This is Part 6, the final post in the Planning Children’s Birthday Series. Part 1 was a 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List. Part 2 focused on family strategy for birthday parties, party themes and birthday party invitations. Part 3 was centred around Guest and Food Lists. Part 4 detailed Party Activities and Accessories. Then last week I wrote about Party Week and Party Day Timetables.

The final items on my birthday party planning check list are as follows:

EMERGENCY PLAN
There are so many options as to where you can host a party for children and what activities you plan for them, depending on the time of year that their birthday is. I have learnt that it is always wise to have a Plan B up your sleeve, if you have dependencies on the weather.

I have mentioned before that for Little Rascal’s soccer party it ended up raining. And it wasn’t a short shower of light rain. It poured for pretty much the whole party. Luckily though kids are no where near as fickle as adults about a little thing like rain, so with Mr Infrastructure out there refereeing, the game went on. Well for at least 40 minutes, when the referee decided that was enough!

Plan A had been to play round robin games of soccer, lunch, then some soccer skills games, cake and home. We had checked out the forecast and could see rain on the horizon so Plan B was hopefully some soccer game time, musical statues (I downloaded top 40 music under directions from the kids, which they said was songs that “everyone at school liked”, even though they weren’t to my taste!), lunch, inside balloon games (teams keeping the balloon of the ground, popping balloon to receive the lolly etc), cake and home.

I was so relieved to have had a Plan B and the resources to implement it on the day of the birthday party, because with about 18 seven year old boys in the house, it could have ended up a bit wild.

THANK YOU NOTES
I have to admit that I have only started sending out thank you notes for children;s birthday parties since I moved to Surrey Hills. It wasn’t the norm amongst my inner city friends to do this, but in the eastern suburbs it appeared to be, so I have added the task to my birthday party planning check list.

As with the invitations I like to make my own, using the design of the invitation as a base and adding a group photo of the children taken at the party. Kids love to see photos of themselves.

We went to a smaller party earlier this year and through out the party the mother made sure that she took a photo of the birthday girl with every guest and then used this photo as the basis for the thank you card. It was even more lovely to have this keepsake as the family has now moved interstate.

Do you send out thank you notes? If so do you make them yourself?

Thank you to everyone who has left comments over the birthday party planning series. I now have some great new ideas on themes, food and activities for the next round of children’s birthdays in my house!

All the posts about birthday party planning have been linked back into the 10 Point Birthday Party Plan Check List, so you an click through the different tasks from the one spot.

Technorati Tags: birthday parties, children, Planning

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As you may have noticed, I do love to plan and have things very much ordered and organised. However too much of this can make life a little dull , so I do also appreciate and value the unexpected as well.

I love the “pop in” visit and always find it so enjoyable when friends drop by and we have a chance to catch up. I am not sure if it is my country up bringing, but I always feel the need to feed my visitors, regardless of the time that they visit.

I have to admit to being a bit freaked out about the pop in no so long ago. What will they think of the state of my house??? I don’t have anything decent serve them with their cup of tea!!

But I have learnt from some very smart women around me, that the state of the house doesn’t matter, the company is the most important thing about the visit. I have also worked out that I can feed visitors easily just by making sure I always have a few food items in the cupboards/fridge, so I can put something together when friends do pop in.

These items also come in very handy when you have had an arranged catch up, where the children are all playing so well that you have just kept talking and now it is time for dinner!

MORNING OR AFTERNOON TEA
(1). Vegemite or Chutney Scrolls .
A light snack needing only puff pastry, Vegemite or chutney and cheese.

(2). White Chocolate Chip Muffins .
Take only 10 minutes to prepare with standard baking items and are delicious warm.

(3). Scones.
Minimal ingredients and so easy to make. I often forget how tasty a warm scone is!

(4). Easy Apple Turnovers.
Again using the versatile puff pastry and some standard pantry items.

(5). Dip, Vegetables Sticks and Crackers.
I often just have a dip in the fridge, but two other stand by options are:
(i). Combine a packet of french onion soup mix and a tub of sour cream, to make your own french onion dip.
(ii). Salsa - finely chop an onion, fry in some oil, add minced chilli to taste, 2 tsps cumin and a can of diced tomatoes. Simmer until it is dipping thickness and you have some tasty home made salsa!

LIGHT LUNCH OR DINNER
(6). Nachos.
I keep a packet of plain corn chips in the cupboard and we always have cheese. Add some of the above salsa and sour cream and you have a plate of nachos to share.

(7). Sausage In Bread.
I keep a dozen sausages in the freezer. (Sausages are not really my thing, but this is really more to feed the kids on those days where the afternoon catch up, has extended into the territory of dinner). I will defrost the sausages and throw them on the barbie, wrap them in some bread and ta-dah a quick meal for the kids!

