Dora the Explorer Rainbow party for a 3 year old

I realise I haven’t posted in a while – I guess that is what being a mum of a busy toddler plus having a newborn baby will do to you!  Yes, we have a baby in the house, a boy!  So will be sure to add his party plans onto our blog in months to come

Our little girl was SO excited for her birthday this year.  Turning 3 was the first real party where there was much anticipation in the months preceding the event.  She loves Dora the Explorer, a character that until about a year or so ago, I had never heard of!  Dora is a Latino girl seeking out Adventures, solving puzzles, counting, getting through obstacles and unravelling clues as she embarks on her quests.  She has a talking backpack and a friendly monkey named Boots as her companion

Because of the Adventure aspect of this theme, I decided to incorporate an additional theme for the party to make it interesting… that of a RAINBOW. And with the help of Pinterest got loads of ideas!

CAKE

My daughter has realised that a birthday is not a birthday without a cake.  Our fantastic cake maker made a delicious vanilla cake with each tier a different colour of the rainbow.  The decor on the outside had Dora and Boots sliding down a rainbow.  She also made my daughter her very own cupcake with Dora, complete with detail of the backpack on her back!

DECOR

The ceiling was covered in rainbow coloured balloons, it also had the effect of making the ceiling lower and feeling like you were under a rainbow. We hired tables and chairs and I used cheap fabric I had bought at a fabric shop with rainbow coloured polka dots as table cloths.  We hired chair covers in each colour of the rainbow from one of our party suppliers. We bought discounted fabric in each rainbow colour that we draped down the back wall of the entertainment area. The table was covered in a black tablecloth to offset all the rainbow colours and we stuck a huge picture of Dora against the wall.

FOOD

Apart from the amazing rainbow cake, we also had the rest of the food rainbow themed.

The cupcakes also had rainbow sponge with a rainbow ribbon sweet on top.  Fruit platters had rainbow coloured fruit: strawberry, melon,

pineapple, green grapes and purple grapes (blue berries were unfortunately out of stock). Lots of sweet jars on the table had brightly rainbow coloured sweets and marshmallows.  We made rainbow jelly in clear cups which the kids loved.  Also found cute rainbow coloured boxes that we put popcorn in.

ACTIVITY

The main party activity was an Adventure as any good Dora party should have!  And of course an accompanying MAP!  Instead of a backpack, all explorers were issued a bucket and sunglasses. We had “stations” such as a giant shape sorter, a tent filled with newspaper where they had to search for Dora stickers, glow in the dark stars that were hidden in the tree, a chair bridge to cross, a jelly (gelli baff) pool to wade through and a fishing pool to fish out their floating party jars filled with yummy treats.

Great fun was had, and now our little girl is already planning next year’s party!  At the moment it is a Peppa Pig Princess party (note the double theme again!) although anything could change between now and March 2014!

Animal Themed party venues

My little girl is so curious about animals. She loves dogs which she calls Woofies and is so interested in watching the squirrels run across our lawn and the Hadeda’s pulling up worms from the soil, and her favourite probably is finding a spider and watching Daddy try catch it in an icecream tub to take it outside!  It got me thinking about Animal-themed parties for toddlers and what venues and suppliers there are out there catering for this type of theme.

Butterfly World is a lovely unique venue out in the winelands near Klapmuts off the N1. It consists of a tropical garden in a 1000 m2 green house. This little paradise makes the free flying exotic butterflies feel right at home.  They also have other creatures like spiders and reptiles. Butterfly World also offers catered parties costing R65 per child, R45 per adult and R120 for venue hire.  For this fee, each child will receive food and drink, a toy, colouring-in activity and entry into the park, and each adult, tea and coffee and entry into the park. They also can offer catering of cakes and savouries for the adults at an additional cost. (www.butterflyworld.co.za)

Having an Under the Sea theme but don’t want to host at home?  What about going to the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront?  They offer a variety of different party packages to choose from starting at a cost of R125 per child that increases depending on the package chosen.  Some of the things they offer is personalised invitations, entrance to aquarium, party pack, name tags, puppet show, penquin feed, sticker books for each child, themed decor and much more!  One of the things I quite like is that they offer each child a meal like macaroni cheese, fish fingers and chips, burgers or chicken nuggets.  They can also organise catering of themed cakes as well as a photograper if you require. (www.aquarium.co.za)

Instead of going out to see animals, why not bring the animals home?  Furry Feet Parties is a mobile petting zoo that will bring a selection of animals directly to your home.  They have rabbits, hamsters, goats, a sheep, guinea pigs, chickens, rats, dogs and a pony. Starting from R750 to hire a pony for rides, up to R1650 for most animals being brought to your home for an hour at the party, they also can offer extras like face painting and crafts.  (www.furryfeetparties.co.za)

