One of the biggest aspects of planning a party at home is the menu. Why not have a bit of fun and put a twist on your party food! The kids will love it.
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Have a special birthday without spending an arm and a leg
Seven amazing indoor kids party games
What are the best indoor kids party games? These are our top six children’s party activities, guaranteed to keep the kids entertained. Most require just a few cheap supplies, and only limited preparation time. We’ve included both traditional party games, along with modern party activities. Perfect for indoor fun!
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Sugar free party bags
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Birthday party decoration trends
Summer birthday party ideas
Looking for summer birthday party ideas? Make the most of the sunshine with these awesome outdoor party theme and entertainment ideas.
From Hawaiian luau themed pool parties to backyard camping and ice cream stations, you will have so much fun in the sun.
Do you have a summer birthday in your house? Make the most of the sunshine with these awesome outdoor party ideas.
Summer party themes
Surf, tropical and Hawaiian luau party themes are so hot right now (ha ha). For decoration, think sand and sea shells, bright flowers and large green leaves, or pineapples and hot pink flamingos. You’ll find lots of decoration inspiration here and a great blog on luau parties here. Pic below from from the luau blog. Picture credit for the water melon drink to karaspartyideas.com - another great source of party ideas!
For refreshments, serve fruit kebabs and smoothies with paper umbrellas, and hand out party favours of thongs, grass skirts or flower leis.
Pool party
If you’re lucky enough to have a pool, your party entertainment is all sorted – just throw in some floaty toys, lay out towels or deckchairs, set up a shady umbrella and hand out icy poles. Don’t forget sunscreen and to keep an eagle eye on the kids while they swim.
Water games
Even without a pool, you can still have lots of fun playing water games. Fill up buckets with water, hand out water pistols and water balloons, and let the kids go nuts. There are also loads of party game ideas that are a little more sedate – try having a relay race where the kids have to run with a bowl of water held on their head. You can find lots more fun game ideas by searching ‘water games’ on Pinterest.
Camping party
Let the kids have an outdoor sleepover – set up a tent or string up some sheets, and create a bonfire surrounded by log offcuts for seating. Let them toast marshmallows on the bonfire, or make s’mores or these delicious campfire cones. For a fun night time party activity, hide some treasures in the garden and let the kids go on a torch-lit scavenger hunt.
Ice cream sundae station
Kids love ice cream, and setting up a DIY sundae station is a super easy way to serve dessert. Lay out various toppings and sprinkles, along with toffee popcorn, choc dots and mini marshmallows. Then scoop ice cream into bowls and let the kids heap on their own toppings. They’ll love it!
Outdoor movies
Hire an inflatable screen and movie projector to create your own backyard cinema. Set up rows of chairs or rugs with cushions, provide some snuggly blankets and bowls of popcorn. Wait for the sun to set and enjoy your favourite DVD on the big screen.
If there’s too much summer going on…
If it’s going to be too hot to enjoy being outside, bring the party inside with these fabulous indoor party game ideas - such as limbo and craft parties.
Happy summer partying!
Popular cake trends for your next party
There are so many amazing cakes around these days. I could sit on Pinterest for hours looking at them. The cake is one of the most popular aspects of a kid’s party. Everyone loves cake time! Having said that you don’t have to put out a piece of art to makes kids happy but here are some of my favourite cakes at the moment for inspiration if you are planning your next cake.
Pinata
Kids go crazy for the piñata cake. Not only are they gorgeous but they are so fun. When the cake is cut open and the lollies fall out – the excitement on kid’s faces is such a wonderful thing - you can’t help but love the smiles and excitement.
There are some great videos on youtube showing you how to make one.
Pinata cake
Rainbow
These are a bit involved as they require many layers but the outcome is beautiful. Rainbow is also such a fun party theme and it compliments other themes such as unicorn or fairy.
You can add rainbow decorations to your home for a beautiful party.
rainbow cake
Drip cakes
The drip look is super popular at the moment. It looks like someone has melted a glazed frosting and it’s dripped down the sides of the cake. It ends up with a beautiful effect that any little girl would be thrilled to have as their cake. Here is a great blog on how to make one.
Drip cake
Black frosting
Ok this might not sound like a kids cake but done right it can be really amazing. I adore this glam rock cake from sweetapolita. This is one of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever seen. You can also watch a video of this cake being made.
Gorgeous black icing cake
Mirror glaze
There are some beautiful mirror glazes out there. Some of these cakes look too good to cut into! These will delight everyone but beware of any small kids who may want to put their fingers in it before the party!
Marble and metal
The marble look is one of the most popular at the moment. They look amazing in tiered cakes. This may be a bit much for a kid’s party but still nice for some inspiration! Adding metallic onto cakes lets your princess have a mature beautiful cake.
Works of art
Adding things like doughnuts, macaroons and other embellishments can turn a cake into a fabulous work of art. I love the cakes from unbirthday bakery. They aren’t just cakes they are masterpieces. Lottie and Belle based in Perth also make the most amazing cakes. Go to their Instagram page for some inspiration.