(8). Tuna Wraps.
I keep a packet of wraps (bought from the supermarket) in the cupboards and just keep an eye on the use by date. They usually last for a couple of weeks. (If I haven’t used them prior to this, I will use them for the kids lunches). By also having some flavoured canned tuna on hand too, you can then make a tasty wrap with the tuna and any other salad you may have lurking in the fridge.

(9). Pasta with Pesto.
A packet of pasta, a jar of good quality pesto, cracked pepper and some Parmesan cheese and you can whip up a quick meal that will feed a small crowd.

(10). Mini Pizzas
I stock in the freezer a packet of 10 five inch pizza bases. Using staples of tomato paste and cheese and then any other interesting items that are on offer, you can make up individual pizzas for your guests.

What are your tried and tested recipes you use to feed your lovely friends when they pop in to visit?

Technorati Tags: Planning, quick food, visitors

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It is the time of the year, where we move to days that start to grow shorter and cooler. In Victoria (Australia) on Sunday 6th April (tomorrow morning) we move our clocks back one hour at 3 am for the end of daylight savings.

As you might imagine, my kids have a pretty stable bed time routine which is staggered across the ages, from 7.15pm to 8pm. They all tend to be early rises - waking from 6.15am onwards. As I am a morning person myself, I don’t mind this but when changing back from daylight savings this can pose a problem, mainly for the toddler and preschooler. If I put them to bed at their regular time, they wake up at their regular time, which once the clocks go back an hour becomes the very uncivilised 5.15am.

Over the last couple of years, we have planned to have a late family night on the eve of the end of daylight savings to aid a smooth introduction to the time change. So tonight we will have an extended games session after bath time and then have a movie night together. Mr Infrastructure and I will aim to have Possum and Babagansouki in bed by about 9pm and Thinker and Little Rascal just after that.

The result of this should be (and hopefully like past years it will go to plan!) that they wake up at some time which at least has a 6 in front of it in non daylight saving time. From then on we will work to our routine and with any luck make the switch over in times with out any drama.

For Thinker and Little Rascal they know that they need to stay in bed until after 6am. From the time that they can start reading a digital clock we have enforced a policy of staying in bed until at least 6am. When the mornings are darker and cooler this is not an issue, but at the other end of the spectrum, as we near the start of daylight savings each year, I can often hear stirring before 6am.

This should not be the same this October though as the start date for Daylight Savings for 2008/2009 has been moved forward. This year we will need to move our clocks forward on the first weekend of October - Sunday 5 October 2008, not the last which has been the usual start to daylight savings.

Here’s hoping that all the mums and dads can score an extra hour of sleep tonight!

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When I woke up this yesterday morning I was a mother with a mission. I needed new bras and I was going to get them that very day! This however meant that I would have to take all four children with me. My kids are actually pretty ok to take shopping, but getting fitted for bras was probably going to push their patience to their limits.

With this in mind I strategically moved through the following plan with the kids:

(1). Set up the expectations.
When we sat down and ate breakfast, I explained to the kids that we were going to go shopping today. We needed to go bra shopping for me and we would purchase the extra items (like pencil cases) that the older boys needed for school, once my purchases had been made. I also explained that once this was completed, we would go home via the bread shop to get some bread and that they could choose a roll each for lunch.

(2). Go in the morning.
I have taken the kids shopping in the afternoon before but find that this is usually less successful than the morning for two reasons; firstly we are all a little tireder at that time of day and secondly, the shops tend to be busier.

(3). Fed, Watered and Toileted .
We have early risers in our house, so for the younger children breakfast was at 6.45am. I made sure all four had morning tea and a drink before we left. Then as a last task before leaving, I made sure that we all (including mum) went to the toilet.

(4). Stick to the task.
After a longer than expected session in the fitting room, we moved through the women’s fashion department and a pair of bathers caught my eye. I started to walk over to have a look (because I also need a new pair of these as well), but stopped myself pretty quickly. I had already asked quite a bit of the kids. I achieved my goal for the day, and I needed to stick to the stated expectations and move on. There have been times when I have not done this and it has generally not worked out well!

(5). Don’t rush their purchases.
For the 6 year old choosing the right pencil case is probably as important to him as my bras were to me. The fact that I think it is doesn’t matter whether he gets the one with the green background or the yellow background is irrelevant. I need to be interested and let him have his time, so he can be happy with his purchase. We all regret those purchases made in haste!

The expedition actually went really well. There was one moment at about 11.00am though when I found myself in a fitting room with four children and a pram waiting and waiting and waiting, for someone to help properly fit me, that I did ask “Why did I do this to myself?” But that was short lived and we all came home from the experience unharmed and still in good spirits. I just need to squeeze in some time to go back and check out those bathers!

Technorati Tags: parenting, Planning, shopping

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