt kids?
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A recent article in the Herald Sun says that children are being spoilt with too many toys. It quotes psychologists as saying that we are breeding a nation full of kids who expect handouts.
“They say the mountain of toys can stifle creativity and lead to children missing out on learning important values.” The paper goes on to say that we are teaching our kids to work only for reward rather than personal achievement or satisfaction.
What do you think? Are we breeding a nation of people who expect a reward for everything they do? How will your kids behave as adults? Do you think we need to change the way we are raising our children?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
The Baby Shower
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Pregnancy is something worth celebrating. The joy and wonder of bringing a new life into the world is something that is unmatched.
Part of the fun as the birth approaches, is the baby shower.
If you haven’t been to a baby shower you can imagine how much fun they can be. Picture a bunch of women giggling together and playing with baby products while they cluck over the beautiful belly of the mum-t0-be.
Are you in charge of organising a baby shower? We carry a select range of baby shower invitations and they are all currently on sale. Isn’t that good timing? We even have some pretty wrapping paper and baby shower sprinkles for decoration.
Enjoy the baby shower!
Kids Dance Party!
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Music is an essential part of any party but it is really important at a kids party. There is nothing like a boppy bit of music to get kids into a party mood. Young kids love to jump and dance around to music and that becomes quite fun party game, too. But where do you get kids music from? No one wants to go out and buy a CD full of kids songs just for one event, do they?
Do you have an mp3 player? If you don’t I am sure one of the kids wll! Why not download some music?
Free Kids Music is a handy site for times like this. You can download a range of kids songs that will make any party into a fun dance party. The songs are suitable for preschoolers, too.
The songs that are available change on a regular basis. They are released to the site as promotion for the musicians and are available for your personal use.
All you need to do is to save them to your system and then add them to your mp3 player. Slip the player into a docking station or connect to your portable speakers and you are ready to dance.
Preloved Designer Kidswear
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We know that children grow very quickly, especially throughout the baby and toddler years but isn’t it hard to resist buying new clothes when you see them? Designer clothes wear so well that they last well beyond the time that your child has outgrown them. Now you don’t have to worry about storing them anymore. You can sell them.
Preloved Kidswear is the hub for people selling and buying designer kidswear. The prices are excellent and the clothing is inspected for quality before it is listed.
“Our aim is to bring you the best brands possible at a truly affordable price. Most items will be preloved and in excellent condition, testament to the quality of designer brands and why they are so expensive when brand new. We will also have some popular brands to ensure that we can offer a great mix to suit every budget, some will even be brand new with tags.”
If you need to buy or sell designer kidswear pop on in to Preloved Kidswear and have a look around.
Boowa’s Cake
Posted by: | CommentsI was looking at cake baking recipes this morning and I found this one. So simple even your child can do it.
OK, it is a game, really. When it is birthday time and your child is getting over-excited you can let them decorate a cake for Boowa. It’s all done online. If your child is old enough to be able to click on the mouse then he or she will be easily able to play with this very simple but colourful game.
Perfect for keeping them out of your hair while you decorate the special cake in peace.
Making your party eco-nomical and eco-stunning!
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Biome Eco Stores has put together some great ideas for your next party with and without an eco-price tag!
Firstly, did you know that Latex balloons are made from natural rubber and are readily biodegradable? The Spotty Napkin carries a funky selection of balloons and they are great for decorating with. Just be sure to pop these on your compost as they can still damage animals in and around water until they have a chance to break down.
We have beautiful paper party decoration ideas in store. These are made from FSC certified (read: sustainable) paper, printed with vegie based inks (even the packaging bags are made from biodegradable maize!). For a budget option, get the kids to help you to make similar lanterns and boats from magazines.
Another fun idea to get kids involved (for those old enough to use a needle) is to make popcorn garlands. All you need is some cotton, a needle and some freshly popped popcorn! The popcorn easily stays on, and any casualties can by gobbled up by your helpers. These are great for Christmas trees but you could also decorate parties at other times of the year.
Whether casual or formal, biodegradable plates and utensils are always a winner. To save money you can experiment with newspaper lined with brown paper. You could make cute cones stuffed with lollies, or get creative and make little bowls with origami (just make sure your paper is food safe and biodegradable). Follow this link to find out how to make an origami bowl.
To add some sparkle for an outdoor party, replace throwaway plastic with these reusable, retro stainless steel cups in a range of colours.
At the party, provide clearly marked bins for people to put bottles and cans for recycling and scraps for composting. Make it fun by placing a bell near the recycling bin – your guests ring it each time they place something in for recycling!”
Enjoy your green party!
