Tag: birthday party

Party Inspiration – Racing Theme

Party Inspiration – Racing Theme

What do you do when your 5 year old insists he wants yet another “racing themed party” for his birthday? You get creative with colours πŸ™‚

A’s theme last year was F1GP and this year he decided to he wanted another racing themed MotoGP party, despite my best efforts to try and convince our little speed freak to have an “arty party”. Determined not to have your traditional “black and white checks” yet again I was desperate to put a swing on an old theme.

Our favourite junior traffic center was chosen by the birthday boy yet again as his venue of choice, and the fabulous thing for Johannesburg mums to know is that its free! It does require pre-booking and a little more effort with elbow greece and set up, but so worth it!

Bright yellow and red were decided as the base tones, with a deep blue being brought into accent colours to represent his beloved “Vinalez”.

For the backboard I picked up a piece of super wood from my local DIY store along with my favourite Dala Paints in the preferred colours. Two licks of paint brought sunshine into an otherwise dull theme.

I spray painted some cheap bikes that I found at China Mall and recycled some old silver trophies that we had left over from Yusuf’s Golf themed partyΒ as well as small wooden letters with the birthday boys’ name.

Sugar and Paper Parties came to my rescue yet again and saved this mama a whole lot of stress by making the birthday boys’s incredible cake and well as the most adorable sugar cookies. We decided to deviate from the “fondant” style (lets me honest, as pretty as it looks, who actually eats fondant?) and the cake was a gorgeous “charcoal” coloured buttercream topped with the most fantastic Vinalez sugar cookie!

The one nice thing about the racing theme is the food is always so much fun to make! Traffic light brownies proved a hit again and were served alongside spare tire doughnuts, Stop and Go coloured Veggies and Margherita Pizza Wheels.

Finally for the party bags, trying to limit the number of sweets, I made up some homemade playdough (it’s such a simple recipe) in traffic light colours, with a little motorbike that my friend Liezl stumbled across and a chocolate racing medal. I completely underestimated the effort that was required to roll out 81 balls of playdough (I may not attempt it again haha). The bags themselves were plain black gift bags yet again with some white road lines drawn on with Tip-ex. They were not perfect, in any way, but hey, nor are South Africa’s roads πŸ™‚

There you have it, a little bit of a twist on the conventional black and white themed racing party. I hope it provided you with a bit of inspiration for your next party! Once again a huge thank you to my amazing friends and family. Meg, Liezl, Medi, Mum and Halima for all your help and organization x It takes a village ! πŸ™‚

Happy planning!

Party Inspiration – Lightning Mcqueen

Party Inspiration – Lightning Mcqueen

Its been a while since I last shared party inspiration (apart from the last Golf themed party). Racing is always a hot theme and when its lightening Mcqueen you are guaranteed a win. I shared our last racing party hereΒ but we recently attended one that took my breath away! Liezl’s attention to detail is impeccable and as always her baking skills are on point. You may remember that I used her to make Yusuf’s birthday cake, cake pops and chocolate dipped oreos.

I have so many highlights from this party:

The Chocolate Dipped Oreos

Insanely detailed Cake, have a look at that checked inside!

Sensational Sugar Cookies

Custom made frame made from used tyres

Inflatable tires in the Front

Red, Yellow and Green Traffic light toothpicks

Over to Liezl and her fantastic Mcqueen Party:

Ka-Chow! Diego turned three and celebrated with an awesome Lightning McQueen party!Β 

The party was held at the Randburg Junior Traffic Centre, (our favourite for anything racing related) where kids spent the day racing their bicycles around the kid-sized roads, even stopping at the traffic lights too.

As a freelance Graphic Designer and part-time Party Planner, I tend to always go a bit crazy when it comes to my children’s birthday parties! Diego is mad about the Cars movies, so it was a no-brainer to include the racing references like checkered flags, McQueen’s signature red and yellow, as well as cacti for Radiator Springs. The food was also Cars-inspired and guests appreciated the special touches, like traffic light toothpicks of cheese, tomatoes and cocktail onions, as well as the themed baked goods.
In lieu of the typical candy-filled party favors, I opted for traffic light playdough packs and Cars stickers, and I think the parents appreciated them just as much as the kids did!
Suppliers details below:
Decor, Food platters, Jelly, Cake, Sugar Cookies, Cake pops, Chocolate Covered Oreos – http://www.sugarandpaper.co.za/
Printed temporary tattoos – https://nutmegpartyboxes.co.za/
Pin the teeth on Tow Mater & Ramone Tattoo Sign –Β http://www.sugarandpaper.co.za/
Playdough for party favors – http://www.partyplaydough.co.za/Β 
If you have any party’s that you would like featured you can email any submissions through to inthesestilettos@gmail.com .
HAPPY PLANNING!
Golf Themed Party For Our TEE-RIFFIC Three Year Old

Golf Themed Party For Our TEE-RIFFIC Three Year Old

Mommalike me and I have made no secret of our love for party planning. It runs through my veins, my mother ran a successful events and hiring company for most of my childhood years and my weekends were spent draping tents, laying tables or setting out flowers for Presidential functions, visits from Royalty or weddings. My mum had no shame in advocating child labour, we had no choice πŸ™‚ , we all got involved as a family and I loved every minute.