Maybe not real live animals, but Build-a-Bear parties are very popular.  You can decide how much you spend, starting from R89 per child. A party leader guides the kids through each step of the fun-filled bear-making experience. Then, if you choose, your Guests can pawsonalise their new furry friends with hundreds of outfits and accessories. (www.buildabear.co.za)

(all photo’s taken from the websites of each venue)

  

Make way for Noddy – 2 year old party

The big day finally arrived and my little 2 year old was so excited.  She’s known all about parties for a while and particularly that at parties you get juice, cake and chippies!  She is a big fan of Noddy and often sings the Noddy theme tune. We’ve been planning this party for about 3 months and trying to stick to a budget of just over R1000.  Planning a party solely for toddlers was fairly easy as they are easy to please little munchkins.  Here is the run down of all the things we did:

Decor

With the Noddy theme being in primary colours I luckily found a sheet of fabric in these colours with polka dots (R30 from Fabric World)  I thought this was more cost effective than buying the Noddy themed plastic table cloth as it could be reused for other themes at future parties.  Of course we used the Noddy themed tableware of plates, cups and serviettes that we stock in our party business!  One of the Noddy episodes we have on DVD has a big present for Tessie Bear from Noddy, which upon opening, she discovers is a whole lot of helium balloons. So we ordered some balloons in red, yellow and blue from Cardies in Constantia Village that is the cheapest supplier I have found in our area (R7 per balloon)

Activities

I didn’t want to plan too many formal activities as I believe toddlers should play to have fun.  The main activity was finger painting a toyland train that I made.  Making the train took about an afternoon’s work, cutting moving boxes, spray painting and decorating with coloured card.  Probably costing about R80 in total to make and buy the paints.

I also hired a plastic slide and see-saw for the kids to play on.  I made sure they were also in the primary colours that make up the Noddy theme. (instead of hiring you could borrow from a friend or a playschool)

I bought a plastic cup for each child, either red, blue or yellow, and printed and stuck on to it one of the Noddy characters and covered it with self-adhesive book covering plastic so that it would be waterproof.  The plastic cups were only R2 from Plastics from Africa.  I then filled some plastic tubs with water so the kids could splash and play and fill and empty the cups with water. Each child got to take a cup home with them.

Food

For the kiddies, I cut up some fruit that were coloured according to the theme: Red=strawberries, Blue=blueberries, Yellow=pineapple, Green=grapes, and also put some marshmallows and chips on their table.  My mom also made some red and yellow jelly boats for the tots to enjoy! For the adults, I ordered some party platters from Pick “n Pay as well as organised cheese and biscuits.  Also available for all guests were cupcakes that I made with yellow, blue and red icing, and some sweets and chocs and Easter eggs!

Cake

Our preferred cake supplier, Nikki, made a masterpiece of a cake exactly like we had designed in our minds!  Inside it was a delicious carrot cake.  It was a square cake decorated with polka dots like Noddy’s scarf and sitting on top in toyland train carriages filled with smarties was Noddy, Tessie Bear and Mr Plod.  A cake of this type costs anything from R375 up.

Party packs

I used red party boxes for the girls and blue party boxes for the boys.  I stuck a sticker of Noddy with each child’s name onto the front of the box.  The box was lined with yellow and white polka dot paper and I put a tub of play dough and some Noddy bubbles into each party pack.  Each child also got a pack of dried fruit (the healthly treat) and a small box of Smarties (the not so healthy treat!).  I then tied the pack on the handle with a yellow ribbon and put a little Noddy bell on the end.  Each child got this as a gift at the end of the party. (our party business, Party Things Online, puts party packs like this together, costing approximately R35 each filled)

Lots of fun was had by everyone – can’t wait for the next party in 2013 as I’ve already thought up a theme

Toys for little boys

If you are like me and only know about little girls, you may need some ideas on what to buy a little boy for his birthday party.  All these suggestions come for moms with little boys in the 2-4 years old age category who know a thing or two about little boys.

My one friend’s comments on what to buy a little boy is anything with wheels or wings: cars, trucks, helicopters, planes!  A really good option for a toy is the WOW toys range that can be found through selected toy shops or distributors.  There is a large range of different kinds of toys for both boys and girls that are an affordable option for good quality toys.  They cost anything from R180 upward (These can be bought through Party Things Online who are agents for www.kidzonly.co.za)

Staying with this theme, there is a lovely range of Caterpillar construction vehicles at Toys ‘R Us costing from R99 up.  Some even have cool sound effects the boys will love!

I think that every dad who has a little boy, can’t wait to buy his son his first train set – probably so that he can play it as well!!  A really cute one available at Reggies and Toys ‘R Us is a Thomas the Tank Engine train set that costs R450.

