Tuesday 10 September 2013

On turning 4

Over the weekend, my youngest daughter celebrated her 4th birthday with her kindy friends. She wanted a Rainbow Princess Bubble Guppies theme, which basically regressed to a rainbow theme with some token bubbles being blown on the deck as my plan to set some fish-shaped jube lollies in jelly went awry when they dissolved while setting overnight *facepalm*. Chemistry was not a strength of mine at school. Aimee didn't seem to notice the distinct lack of Bubble Guppies on the day, although one did feature on her invitation. Bubble Guppies theme - check.


I didn't spend too much time decorating or baking (or weed-eating) for this party - I have learnt that children don't actually notice these things as much as the parents. The sun shone for the day so we were able to line our footpath with plastic windmills.


It took me an hour to cut and hang up the plastic tablecloths on the ceiling. That was effort enough. Rainbow theme - check.


The idea for the tablecloth streamers came from Pinterest. It's quite a cost-effective idea that gives maximum effect.

Now, don't laugh at my cake. It tasted better than it looked. The turrets were very easy to make, they are waffle cones rolled in melted chocolate and then dunked in sprinkles.  Princess theme - check.


But enough of the cake, what do you think of my pom pom flowers?

In the corner of the room, we set up a little nail salon with an assortment of nail polish. Sienna took control of this space and enjoyed being a nail technician for the duration of the party.

The party guests played pass the parcel, pin the pot of gold on the rainbow and musical statues. I attempted a craft activity for the first time and made some rainbow wands. Here is another example of pin-tastic images versus the reality:
Even inanimate objects look better with photoshop and a gentle breeze.
My hot glue gun ran out of glue, and then when I went to replace the staples in the stapler for Plan B, the staples were the wrong size.  I was contemplating resorting to hand sewing the clouds closed when one of the mothers at the party saved the day and ran back to her house to fetch her own hot glue gun. Hurray for crafty mums who live close by.

I just had to include this photo that her grandfather edited and sent me - I know, right? It's Aimee. In a bottle. Thanks Grandpa.

"Nobody puts Aimee in a bottle" - Patrick Swayze.*
Happy Birthday to my vivacious Aimee. A rainbow party theme was perfect for you, it suits your personality. After storms have passed, you shine and brighten the world.

* Possible misquote.

19 comments:

  1. Well that sure seems like a lot of theme to include, but it looks as though you hit the mark on all of it. Happy birthday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amy, thanks for your message. I just had a look at your blog, the dining hall in your recent post is very impressive.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for visiting me Leanne, hope to see you again!

      Delete
  2. Love the windmills along the path and the tablecloth streamers, perfect decorations for such an event. Totally agree that no one seems to notice excessive decorating and baking... except the person who took the time to do it. Bravo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alicia, Coin Save was the decoration supplier of choice for this party.

      Delete
  3. Looks like a wonderful party! Loving your pom pom flowers - how cute are they! Actually they could almost be magic wands too :) Gotta love a rainbow theme. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen some pompom flowers in stores and thought they looked pretty cool. My husband doesn't like them though, so at least at get to have some in the house to keep the festive feeling going as long as possible. They could have doubled up as wands if I had chosen stronger sticks (these were just dead hydrangea stalks, so they were very fragile). Hope all is as well as can be in the BigLittle house.

      Delete
  4. Cool party - we still haven't done the rainbow theme yet, hoping to convince Ellie next birthday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sara, if you want Aimee's rainbow dress let me know. I'm looking for an excuse to get it out of this house FOREVER. I will never understand little girls' dress sense.

      Delete
  5. A perfect party! Love the cake..to a four year old it is the only way a princess castle could possibly look!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why thank you! Aimee said 'Wow' when she saw it and that's all the validation that is needed.

      Delete
  6. Go you with the ceiling decorations! I wasn't nearly brave enough! It looks fab and I am sure she relished every single minute! Rainbow themes are just great and so happy. Well done you, and happy birthday Aimee! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If my other two are anything to go by, being 4 is such a lovely age. I hope it holds true for Aimee too. Thanks for the birthday wishes.

      Delete
  7. love me a good rainbow party and yours looked like fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It looks like no-one was there! Apart from Aimee. In a bottle. I took a few photos of the party guests, but for privacy reasons, I could not include them. They all did have a nice time, thanks!

      Delete
  8. You did ten times better than I!....I only got as far as the cake....and the night before when I went to blow up the girly coloured balloons I was saving for that night ( so they wake up to a room full of balloons ) had been raided at some point by the boys....so one pink balloon it was. Though she wasn't bothered one iota!
    Also looks like you and I were in the hospital around the same time 4 years ago :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I did notice that on your blog that we have girls around the same age :). I think you did a great job on your cake, in fact, I am coming over to your blog right now and telling you.

      Delete
  9. Fantastic looking party that ticked all the boxes! And I love that last pic - it's so unusual yet beautiful too xx

    ReplyDelete

I love that you take the time to comment. Except for spam, not loving that. I no longer allow comments from anonymous users for that reason.