Fairies, butterflies and sprinkles
I know I went a little against the grain with this one.... in a time where the very structured dessert buffets are at the height of fashion, I mixed colours, patterns, themes...
Lexi is turning 4, so this is my first party where it’s been more about the kids than the adults. To be honest, it was a bit daunting!
On arrival the kids walked in through the front door to the “fairy transformation station” – where they got to collect a pair of wings (white fairy wings or black bat wings), and a ribbon wand.
We had a lovely fairy (Fairy Bluebell) for entertainment – we timed her to arrive 15 minutes after the guests, and she read them a story, played traditional party games like pass the parcel and musical statutes, did some fairy ballet, and searched the garden for fairies. It was well worth it – it meant the kids were well distracted and taken care of while I organised the food onto individual plates, and it was one less thing for me to worry about!
From a food table perspective, I did a complete mix and match, with plenty of paper, pink, purple and blue, paper, sprinkles, and... paper! The cake was a funfetti cake, covered in pink buttercream icing and topped with a generous serving of confetti. There were also individual sized portions of cupcakes, multi-layered sandwiches (topped with a layer of fairy bread), berry pavlova, and fruit cups served in the truly awesome and versatile Paper Eskimo baking cups. There was popcorn in paper cones and presented in an ice cream cone holder, and there were plenty of little extras – chocolate dipped and sprinkle covered marshmallows and rocky road, chocolate whoopie pies and lolly jars.
The kids all took home their wings and ribbon wand, along with a little sweetie bag, and if I could talk their parents into it, some feijoas! (Our tree is dumping at least a bucket a day at the moment!)
All of the details of where I got what are at the bottom of this feature (so scroll on down!). All of the companies I dealt with were fabulous, and I would highly recommend all of them!
Suppliers:
- Washi tape (used to create the cupcake toppers for the little sandwiches, tape up the popcorn cones, and around all of the bottles and jars) from Presse Papiers, I also used it to create some cute bunting, but forgot to take a photo!
- Sprinkles were all from The Pretty Baker – I will never buy sprinkles/confetti/funfetti/jimmies from anywhere else again, they are fabulous value and I love being able to get exactly what you are what and mix your own colours
- I also got Baker’s Twine which I used to string the bunting, and gorgeous little Chevron bags from The Pretty Baker – no photos in this feature but both of these will be in future articles!
- Paper Eskimo baking cups, striped paper straws (also used as sticks for the chocolate covered marshmallows) and the coloured plates were all from Dots’n’Spots
- The ice cream stands (holding the popcorn cones) were from Dots’n’Spots – these are going to get plenty of use around here at both kids and adults parties!
- The cupcake stands, cake plate and domed plates were originally from Stevens. The glass jars for the lollies were a bargain ($2.50 each) in a Farmers sale. The lanterns I found in the bargain bin at my local The Warehouse. The paper doilies were from Moore Wilsons. And the glass “cream” bottles were from Arthur Holmes, purchased in bulk.
- The day before (after realising I hadn’t allowed any room for baking stuff ups) I popped into Kid Republic in Wellington and picked up some extras of bits and pieces.
- Our fairy was from Sparkle Entertainment – they were fabulous and easy to deal with, and the fairy arrived well organised and ready with everything she needed, which was perfect and fuss free!
If I have forgotten anything, or you would like to know specific details on anything, hop on over to
our facebook page and ask away!
Note: Photos are copyright Jodi Mitchell. Please feel free to share on your blog, but credit and link back to www.babybites.co.nz.