The most popular toy that has lasted generations has to be LEGO.  This is probably my favourite toy as it opens the child up to lots of creativity and learning as well as fine motor development.  Lego is very clever keeping up with the times and bring out ranges of popular kiddies movies or brands like Cars and Star Wars, etc.  Lego can cost anything from R99 upwards depending on the complexity or brand it is associated with.  We have found great deals on Lego at Makro so keep an eye out there for discounts from time to time.

Little boys love to be on the move, preferably on something with wheels!  There are lots of options of little bikes for boys and you will see many of those brightly coloured plastic ones lined up in your local Pick ‘n Pay supermarkets that cost around R160.  A recent craze is a balance bike for toddlers that will teach them how to balance before they move on to a proper bicycle with pedals.  There are a few brands associated with these: JD Bug bikes are available at Makro for R600 and Easirider bikes from www.easirider.co.za for R590.  I did however spot a similar looking bike at Kids Emporium costing around R320 but not sure on the make.

Another great idea that is good for development, hand/eye co-ordination and fine motor skills is a magnetic fishing set.  Little tots will love it and will allow them to concentrate.  I have seen a lovely one by Pegasus Toys and stocked at Kidz Appeal in Plumstead for R45.  Also we have seen a cute wooden puzzle version with fishing rod at the Two Oceans Aquarium for about R70.

To go with their toys with wheels, I have seen many types of playmats that depict different scenes, like that of a town with roads, or a farm with farm roads.  Boys will love to ride their toy cars or tractors in these miniature towns/farms and set up the farmyard, etc.  I saw a proper carpet mat at Toys ‘R Us for R130 and from Crazy store a plastic farm mat for R30.  Toy Kingdom at the Waterfront has good options of farm animals if you want to recreate a farm scene.

Construction party theme (aka Bob the Builder!)

Can we fix it?  Yes, we can!  Up until Saturday, I thought it was Barack Obama that coined this phrase… but I now know it is in fact Bob the Builder!!  We attended a lovely party of this “construction” theme for a 2 year old little boy.  Having only a little girl, I hadn’t yet thought about the options of this type of theme, but there are so many things one can do with this theme and I thought I’d explore some of the things we enjoyed at this party, as well as some of my own ideas from the research I’ve since done.

INVITATIONS:  Invitations always set the theme of the party.  Use pictures that represent construction vehicles or tools.  Add a photo of the birthday boy with hard hat.  Use clever wording that brings in the theme, like “construction site” instead of address, and “shift” instead of time.  Make sure to let the guests know if you’ like them to dress up, or dress in certain colours – we all had to dress in denim and yellow/orange.

DECOR:  Think about what colours would go with the theme. For this one yellow, orange and brown would work well.  Make some colourful bunting using cheap fabric in these colours.  Find some construction tape in red/white or yellow/black to cordon off areas.  Some orange cones also make great accessories.  Use hard hats or cheap plastic construction trucks as your bowls to serve snacks in.  You could also get kiddies plastic tools to scatter around the table or use for party favours.

FOOD and CAKE: Some shops sell sweets in the shape of tools which would be a great thing to add to the table or party packs.  You could also get someone to make some tool shaped biscuits to match the theme.  For the cake, a home made cake would work perfectly well and the icing can be the cement and either slices of cake as bricks, or if you ice the cake first and then add a “wall” made of chocolate blocks with icing in between in another colour for cement.

ACTIVITIES: Since you are only catering for 2 year olds, there doesn’t have to be too many planned activities as free play is always welcomed at this age.  A sandpit makes a great place for fun with construction vehicles and buckets and spades.  You could also leave out some big wooden blocks or lego in a defined play area for the kids to build with.  What I loved about the party we attended was that there was “story time” where the dad read some short stories from a Bob the Builder book and the kids sat and listened intently!

(photo’s taken from another blogger who wrote on this subject http://juicy-bits.typepad.com/)

Some great books for gift ideas

You can never underestimate a gift of a book that will give hours of entertainment over the years for a child.  Many of my fond childhood memories involve some special books and stories that I grew to love.  Below is a list of some great book ideas you can purchase as a gift for a child:

Julia Donaldson boxed set that includes favourites such as the Gruffalo, One Mole Digging a Hole, Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose, Hippo has a Hat, etc.  Beautifully illustrated short stories that are perfect for bedtime for little tots. (10 books cost R350 – available from Party Things Online)

Recently the Mr Men and Little Miss characters have been all over clothing fashion and the books are as loved as they ever were.  A special treat as a gift would be the Mr Men boxed set of the complete 50 stories of Mr Messy, Mr Noisy, Mr Nonsense, etc. (50 stories cost R600 – available from Party Things Online)

