A party for Minty...

I just have to preface this post by saying that I'm absolutely terrible at taking photos at a party I'm hosting.  I'm always a bit burned out from all the pre-party organising and just want to relax and enjoy myself.  At one point I handed the camera across to my sister-in-law Nat to get a few shots so some of these pictures are hers.  I basically only had the camera out at cake cutting time, so you're just going to have to imagine the rest!!

This is the first year that Minty has been involved in her birthday plans.  Up until now she has been highly suggestible.  Frankly I think I could have served her a slab of tofu with a candle in it and made her think this 'cake' was her own awesome idea.  But this year she was adamant.  I tried to suggest that we invite one friend and go to visit to the zoo.  She turned to me and frowned and said, 'maybe we could clean up all this mess,' as she gestured with her hand around the room, 'and I could invite me friends over for a party'.  It's a little worrying when the children are beginning to think the house is a mess!!  So I compromised and suggested we have a party at the park.  She wasn't completely convinced but conceded saying, 'alright mum' in the kind of bored, conciliatory tone I'd expect from a 16-year-old, not my little baby girl.

So we had the party at a local park.  I decorated the rotunda with some pretty bunting and a vintage sheet for a table cloth.  We had a BBQ lunch and the kids had a great time playing on the equipment and chasing each other in and out of the trees.  It was a bit of a windy day so after lunch we did a spot of kite flying.

The cake was a devils food chocolate cake covered with pink swiss meringue buttercream ruffles.  Minty had seen a picture of a similar cake a few months ago and decided this was what she wanted.  And then of course the week before the party she changed her mind and decided she wanted a rubbish truck cake.  By this stage I didn't care anymore and just forged ahead with the original plan!!  I think she was happy in the end!  For those who are interested you can find the cake recipe here, and a video tutorial for how to pipe ruffles here.  I made two 6 inch cakes (one was a backup in case there was a disaster when I transported them!!).  I used wilton #125 petal piping tip which was a little too big but was all I could get my hands on.

I also made four flavours of ice-cream: Philadelphia style vanilla made with AAA Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans; watermelon sorbet; chocolate and raspberry; and strawberry sorbet.  These were served in mini waffle cones with plenty of sprinkles and chocolate chips.

For party favours I made the kids ribbon wands - I have a bit of a 'how to' post planned for these tomorrow.

All in all, I think everyone had a great day.  All of Minty's friends are such sweet little kids, with lovely parents to boot, so I'm really glad Minty forced me to make an effort and get everyone together!