Floral Festivities

Little Miss Giggleberry is turning 10 this year! Double Digits!! A decade of life - done! That deserves a special celebration for sure.
About 18months ago I spotted, via a friends social media, a party idea I knew my girl would love. Something a little more unique than all the other parties going around, something creative, colourful and fun - my girl all over.
We used some stunning custom handmade paper flowers made by Sand Paper Designs as invites by adding a cardboard leaf with party details on it. Lots of fun to hand out to friends and a special something each guest can keep for a long time to come.

Yesterday was party day and Floral Expressions in the Hills District of Sydney made it a day to remember! I had it all booked via a phone call a few weeks back with ease and from the minute we pulled up in the carpark yesterday to a 'Happy Birthday Milla' sign and balloons on the front door the afternoon was FAB!

When I booked the party I was asked what Milla's favourite colour was - Yellow - and that set the colour scheme for the party. Floral Expressions had yellow helium balloons, chair wraps with yellow flowers attached, yellow centre pieces on the activity table and other yellow decorations around the gorgeous florist shop. I was able to take along some goodies, treats and cake to finish off the party set up.

Once all the guests arrived the creating began. The girls were seated around a table in the middle of the shop and handed a plate of yellow and white flowers and a headband each. One of the gorgeous staff then gave the girls a quick tutorial on how to make a flower headband/crown before the girls got making. So much fun and the girls all did a great job creating a unique crown each with extra help for those who were struggling a bit. Each girl was rather proud of their creation and wore them proudly as soon as they were complete.

The girls had a little break after they had made their crowns and had snacks. A game of pass the parcel, that was all organised and supplied by Floral Expressions, as well as a couple of games of Simon Says and Musical Bop (basically Musical Statues) to get the wriggles out.
The girls were then sat back down at the table and had a quick few moments of being taught some floral facts... Did you know the worlds largest flower wouldn't even fit in the doorway of Floral Expressions? and it smells terrible apparently. See, even I learnt something new!
Next up was time to make a flower arrangement each. The girls were given a fresh plate of yellow and white flowers each and a little box with florist foam in it. Again the lovely staff gave quick instructions on how to start their arrangements then they were given free reign to create a masterpiece each but the staff were there to help if needed. Its so lovely to watch the girls concentrate on their creation and each one was completely different.

Before we knew it the 2hrs were up and it was time to sing happy birthday, cut the cake and take a few group shots of the girls and their creations. Such a fun afternoon!!

We handed out a small favour bag to each guest - nothing huge as they already had a flower crown and posy to take home. Each girl got a small bag (I added the yellow paper flowers to tie it back to the theme) with a pack of Sunflower seeds, a little cactus eraser, some mint leaf lollies, a yellow lollipop and a yellow hairbow handmade by the birthday girl (LMG Bows) herself.

THANK YOU Floral Expressions for a wonderful, unique and fun party for my girl and her friends. I will be recommending you guys to anyone and everyone!

Happy 60th Smurfday Party!

My gorgeous dad is about to turn 60!! That's a pretty good milestone and a great excuse to celebrate don't ya think?
What would he LOVE to do for his 60th birthday? hang out with and be surrounded by his family. So just last weekend my parents, sisters, brother and all of our families headed away for a weekend at Bilpin Springs Lodge in the NSW Blue Mountains. It was stunning and the perfect winter escape for us all to catch up, laugh, eat, play and celebrate!
Between petting the horse, pony & alpaca, collecting the eggs from the chooks, bushwalking, paddling in kayaks & playing in the games room we managed to come up with the excuse of no milk left to get my dad to head to the shop so we could set up his little party.
For a little bit of background here, my dad is called Papa by his 11 grandchildren so when mum asked me to "put a little something together for his birthday" I had the idea of a Papa Smurf theme and ran with it....
Quickly we set up one of the rooms at the lodge with balloons, bunting, food, decorations, drinks, cake and games. Then when dad returned from the shop with more milk he was sent to his room with a mysterious bag of clothes and given the instructions to put it on and wait for a knock on his door.

I had put together a Papa Smurf outfit from some red ski pants I found on sale a few weeks ago, a long sleeved blue top and a red Papa Smurf hat I had made from felt. I also made the rest of the family (that's 9 adults, 9 kids and 2 babies) a white Smurf hat and the girls each a Smurfette dress. Everyone else was to wear all blue with white shorts/pants/skirt.

