Party deco trend: tassel garlands

One of our favourite party deco trends are paper tassel garlands ...
the soft, floaty look of a tissue paper tassel garlands can be a stylish addition to any celebration!

They are great used outdoors as they look especially lovely when the breeze catches them (check your weather forecast first though!)

mint tassel garland

rainbow tassel garland

Stunning across the front of a candy buffet table & fun to use as part of your photo backdrop 

pink tassel garland

Pretty to hang across a window

mint tassel garland

Or why not tie to your pinata for an extra slash of colour?

watermelon pinata

And don’t just save them for a party … pop one up in the kids rooms across a wall or hang from the ceiling

pastel tassel garland

You can also use them with giant helium filled balloons, just knot each tassel to the string so they don't all slide to the bottom! or you can purchase pre-made balloon tassel tails

balloon tassel tail

The balloon tails look great with pinatas too

silver heart pinata

If you've got any other ideas please let us know! just comment below :0)

Fun kids party games - outdoor games

A while ago we asked for some help from our facebook likers to come up with a list of some favourite kids party games - they came up with heaps! We've combined these with some other ideas and hope these will provide some inspiration ....

Here's some ideas for fun outdoor games:

Egg & spoon races
One of our facebook fans Shelley had some great tips: make sure you used hard boiled eggs! I've also played this game with small apples or mandarins as it's a bit easier for younger children.

At my daughters school sports day last year they used potatoes instead of eggs - I saw at least one get stood on so good job they weren't eggs :0)

And some more 'oldies but goodies' are sack races, tug-of-war, wheel-barrow races and '3-legged' races - these are all great fun for all ages.

bags are available to hire from Party & Fun Depot

The flour and cherry/malteser/chocolate game is a favorite of our facebook fan Kelly-Jo. This could of course be played inside but can get very messy! You can find all the instructions a great series of photos here

Treasure Hunts
Can be inside, outside, in the sand pit, at the beach - anywhere really. If you're hiding things in the sand though you might want to hide something other than the actual prizes in case they don't turn up! My daughter went to a party at the beach last year and they had sticks marking out a big square and the kids had to find rocks with red paint on them inside the marked area and could swap those for a prize - I thought that was a great idea.

And if you're having a party at the beach then a sand castle building competition would be lots of fun. Take along some buckets & spades or ask the guests to bring some along - you could have a few prizes - biggest castle, best decorated castle etc. It would also be nice to take along some little windmills or flags to decorate the sand castles.

{image source: http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com}

A water balloon/water pistol fight always scores high on the fun scale but unless you're having a pool party make sure you pop a note on the invites to ask parents to send a change of clothes for the kids!

Pinata are always a hit (ha ha, sorry couldn't resist!) - fill them with lollies, little gifts or confetti

If you're looking for some carnival style games check out this great article on PartyGamesPlus.com: The Ultimate D.I.Y Carnival Theme Party Games

There are also some fun outdoor party games that can be hired. Check out this fun selection we found at Party and Fun Depot These would also be a great idea to hire for a summer wedding reception.

And here's a few other ideas we came across (click the titles for the links)

Summer Twister

Frisbee tic tac toe

And how much fun would this be?! (found on pinterest)

I'm sure there are heaps of other really fun outdoor games we have missed off the list so feel free to add a comment and/or link to any others :0)

And check back soon for some ideas for indoor games and musical games.

Summer treats

Well it's not feeling very summery in Auckland today but thought I would take some time out from packing for our upcoming move to share a few more ideas for summer parties.

Butterflies is another fun outdoor theme which works well with a picnic, tea party, afternoon tea on the deck ... here's a few ideas

Here's the pretty butterfly cake I made for my daughters 3rd birthday.

One of the great things about a butterfly theme is you can choose different colours and have fun with the decoration.

Helen from Meridian Coaching reminded me this week how cute butterfly cakes are, here's a pic of my version - these were made for a butterfly tea party fundraiser I hosted for Hospice NZ. We always had these at birthday parties when I was a child so they always bring back fond memories for me :0) I also made some butterfly shaped biscuits - a fun party activity could be getting the kids at the party to decorate them.

