Once you have a room beautifully decorated and you have food all good to go, you need to have a few games to keep your young adventurers occupied for an hour and a half (or two hours, or whatever). We always have parties somewhere with lots of room to run around, or in the woods so there’s plenty to keep the kids busy without the need for magicians or other paid entertainment. That said, we do like having some themed games at our parties, and if you do, here’s a run-down for you:
Whether for Halloween, a fancy dress party or, like we did, a goodie bag for a Narnia party, Peter’s shield as given by Father Christmas adds a nice touch. We made some in silver and some in gold – I only have a gold one left for photos but in the book Peter’s shield was silver.
“These are your presents,” was the answer, “and they are tools not toys. The time to use them is perhaps near at hand. Bear them well.” With these words he handed to Peter a shield and a sword. The shield was the colour of silver and across it there ramped a red lion, as bright as a ripe strawberry at the moment when you pick it. The hilt of the sword was of gold and it had a sheath and a sword belt and everything it needed, and it was just the right size and weight for Peter to use. Peter was silent and solemn as he received these gifts, for he felt they were a very serious kind of present.
Whether you’re having a fully-fledged Narnia party or just reading the book and want to add some 4-D to your reading experience, Lucy’s Fire Flower cordial is pretty to look at but is still safe to be used as ‘drops’ like Lucy does.
Fire-Flowers grew in the mountains and valleys of the Sun. The juice from their berries was used to make the healing cordial given to Lucy by Father Christmas. A single drop would cure almost any illness or wound, even bringing people back from the brink of death. The bottle of the cordial was in what was said to be made of pure diamond.
The theme for this month’s #BostikBloggers is Back to School, which is obviously a bit problematic for us, so we decided to do a Not Back To School craft instead. For this month’s #BostikBloggers we’ve made a Tote Bag with a playful ‘Not Back To School’ checklist, decorated two notebooks and made a pencil holder to sit on our desk. We’ve also made an on-the-go pencil case for when we’re out and about, but I’ll pop that in a different post.
I’m actually really pleased with how this month’s craft worked out, not least because it’s something we’ll actually be able to use over the next few weeks.
I, along with much of the rest of the world, went to see the new Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson on the weekend and I absolutely loved it. I found myself smiling through most of the movie – right up to the mass of villagers and their pitchforks descended on the castle, anyway.
While I think Luke Evans plays dangerous vapid vanity with frighting acuity, Emma Watson absolutely stole the show, as I’m sure she was supposed to, being the lead actress and all. I could honestly not imagine a better actor for the role of Belle, a headstrong, before her time, literate girl from a French village (with an exquisite peasant wardrobe! I’d dress like that all the time, if I could!)
If an actress brings something of herself into a role, Emma Watson is the perfect person for this. Alone up there (if I recall) among the Disney films that look at love as more than a physical attraction based on a your place in society – a beautiful maiden in one or another form of distress, and a prince – and it’s one of the few that place the female lead in the heroine role, so there are many reasons to love this story, original or new.
Something I thoroughly appreciated in the new film, however, was how reminiscent, but better, it was of the original, with similar dream like sequences and choreographies. It harked back to the original so much, yet was so enhanced and just beautiful. Everything about it was beautiful. I walked out of the cinema thoroughly inspired.
I did also walk out thinking that this new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast was going to spark many a Beauty and the Beast birthday party with the crowd that may have outgrown the cartoon version some years before. I know if I was planning a party around now, I’d probably be planning Beauty and the Beast!
So here are some of the best party ideas I’ve found, but I expect there’ll be many new, fresh ideas coming out as the new Beauty and the Beast fanbase grows!
Top 10 Food Ideas
There are some incredible Beauty and the Beast Party Food ideas around, but I don’t know many mamas who have the time, skill or resource to go to the lengths some of the Pinterest mamas do, so here are some of my favourite, I-could-probably-do-that, Beauty and the Beast party food ideas.
One of the joys of having a newborn in the family is that you get to see that little angel grow up right before your very eyes. But many parents secretly wish that their baby won’t grow up too fast. Well, that angelic, innocent-looking face, precious smile, and pink chubby cheeks won’t last forever, but you can capture your baby’s cutest moments and immortalize them through photos.
Whether you do Valentines for the love of your life, or you simply do it for the kids, these little gift boxes are easy to make, and the perfect size for jewellery, cufflinks, or gift vouchers. I make them from half an A4-page. You can also make them bigger, of course.
You can also make them from paper, but they’re obviously not too strong then, or from card. I made this one from corrugated card, which is nice and strong, but the colour doesn’t run all the way through the paper.
Decorative snowflakes using lollipop sticks are just gorgeous, and so very versatile too. There’s no end to what you can do with them to personalise them. You can use coloured lollipop sticks, or normal ones. You can paint them or glitter them. You can make them massive or small (-ish. If you use regular sized lollipop sticks, there’s only so far you can go to make them small!)
I will admit to being pretty proud of this little bit of festive colour. The kids planted the seeds that turned into the plant that I tended and nursed, that turned into the twigs that were used for this craft. Talk about upcycling. Read more: Making Festive Twigs And Twines
My head may still be spinning about the fact that my little girl turned five this weekend. I can still remember her as a newborn in my arms, the feeling of looking in her eyes the first time. Ah, the memories.
Despite my violent protestations that my girls would never be into princesses, it seems the princesses found them, even though we don’t own a single princess movie! So when Ameli asked me months ago if we could have a princess party, I had to put my personal feelings on the matter aside and decide to just let her be five.
Our party this year was small – the smallest we’ve ever had – both because I decided she was old enough to select her own guests.
One of the first things we did was to make these ‘Beauty and the beast floating rose’ table decorations – slash – thank you gifts. I must say, I am so pleased with how they turned out!
Cut a strip of double sided tape, and stick it inside the lid of the bottle. Make sure to leave enough room to peel off the other side then fold the end of the rose – the stem – so that you have enough surface contact with the tape.
Pour a small amount – a teaspoon or so – of the gold glitter into the bottle. You want to use the fine glitter, so that it sticks to the inside of the bottle and is light and magical. Large glitter obstructs more of the rose than fine glitter does.
Gently put the rose through the opening, and close the lid. Shake the bottle around gently to spread the glitter around.
If you’re putting thank you tags on, attach them to the lid and you’re done.
I think these are gorgeous, and are a magical touch to your party decor for very little effort indeed!
