Trains in the Park Party

I have a gorgeous guest today…

Hi, I am B from BBeingCool… CraftyMummy is one of my peeps and has kindly allowed me to share some birthday party ideas with you…

BabyCool turned one a few weeks ago. After having had two girls, it was so much fun to plan a boy’s birthday party. I was excited! Now, I don’t mind spending money on birthday parties, but, I wanted to do something special that didn’t cost a whole lot, he was only turning one after all! And we all know that one year old birthday parties are really for the mummies family and friends.

Theme: I decided on a train theme. We have a beautiful park in our town that has a great playground with a  train in it. Perfect. With Spring in the air, a party in the park sounded heavenly.

Menu: Being in the park, everything had to be easy to transport and easy to eat. Along side LOTS of cheezles, lollies, chips and dip, I made a few slices. I made a Mars Bar Brownie, Coconut and Lemon Slice, a cheesecake slice and caramel popcorn. It was so much fun and so EASY to prepare everything in advance and just open the Tupperware when we got to the park.

Decorations: Given we were having the party in a park, I knew I would have to keep decorations really simple. I ordered some helium balloons in yellow, blue and green which I had mentioned on the invitations as a marker for our party. Then I made a train. Yes, I made a train. More on that later.

Cake:  I had seen a post written by FatMumSlim a while ago about making cakes in jars. I thought it was such a cute idea. So I saved up a whole lot of baby food jars. I used the recipe FatMumSlim recommended {Donna Hay Patty Cakes} and followed the instructions. I then topped the cakes with either blue or white icing, popped the lids and on covered them with blue and white spotted fabric. Once they were stacked into the caboose of the train, they looked adorable! And so easy to transport! Just remember to pack good quality plastic spoons to eat them with!

Party Bags: I am not a big fan of the party bag. I think that children eat enough sugar and fat and colouring AT the party, so why send more home? But, it is expected and it is fun to hand out. I decided to make gingerbread biscuits, cut out with a train cookie cutter. This was all I was going to put into the party bags. But, the night before the party when I was bagging up the trains, the two men in my house {Mr Cool and a friend of ours} thought that to put no lollies in the bags was ridiculous – so they loaded the bags up with the gingerbread, lollypops and other treats.

Making trains:I am a big Aldi shopper, a few weeks before the party I decided to start collecting a few boxes for my train idea. In one shopping trip I came home with more than enough boxes to make a train and three cabooses. I was pretty chuffed.

I wrapped the boxes in brown paper and used snippets of scrapbooking paper in co-ordinating spots, checks and stripes to add detail.

The plan was that one caboose would hold the cake, the next the party bags and the last one bags of caramel popcorn. It looked so cool – don’t you think?

It was a great party. Really relaxed, I think CraftyMummy and I managed a little chat on a picnic rug! The kids had a ball in the playground and the grown ups seemed to enjoy coffee and treats. BabyCool crawled everywhere and loved playing with some new toys. I will definitely do something like this again for the girls.

Tips for having a great party at the park:

• Do something that sets the party apart, the train I made was a big hit and was a bit of a talking point – and it was very cute to boot!
• Bring garbage bags for rubbish.
• Bring nice teas and coffees, milk and sugar and disposable cups – also check whether the park has a powerpoint for a kettle or bring thermoses {I am saying this in retrospect – we didn’t think about the hot water until the day!}.
• Limit how much you have to unpack at the park – bring things already in containers, like chips and slices etc. It makes it so easy not having to worry about packets blowing away.
• At the end of the party, throw out any food that has had flies sitting on it or sticky little fingers digging in it. You don’t need to bring home the germs!

But, remember – it is the people that count! If you invite cool and groovy friends and family, it will be a great party no matter what! Isn’t that right CraftyMummy and Anna?

{Thanks, B! You knew I wouldn’t be able to take out that cheeky picture of me, didn’t you!?}

Really, B is one of my most special friends and she is far more crafty than she thinks she is. Her other gift, however, is writing. When I read her writing, I feel like I’m in the room with her, and I love that she can make me feel that. Her blog is filled with funny stories, easy recipes and cool tips. You can read about her marriage to Mr Cool, what to wear to a Waikiki party, and how to bake risotto. Pop over and visit her and make sure you leave her a hug from me!