My daughter Mia celebrated her 6th birthday earlier this month and the theme she chose was “Dalmation”. She requested that her favorite colour should also feature, so I tried to add the colour where possible, i.e. purple coloured ribbon on the doggy boxes and balloons, purple coloured plastic table cloths for the kiddies table, etc. And there of course had to be purple in the birthday cake!
If hosting a birthday party stresses you out, below are my tips for a stress-free party:
- Check that close friends and family members are available before deciding on a date.
- Choose the time of the party according to your child’s routine, especially if they are still toddlers, or according to factors such as the time of day that there’s shade in your garden, etc.
- Involve the birthday boy or girl in choosing the theme, sweets for party boxes, etc. They love it! Offer a few suggestions for the birthday party theme – to avoid disappointment perhaps write down the options you are prepared to invest your time and money in and then let him/her choose from the list.
- Do as much as possible in advance, e.g. things with intricate detail like personalised invitations, personalising party packs, name cards for games, etc.
- Make and send out invites, whether hand-made, via e-mail or even by sms a few weeks in advance and send a reminder of the party via sms a week or so before the party to confirm the time, address, etc.
- Keep a register of who was invited, who RSVP’d etc. Ask for the correct spelling of names if you plan to personalise party favours, etc.
- Start collecting party paraphernalia and sweets a couple of weeks prior to the big day and store it all in a specific place, e.g. a large box or plastic container so it’s easy to access when needed.
- If you are doing the catering yourself, plan the party food for both the adults and the kids in advance and try to make most of it in advance if possible. Keep the party food offerings for the kids simple and choose familiar snacks like hot dogs or pizza and turn it into special party food by using your imagination! I bought a doggy shaped cookie cutter which I planned to use for Dalmation Coconut-Ice, but I hid it so well from my daughter that I could not find it and consequently couldn’t make it! I am still looking for it! See my recipes for “all-in-one hot dogs” and “Chocolate Chip Coconut-Ice in my December Recipes. For the adult food, be sure to have a selection of sweet and savoury options. The amount of food will be determined by the time of day. I tend to go easy on the sweet options, because I want the adults to help eat the birthday cake!
- Plan the games that are going to be played at the party beforehand and buy and wrap small gifts for the winners. Take into account the age on the birthday girl or boy for most games, but don’t forget to also cater for younger or older children. Old-fashioned party games such as “pin the tail on the donkey” and “musical chairs” are always popular. I came up with a similar game called “pin the tag on the dog” (see photo below). I simply bought a Dalmation-themed 2013 calendar, picked a suitable photo and got it enlarged and laminated. I cut bone shapes out of cardboard and wrote the children’s names on it. Each child was blindfolded and given a chance to pin their own name on the dalmation’s collar. The child who pinned their name closest to the right spot, received a prize. Older kids might find more challenging games like a treasure hunt or an egg race more interesting. Simple arts and crafts activities such as sand art is popular with girls. If the weather permits, a jumping castle slide is always great fun! I use baby shampoo instead of dish washing liquid to make the slide slippery and bubbly.
- I prefer to use the party packs as part of my table decorations instead of sending it home with the guests. It can be filled with sweets & snacks only or you can include a small toy in the theme of the party.
- On the day of the party – delegate, delegate, delegate! Ask young and old, whether it is a member of the family or close friends, to arrive an hour or two before the other guests to help with completing small last minute tasks, like blowing up balloons, etc. It is also great to have a domestic worker present who can clear away dirty dishes, wash up urgent dishes, etc.
- Let the birthday boy or girl or greet guests when they arrive.
- Decide on a specific place, i.e. hallway table for the gifts. An large plastic chest also works well!
- An easy way to keep track of who gave which gift is to take a photo of the gift and the card or name tag. No card or name tag, no thank you!
- I like to send a “thank you” sms to each of the guests within 24 hours after the party.
I managed to find party paraphernalia in the Dalmation theme at the following stores in the Randburg area:
- white balloons with black paw prints (Parteez & Novelties, Weltevredenpark)
- a paw print stamp as well as a doggy stamp which I used to decorate the doggy boxes (Showbiz, Cresta)
- dog cookie cutter (Linda’s Bake & Pack, Melville)
- dalmation-themed beach balls (West Pack, Boskruin)
- dalmation soft toy (Reggies, Cresta)
- purple coloured plastic table cloths (West Pack, Boskruin)
- small cake boxes (West Pack, Boskruin)
- black & white polka dot wrapping paper (CNA, Cresta) – I could not find wrapping paper with paw prints anywhere!
- purple coloured ribbon (Checkers, Northcliff)
- bone-shaped sweets (West Pack, Boskruin) – I used the white ones for the party and kept the red ones for another occasion!
- dalmation meringues (Crafters & Cravings, Linden)
- white mini marshmallows (Checkers, Northcliff)
A big thanks to Mareli for the beautiful and delicious birthday cake and Wynandt for the fantastic photo’s!
| Artsy Fartsy Cakes & Edible Crafts | Kleinspan Kiekies | |
| Mareli Erasmus | Wynandt Verster | |
| 083 357 0959 | 082 361 4653 | |
| mareli@artsyfartsy.co.za | wynandtv@gmail.com | |
| www.artsyfartsy.co.za |
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