Lavigne's Tinkerbell and Pirate Party

Before I start on this post, I have to thank Val for she was the reason I changed the party from 4th Oct to 27th Sept. Lavigne's birthday is on 5th Oct so I had planned to have it during that weekend. However, Val will be going away with her family during that time so I brought the party forward by a week. We had such an unsually warm and lovely day. It was perfect for a party and the girls were able to wear their tinkerbell costume without any cardi. A last check showed that this coming Saturday is going to be very cold and cloudy. To Val *muack*!

Remember I mentioned that I'll love to decorate the room with tulle and stuff? Last week while I was doing tidying up at work, there was a whole roll of pink tulle lying on the floor. I asked the leader if I could buy some off her and she asked me to take the whole roll and bring back whatever's unused. I couldn't believe my luck! That roll would cost quite a bit of money. All the decorations for the 'garden theme' in the lounge were recyled. The fairy banner and glittery streamers were used for Louisa's 3rd birthday party. As for the simple 'pirate theme' in the dining room, I made a flag out of a piece of red fabric and stuck on the skeleton head and crossbone printed out on paper. I also didn't spoil the wall surfaces as everything were hung onto the downlights in the ceiling. The deco and party gifts were completed 2 days before the party (one good point of having the party at home). The sugarpaste figurines were done on that same night in order for it to dry in time for the cake decoration the following day. I must say the most tedious part was the cake. I simply am terrible with frosting and this time, using a buttercream recipe (which turned out to be quite yucky), I still couldn't do a decent job. I failed to achieve a smooth finish (my 5th attempt at frosting a cake since 2005). Practice does make perfect. But I didn't want to waste any ingredients and consume extra calories by practising. So it's just a case of 'just do it'! Anyone knows where I can get butter flavouring in UK?

The night before the party, everything was ready except for the food which I started preparing 3 hours before the party. I went to bed at about 11pm, after making Konnyaku jellies, much to the surprise of Adrian since I always worked through the night for previous parties. It was so much easier with fewer kids, plus I didn't DIY many things except for the flag and the pirate sticks on the food. To make my life even easier, I only cooked fried rice, baked chicken wings and made salad. The rest where 'party food' bought from supermarkets which I deep fried or popped into the oven. Most of the stuff were undercooked as I wanted to reheat them before serving.

When I woke up in the morning of the party, it was very foggy. I was like 'oh no!'. Adrian asked me where's the sun? But it soon cleared and got warmer and very sunny. I was able to wear just shorts and a Tshirt.

A few families came from Surrey and they were caught in a traffic jam caused by an accident. Apparently, the accident wasn't even on their side of the road but the opposite. All the drivers slowed down to catch a glimpse of the accident and hence caused a congestion too. One family took 2 hours to arrive. As a result, we couldn't start the party on time. Luckily I planned the face-painting as the first activity. It was my first time doing it and I used the face-paint gifted to me by Mel (thank you!). Being a greenhorn at it, I downloaded pictures from the internet to act as a guide. I was so terrified of making a mess on their faces. But it was still a hit with the girls (all of them were eager to be painted). However, no boys were interested. Good thing Luke came painted as one already. So I did have a pirate at the party afterall!

Due to a late start to the party, we didn't manage to play all the games I had planned such as 'Walk the Plank' and 'Musical Statues'. While the daddies adjourned to the garden to chat, in between drinking beer and eating snacks, the mummies and kiddos stayed indoors while I painted. We did manage to play 'Treasure Hunt' (golden chocolate coins) in the garden. Val kindly took over my job and brought the kids out for the hunt while I heat up the food and set the table. I was fortunate to have many pairs of helping hands. Two of the ladies were heavily pregnant and I had to keep asking them to sit down, it was so funny. Other games we played were 'Musical Islands' and 'Pin the Pirate to the Treasure' (the stickers were so difficult to peel).

The cake which didn't really turn out the way I had wanted it to be.

It must have been the time (close to 7pm) because nearly all the food were finished. That really made me very happy simply because I didn't need to keep any except for a few pieces of jelly, grapes and one piece of wing and rib. One mum even said I had prepared too much food. I was so muddle-headed, I forgot about the mini pizzas sitting in the freezer, didn't bring out the profiteroles until much later and it was only today that I realised I had forgotten to give out the mini Magnums to the children. Duh!

Compared to previous parties, this is by far, in my opinion, the best one. I had invited some close friends and their children over and there wasn't a rush to finish things up even though I have to admit the party ended too late for the children who usually go to bed by 8pm. The kids were able to entertain themselves by going to the girls' room while the parents chatted. It's always mums in one room and dads in another. Hmmm. I didn't even clear the dishes until all the guests had left (almost 10pm). I just sat in the dining room and chatted. Past parties were a mad rush with a strict time-table to follow to because most parents would leave their children at the party and return say 2 hours later. It was just a matter of playing games and making sure the cakes were cut before the parents returned. I didn't have the opportunity to really speak to the parents who stayed. So, this had been a not-too-small-afterall and intimate affair.

By the time I finished clearing up, it was about 11pm. I should have bought some washing-up tablets and just pop everything in the dishwasher. On occasions like this, it's good to use the dishwasher. But there weren't that many things to wash since we used alot of disposables. I. must. make. use. of. the. dishwasher.

*Special thanks to Emily, one of two appointed photographers for the party, who took all the above pictures. Val's the other one, so more pictures to come.