The clever witty rhymes of Dr Seuss will give any child the giggles.  The Dr Seuss Classic Treasury is a lovely book combining 5 of his favourite stories: Cat in the Hat, Cat in the Hat comes back, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch stole Christmas and Fox in Socks. (R170 – available from Party Things Online)

African Nursery Rhymes is a book I recently discovered.  It changes the traditional nursery rhymes to a South African context and it is hilarious.  Probably best suited to children aged 3+ who know the normal nursery rhymes. (R100 from Party Things Online)

My little girl received a gorgeous boxed set of the complete tales from Beatrix Potter as a gift.  I have seen a boxed set of 10 books available from some book stores and I will try get hold of some stock this year (probably costing around R250)

The Chronicles of Narnia contains the complete set of 7 stories including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where the children enter a frozen world through the bedroom wardrobe and have exciting adventures whilst there. (R170 from Party Things Online)

Other favourites that one can consider giving as a gift and available from book stores include:

• Enid Blyton’s Enchanted Wood and Faraway Tree series (R40 from CNA)
• Paddington Bear (R15 from Reader’s Warehouse)
• Winnie the Pooh (I saw some at Bargain Books recently)
• Noddy (R15 from Reader’s Warehouse)
• The Enormous Crocodile (Exclusive Books has this book)
• The Very Hungry Caterpiller (Exclusive Books has this book)
• Princess Poppy (Exclusive Books has these books)
• Hairy Maclary (Exclusive Books has these books)
• In the Night Garden (Exclusive Books has these books)

Please feel free to comment and add any other good books for children.

Summer beach party

It’s summer and a great party theme idea is a Beach Party.  We are blessed to live in beautiful Cape Town with its lovely beaches, but planning a party at an actual beach takes much planning and is very weather dependent.  There are very few perfect beach days with our summer southeaster wind…  so why not create a beach themed party at home?

DRESS CODE: Ask the children to come dressed to the theme, wearing shorts/t-shirts or their costumes with towel/sarong. 

DECOR:  Buy paper plates, cups and serviettes in bright colours if you cannot find beach themed tableware.  You could also serve each child’s food in a party box that you can decorate according to the theme, or you can buy some cheap plastic buckets to put their munchies in. Get a few inflatable beach balls and scatter around the garden – these are fairly inexpensive and can be found cheaply for under R10 at some stores.  Also buy a few buckets and spades to add to the decor which are also reasonably priced.

FOOD:  Sandwiches, hot dogs or any type of beach picnic type food would work well.  A nice thing that the kids will love is a jelly boat which is easy to make by scooping out oranges and making jelly in them. Decorate with a toothpick and a piece of paper for a sail.  A firm favourite for summer is an ice lolly which are very easy to make in the lolly moulds you can buy cheaply.  Either put yoghurt in to create a frozen yoghurt sucker, or fruit juice with some berries or pieces of fruit.

DRINKS: Make the kids a “mocktail” that doesn’t include alcohol.  Use any type of fruit juice, cut up some pieces of fruit to put in, and add a drop of grenadin syrup to add some colour to the cocktail.  Serve chilled with straws you can even decorate with a cocktail umbrella or fruit.

PARTY FAVOURS: Instead of putting together formal party packs, you could allow each child to take home one of the beach balls or buckets and spades as a thank you gift for attending your child’s party.

CAKE: With all the amazing novelty cakes around, the ideas for this theme are limitless.  Some ideas of designs for the cake could include:  a sandcastle, beach ball, bucket and spade, beach umbrella with towel on top of a cake, a square cake as a beach volley ball court with figures playing volleyball…(the pic of this cake was created by Lesley Wright, view her facebook page for more inspiration http://www.facebook.com/theroyalbakery)

ACTIVITIES:  This theme is pretty easy to plan fun things for kids to do.  Where there is water involved, kids generally have fun so you may not need to think up lots of games for them to play.  A fun idea is to create your own “beach” either by using a sandpit, or by putting down plastic sheeting and getting bags of sand to put on it.  You can then create a sand castle building competition for the kids to take part in.

If you have a swimming pool, bigger kids will love to spend their time swimming and jumping in and out the pool. You could get a few extra pool toys like pool noodles, lilo’s, inflatable rings, blow up dolphins, etc to make it interesting for them.  If the children are younger, you may like to put up a smaller paddling pool for them to play in.

Beach bats and balls are also great tools for coming up with games for the kids to play.  Either play a traditional beach bat game or come up with something different, like getting the kids to stand in a row and they have to take turns to bounce the ball to each other and drop the ball in a bucket at the end – the winning team would then win a prize.

If you want to splash out and spend a bit more, you can hire one of the stunning water-themed inflatables from a party supplier.  These cost around R600 to hire and may or may not include delivery costs.

(all photo’s sourced from Google Images)