Lottie and Belle cake
Donut cakes
One donut is never enough so when they form a cake you a delicious and fun cake. These are easy to do – you just need to be able to stack well! Throw some flowers, flags or sprinkles on for some extra flair!
I hope you found some inspiration for your next cake!
If you are also looking for great entertainment a Pretty Little Things party is a fun and unique party for kids of all ages. Kids get to use their creative energy into making 2-3 pieces of jewellery using quality beads. You can book your next party online – let us take the stress out of entertaining kids so you can enjoy the party!
Pretty little things party
Planning the perfect unicorn party
Unicorn party tips
Unicorns have been popular for many years with young girls. If you are having a party at home choosing a theme can be hard to do as you want to throw the perfect party for your children.
I always love a unicorn theme and these days there is so much choice that makes it easy to style your daughters next birthday party.
Unicorn Cakes
The showpiece of any party is the cake. You can order cakes in from many places. Or you can have a go and do it yourself. Cake 2 the rescue has a DIY cake kit that gives you everything you need to make a gorgeous unicorn cake. The other option is to do a plain cake and put a beautiful cake topper on it. Etsy is filled with unicorn cake toppers that can make that cake pop! So you don’t have to be the best cake maker in the world to put together a great unicorn cake.
Make any cake special with a beautiful cake topper
If you don’t have time to make a cake you can order one. Art you can eat makes novelty cakes that are fit for a princess in Melbourne. There are many cake suppliers in Sydney too that can make that perfect cake.
Beautiful unicorn cake from Art you can eat
Finally, you can also do unicorn cupcakes or cookies. Cupcakes can be simply done using ice cream cones.
Easy unicorn cupcake ideas from pinterest
Fly away pineapple does the most amazing unicorn cookies. Or you can try your hand at getting some fondant out and decorating your own cookies.
Gorgeous unicorn cookies from Flyaway Pineapple
Decorating in unicorn style
There are many decoration shops that will give you everything you need in one stop. Balloons, plates, decorations. I love Ruby Rabbit for party ware. She has a whole section dedicated to unicorn parties.
This giant unicorn balloon by Ruby Rabbit would make any party look amazing!
Fabulous unicorn balloon from Ruby Rabbit
I also love this pin the horn on the unicorn. Would be easy to do and fun for everyone!
pin the horn on the unicorn from pinterest
A piñata also is a popular choice. Kids love the excitement of trying to get it open and what will fall out of it when it does!
A cute unicorn piñata from pinterest
Invitations
To get the party off to a great start you need the perfect invitation. Zazzle have a range of party invites which means you can pick the perfect one. You can then customise it and that’s the job done – just send the invites out!
Personalised unicorn invitations from zazzle
The perfect party
Now that the party is planned and looking great if you need entertainment why not book a jewellery party. At Pretty Little Things girls make three pieces of jewellery. We have many different colours and styles of quality beads so girls can tap into their creative sides. One of the favourite designs girls love uses the colours of the rainbows so can fit in well with any unicorn lover!
Bracelet made at a pretty little things party
Too book just choose the party you want and book online.
Or call Susie on 0433 397 463. Happy parties! x
Healthy Party Foods Kids Will Actually Eat
Feeding a large group of children for a birthday party can be a bit of a challenge. You want to serve healthy food that they will actually eat. Plus, the menu can’t be too complicated, so you want foods that can be eaten with little hands rather easily. So with proper planning you can do something better than the traditional delivery pizza and bowls of chips.
Think about some of your child’s favourite foods as well to incorporate into the menu. After all it is a celebration for their birthday, so making it special specific to them is important. They can even help you get the food ready for the party. Young kids love to help so making them a part of the preparation can make them feel like a “big kid.”
Peanut Butter and Jam “Sushi”: This is a yummy recipe that is simple to make, and even easier to eat. You don’t even have to use peanut butter, but any kind of nut butter will do, such as almond or cashew. Layer some all natural fruit preserves with banana or strawberry slices rolled up in a large whole wheat tortilla. Then just slice into one inch pieces and set up into groupings of six for that authentic faux sushi feel. The whole grain tortilla helps to make it healthier than white flour tortillas.
Sushi kids will love to eat!
Fruity “Ice Cream” Cones: Anything eaten in a waffle cone is more fun. Even fruit! So putting homemade fruit salad into cones is going to be fun to eat, and looks pretty inviting sitting on a table.
Rainbow Smoothies: A colourful way to enjoy a smoothie is by making them layered with all different colours. Berry for red, mango for yellow, and blueberry for blue are a few ideas for fruity colours. If you can sneak a green smoothie layer in their then it’s even healthier for the kids. They probably won’t even notice the veggie in there because the rainbow colours just taste too yummy.
Smoothies too pretty to drink!
