Simple things to do to make someone feel special on their birthday.
Busy, Busy, Busy
Tamsin: Life has been hectic and most of my spare time has been taken up with sorting out various birthdays and parties so I thought this week's blog could just be a peek at one of the results of my labours. I found a wire cup cake holder at Lakeland and created this for Carla's chocolate birthday party.
|
 |
|
Red and White Party Cake
This red, slightly chocolately-flavoured sponge is a great novelty cake for children's parties – you can make it into a fire engine, Spiderman or sports cake, or decorate with buttercream as a red and white celebration for St George's Day.
|
 |
|
Old-fashioned Crêpe Paper Chains
I remember making these as a kid; it took ages but there was a real buzz of achievement once we’d criss-crossed the long chains over the rafters. Today they look as quaint and festive as ever and make a great Christmas project for the family to do together.
|
 |
|
Funky Bookmarks
You can never have too many bookmarks, and they make the easiest, most personal Christmas gifts. We use thick artist's card to make them look posh but as a young child, Tamsin used to make the Simplest Bookmark Ever from ordinary white envelopes…
|
 |
|
Twirl the Trencher
A simple old-fashioned children's game that was traditionally played on Christmas Day.
|
|
|
Wolf Hunt Raisin
An exhilaratingly daft game - an edible treasure hunt with a twist.
|
 |
|
Keep On
A vocal version of hot/cold where you sing along to keep the action moving.
|
|
|
Up Jenkins!
A good-value traditional game which provokes sheer laugh-out-loud hilarity.
|
|
|
Apple Bobbing and Sweet Dunking
A double whammy of sticky messiness: children get their faces wet apple bobbing, then turn into white-faced banshees when they dip into a pile of flour to dig out their sweet treat.
|
 |
|
Face To Face
A Hallowe’en or party game that provokes massive giggling and is much harder than it looks. If you don’t want to use apples (which get bruised when you drop them) you can play with a small ball instead.
|
 |
|
Gaia’s Courgette Birthday Cake
Jane: It was my niece Gaia’s 5th birthday and her mum, my sister Joanne, decided to make a tempting but healthy batch cake for the party. That meant introducing one of the mandatory five-a-day veggies (though a dietician I recently talked to suggested nine a day was more like it) into the cake. Carrots were out (five-year-olds can spot them a mile off), so Jo thought to tap into the latest craze – courgette cake. Subtle, green and mysterious.
|
 |
|
Decorate a Birthday Chair
You can do this with streamers, balloons (helium ones work well), crêpe paper, printed shapes from the computer, colourful pipe cleaners or ribbons. It looks fabulous and makes the birthday person feel special for a week or so!
|
 |
|
Birthday Board
You've probably taken photographs of your children blowing out candles on their birthday since the age of one. Dig them out - you'll need them to make this birthday board.
|
 |
|
