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