Don't forget the caterpillar grapes! My daughter looked at me horrified one night last week when I said if you eat all your dinner you can have some caterpillars for dessert, had to quickly put them together and show her what I meant :0) They are so quick and easy - just push grapes on to toothpicks or bamboo skewers then use icing to attach choc chip eyes (although these ones weren't standing up to the heat too good and the eyes kept sliding off so make sure you don't leave them in the sun!)

If you're having a beach themed party I think these would make great favours. I saw a similar idea with plastic spades but I thought that these bubble spade and forks were really cute ... simply add a few lollies in a cello bag and tie it all together with a ribbon. I found the spades and forks at a local discount store and I've used the sea shell lollies from Pixie Party Supplies

Fruit kebabs are perfect for any summer party. You can either make them up in advance or this could be a fun party activity, either have the fruit pre-cut for younger children then help them create their own fruit 'magic wand' or for older children let them cut out their own shapes using mini cookie cutters. You can also add strawberries, grapes and marshmallows.

A great drink serve at summer parties is pink lemonade in pretty bottles with pink vintage style paper straws (I've used the ones from Pixie Party Supplies). There are heaps of recipes around for pink lemonade - my quick easy version is to add cranberry juice to sparkling lemonade.

Oh and here's a simple little summer time tip I picked up on pinterest ... pop cupcake cases on your iceblock sticks to catch the drips :0) 

And a few other butterfly ideas from pinterest                        

Fun in the sun

Summer offers a great opportunity to keep it simple for children's parties here's a few easy ideas ...

A picnic in the park or at home in the backyard

• Entertainment/games: grab the cricket set, volley ball set and a soccer ball to take to the park and the kids will be easily entertained. You could also take some little bottles of bubbles as kids love blowing, chasing and popping bubbles. And if you're having the party at home a treasure hunt in the garden would be lots of fun.
• Food: if you're heading out to the park avoid taking food that is likely to melt. Either pack a big picnic hamper / chilly bin or you could prepare individual boxes and just hand them out to each child.
• Decorations: hang paper lanterns in the trees and if you're at home you could also string bunting along the fence. 
• Ideas for themes: teddy bears picnic (ask each child to bring a teddy), flower fairies, butterflies, ladybugs, animals, sport.
• Don't forget: the picnic blankets and sunscreen.

I love the Dollyrockets food boxes as they are a great size and you can also fit a carton of drink in each 

A party at the beach

My daughter has just been invited to a beach party which I'm sure will be lots of fun! 

• Entertainment/games: Again you can take all the sports equipment along but how about taking the water pistols too. Another great idea would be a sand castle building competition, take along some buckets & spades or put a reminder on the invites for the guests to bring one along - you could have a few prizes - biggest castle, best decorated castle etc. It would also be nice to take along some little windmills or flags to decorate the sand castles.
• Food: again a big picnic or individual boxes are good for the beach. Avoid taking food that is likely to melt and I would take small items that can be eaten in a few bites so sand is less likely to get all over it.
• Don't forget: the sunscreen, some blankets to sit on, beach umbrellas and some extra towels. 
• Ideas for themes: Little Mermaid, Under the Sea, Turtles, Nemo, pirates.

You could use cupcake flags to decorate your sand castles. 

Would also be good for the jelly boats (see below).

Pool party

• Entertainment/games: if you're gone to the local swimming pool the kids will no doubt entertain themselves! If you're setting up the pool at home why not bring out the water pistols and some water bomb balloons too. And of course don't forget to turn the sprinkler on the lawn.
• Food: include some jelly boats!
• Don't forget: some extra towels and the sunscreen (if you're outdoors).
• Ideas for themes: Little Mermaid, Under the Sea, Turtles, Nemo, pirates.

Thanks to Nicky H for sharing this photo of some very colourful jelly boats she made

And check out this fab swimming pool cake from Mmm Cupcakes

I hope you found some ideas there that you can use at your next summer party and I will share some more ideas for party food & drinks for these themes on the next update so if anyone has any recipes, ideas or pics they would like to share please email me info@pixiepartysupplies.co.nz