Once everyone was dressed two of the kids went and collected Papa Smurf from his room and bought him to the party to be Smurfprised!!

Party time!! Most of the blue and red party supplies including the balloons, cupcake cases (I used for the popcorn), serviettes, straws, wooden cutlery etc were from Occasion By Design. The striped milk bottles, blue cupcake stand, cake platter stand, table cloth, trays, buckets etc I had in my collection already.

For food I made mushroom shaped butter cookies and some gluten and dairy free snicker doodles, blue jelly, popcorn, strawberries, juice, the birthday boy's fav dessert banana caramel pie and the cake which I had made blue and red to tie in. The little Papa Smurf ontop of the cake I found on eBay and I made the mini bunting.
The amazing macarons need a mention all on their own! I emailed the ever so lovely Sherelyn from Her Macarons to ask if she would maybe, just maybe, attempt some Smurf shaped macarons for me. I thought I was dreaming, but when I popped past to pick up my order I nearly screamed - Sherelyn had created to coolest and most perfect set of Papa Smurf yummies!

Seriously how cool are they?!? I almost didn't want to eat them but not only did they look fantastic on our table they were delicious too!!

Now, what is a party without a few games? (especially with all of Papa Smurf's grandchildren to entertain!) I made a Pin the Tail on Papa game with cardboard and a blue pompom, Pass the parcel with the final gift inside (A Papa Smurf Jibbet) marked so it was given to Papa Smurf himself and we also had a Piñata! The piñata wasn't Smurf themed (who could whack a Smurf until lollies fell out anyway LOL) but the custom made ambulance from The Helium House was perfect none the less as my dad is a Paramedic.

Notice the 'Papa 60' number plate

After we all had a bash of the piñata it was time to sing happy birthday and cut the cake. It's safe to say we all had a laugh and made a few more memories but most importantly celebrated the birthday of one amazing man. Happy birthday Dad xxx

Giggleberry Turns 30... almost!

Earlier this year I received an invite in the mail... not just any invite. This particular invitation was inviting my family and I to MY 30th birthday party!

It was a complete surprise. The details on the invite (I since have worked out they were designed by Cake Ink.) were the obvious ones; date, time, place and RSVP to my (sneaky) mum. On closer inspection of the invites it was clear the party colours would be yellow, white and black and with a certain city scape (& how much of a Newyorkaholic I am) I could only assume it would be a NYC themed event - Yay!!
Although it is a month earlier than my actual birthday the party day finally arrived yesterday and what a lovely day it was! A family friendly picnic was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday with the ones I love.
The first thing I noticed when we arrived at the picnic ground, besides the big sign announcing we were in the right spot, was bunting.... Matching perfectly to the colour and theme, I hadn't made it so we all had a giggle that Grandma Giggleberry would put me out of business!! There was also NYC images and a few popular NYC street signs hanging around to set the mood :)

Once everyone arrived lunch was served... NYC style hot dogs with the lot - we're talking cheese, onion, mustard, ketchup, cheese, chilli, bacon etc and all served alongside some bagel chips, onion rings, pretzels and a drink in a little cardboard taxi cab.
No party is a party without a cake and mine did not disappoint!! Again my sneaky mum was on the case and had got in contract with the one I would go to for cakes, Leora, from Party Cakes by Leora. With a few hints and ideas I was told Leora was left to create and I adore what she came up with!! It totally matched the party AND even had bunting on it!!!!

The cake was a scrumptious chocolate mud cake with a sooooo yummy chocolate ganache under the yellow icing - YUM!!
I made sure I got to munch on the statue of liberty AND some bunting :)

My mum had also made a few cupcakes that were iced yellow and adorned with NYC toppers.

Later in the day I was happily chatting away to someone when I heard my name called out to "look". Hanging from one of the trees was a New York cab piñata!!! Blind fold went on, I was spun a few times and handed a large stick and away I went... LOTS of fun!! All the kids and some big kids too had a go until finally the cab was torn apart and lollies fell from the sky!

We all went home with a lolly bag handed out by two of my very gorgeous nieces or 'candy girls' (just like a NYC baseball game). Inside the lolly bags was a selection of US candy including taffy, Jolly Ranchers, Herseys Kisses, Peanut butter cups, a York mint, a 5th Avenue bar & a gummi pizza.

I felt very spoilt and special and just LOVED all the little details that went onto the day - THANK YOU mummy!!!
Now, with my actual birthday not until the end of April this must mean I get to celebrate all month long, right???