Our little Yusuf is a golf fanatic. He has been since he could walk. Hes been swinging clubs since he was just over 1 and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He sleeps with golf balls in his hand; if he gets upset at playschool all they need to do is whip out the clubs. A golf themed party was the natural choice and there was no better venue than Killarney Country Club. It offered it all; from the rolling greens around us, to the putt putt and play area for the kids, I knew from the second I laid eyes on it that this was our venue. From the start the staff at KCC were more than accommodating. I could bring in my own halaal food, the kids could play golf and the children that were too young for golf could play in the soft play area or on the jungle gym. I made my life that much easier and ordered two canapes off their menu to take a bit of stress off my shoulders as well.

I had the absolute privilege of working with Ruth du Toit from Ruth du Toit Photography for the party. This was the first time I’ve worked with a professional photographer for any of the kids parties and what an absolute treat! Yusuf’s party was not only a very special 3rd birthday, but it was also a family reunion of sorts. With my family scattered across the globe there hasn’t been one birthday party that my boys have had grandparents as well as all of his aunts and uncles at. My sister and her family were out from the UK, my brother and parents from Botswana and my cousins from Durban were also up. It was very special to have Ruth to capture all of the photos and took a huge stress off my shoulders. Her impeccable eye for detail captured every moment.

I often get ideas in my head and it frustrates me when I know what I want but I cant find what I’m looking for in the shops. Enter Deborah from Studio Hooray. Not only does Deb have one of the most stylishly curated instagram feeds I’ve ever come across, she is also a talented blogger and and hand makes children’s decor and accessories. Deb created my beautiful banner for me which was the focal point of my astroturf backdrop.

Whats a party without treats? Allyson from Sprinkles Bakery worked her magic yet again. Leaving everyone with jaws wide open at her works of art. I really have no idea how she does it, but a good sugar cookie can help set the tone of a great party. My friend Liezl from Sugar Paper Parties outshone herself once again with her incredible creations. Chocolate covered Oreo’s (yes those mini golf delicacies are OREO’S people), Golf cake pops and the most incredible two tiered argyle inspired golf cake featured as the centre piece for the table. Nothing is ever too much for her and her dedication to detail is the best I have seen. Go and check out their instagram pages for some SERIOUSLY sugared inspiration.

 

Party Favours – I try my hardest to steer away from sweet filled party packs. Though I always have a few empty sweet bags to fill at our parties (mainly for mum and dad), I try the kiddos non sweet favours. I got some plastic golf clubs and balls from China Mall and made them our favours.

 

Decor – The rest of the goodies were all bought at my go to party shop, The Party Spot, I got everything from the honey comb “golf balls”, balloons, ribbons, to the wheat-grass used in the buckets.

I had an absolute “Ball” designing this party for my very special little boy. I hope you find inspiration here if you are planning one in your household. Its such a great theme for Birthday Parties, Baby Showers and Fathers Day Celebrations.

 

There are a few people I must thank for making my vision a reality. To my hubby Ahmed, as much as you complain, you put up with my crazy ideas ( just πŸ™‚ ), your support and opinion is so valuable to me. To my shoulder, my crutch, my bestie Meg, THANK YOU for being my voice of reason, my printer, my jelly maker, my left leg. For always being there through it all. I am so grateful to have you and I’m so excited for the future ahead. To my Mum and Dad WOW ! THANK YOU!!!! Dad, my crazy AstroTurf backdrop would not have been possible without you and your make a plan attitude. Nothing is too much!Β Β Jaysheela Kanjee (you’ll remember her for her fantastic cake pops from the Mermaid party), thank you for always being so caring and giving. The AstroTurf runner was a lifesaver!Β  Sam – Words cant say thank you enough for your selflessness – the jumping castle was a lifesaver! Ruth, for capturing not only these priceless moments but so many more, I am so eternally grateful and I cant wait to see what else we do together! Deb, for taking my design and creating exactly what I imagined, thank you! Yanky and Natasha from Killarney Country Club, thank you for helping to make my dream a reality – we cant wait to see the other magical creations at the most perfect venue.

List of suppliers:

Venue: Killarney Country Club

Photography: Ruth Du Toit Photography

Sugar Cookies: Sprinkles Bakery

Cake, Cake Pops, Chocolate dipped Oreos: Sugar Paper Parties

Decor: Party Spot

Personalised Birthday Banner: Studio Hooray

Jumping Castle: Lopes Bouncy House: sam@pinkdustevents.co.za

 

Party inspiration – Racing Party

Party inspiration – Racing Party

After attending a fantastic workshop with Melinda Connor yesterday from “Pretty things for you”Β , I left feeling so inspired to create again. Thank you, “mommalikeme” for convincing me to go!

I grew up in events, my mum ran a very successful events company (florist, hiring, design and decor) for years and I would spend my Continue reading “Party inspiration – Racing Party”

Party Inspiration – Cookies and Milk

Party Inspiration – Cookies and Milk

So we have decided this year to NOT throw a birthday party for my soon to be 4-year-old, because he wants a slightly more expensive birthday present (A red Ferrari sports car to be exact, I think we may have to settle on a go-cart). I’ll be honest, its got me feeling like a pretty terrible mum, because If you are anything like me, you slightly obsess over children’s birthdays party. Well any party’s really. The creative side comes out and I spend months trolling the internet for ideas and ways to be original. I LOVE IT! It’s my side hobby. My bestie and I always say one day we will focus on it full-time and make it a career. I love to creative unique idea’s and I hate the stereotypical β€œDisney cartoon” themes, with cartoon characters plastered all over plates, though I did cave once my putting barney toppers on my sons 2nd birthday cakes. Continue reading “Party Inspiration – Cookies and Milk”