Veggie Kabobs: Food on a stick just tastes better. That’s a proven fact! Okay, maybe we’re making that up, but skewers of raw or blanched veggies with individual sides of healthy ranch dip are tasty. Vegetables can be made into all kinds of artistic platters too so get creative with your food!
Have fun with vegetables!
Mini Homemade Pizzas: Much better than delivery because you can use 100 % whole wheat flour, low fat mozzarella cheese, and even some turkey pepperoni. Pizza just isn’t pizza without pepperoni. Go low on the red sauce, so that these pizzas are less messy in the kids hands.
Sliders: Instead of burger sliders, do baked chicken sliders. It’s kind of like a mini chicken nugget sandwich, but healthy because the chicken is baked with a crunchy panko breading to mimic the taste of a traditional nugget, except that it’s not fried.
All this food and more can be served at your pretty little things jewellery parties. Every party goes for two hours with a couple breaks for food. Call us to find out more!
A Birthday Cake Alternative That’s Still A Tasty Cake
With allergy and dietary requirements becoming a big focus nowadays, it can seem difficult to make a traditional birthday cake. But fret not it can be done and with the right recipe it can be delicious and simple to make. You won’t even miss some of the ingredients with the right substitutions in place.
When you are having a birthday party for your child, you probably have a good idea of which of their friends have allergy requirements. It’s just a fact of life that kids sometimes have serious allergies. So you want to consider all kids that are attending the party, just to be on the safe side. No one likes to miss out on cake, so having an egg, nut, and gluten free cake is the way to go. Or if you don’t need to go that far, just having a nut free cake is important. Here are some recipes to consider for your child’s birthday bash.
Gluten Free Funfetti Cake: What this cake lacks in gluten and dairy, it makes up for in taste and style. Gorgeous rainbow colours flank the cake all around the sides in the form of colourful sprinkles. The cake itself is moist and tasty with gluten free flour, and non-dairy butter. Sprinkles are even inside the vanilla based cake batter for a cake that your child and their guest will “ooh and ahh” over. Keep in mind this cake is not nut free since there is almond extract in the recipe. You can easily remove that ingredient though to make it nut free for the kids.
Vanilla Quinoa Cake With Chocolate Vegan Frosting: We know what you are thinking. This cake doesn’t sound that good. Quinoa in a cake? Being gluten free and without nuts as well makes this cake right for most people’s dietary issues. With combination of dairy free milk, sweet potatoes, and quinoa, you won’t even be able to tell this cake isn’t traditional. You’ll just want a second slice.
What’s a birthday cake without some ice cream? You can also find dairy and nut free ice creams fairly easily at some of the whole foods geared gourmet groceries stores. Cocofrio is an amazing Australian based ice cream brand that specializes in dairy and gluten free frozen ice cream. There many flavors will appeal to grownups and kids alike. Try the Chocolate Raspberry Ripple, Salted Caramel, or the Naked Coconut alongside a piece of cake for the ultimate birthday treat that is sensitive to allergy sufferers needs. Looking for a unique party idea.
A Pretty Little Things Party lets your daughter and her friends make unique and beautiful jewellery. It's a girls dream party.
A Confident and Creative Child is a Happy One: How To Build Confidence
When you become a parent you want your children to grow up as confident people. So you do everything in your power to make sure that happens of course. Having children grow up empowered to be expressive and creative is a part of the process.
Our vision at Pretty Little Things Parties is to provide a framework for building a confident child through jewellery making. This may seem like a bit of a lofty idea, but it’s absolutely true that children who are allowed to make things with their own hands develop a sense of inner worth. Plus, it’s just plain fun! That’s part of what being a kid is all about, just having fun. If they can build their confidence along the way that’s a terrific bonus to strive for.
Programs At The Hellenic Museum
The Hellenic Museum in Melbourne is on the forefront of this theory on children and creativity. Sarah Craig is the curator and she firmly believes that, “jewellery making helps to develop divergent thinking and enables children scenes to generate at their peak.” They offer special workshops just for children that will develop and explore their skills to the fullest. A special jewellery making workshop for children is offered there in two hour lessons that will teach them everything they need to know about this highly artistic craft.
Other Benefits Of Jewellery Making
Another benefit to jewellery making for children is that it develops hand and eye coordination. That’s why at Pretty Little Parties we have developed certain jewellery making parties that are geared towards different age groups and skill levels. So even the littlest ones can get in on the fun. Our Pearl Party is geared towards the skills of a 5-7 year old, while the next level is the Crystal Party for 8-11. Finally for the older gals who are on the cusp of teen hood, you are going to want to explore a Ruby Tweens Party for 12 and up. The materials we use for the jewellery is high quality to make sure the pieces the girls create will last a long time. Pride in what they have created is another lasting impression they will remember each and every time they put on their special jewellery piece.
Staying sane in the winter holidays
The holidays have arrived....now what!
The winter school holidays are here and faced with two to three weeks with your kids in what can be sketchy weather is often a scary thought.
The great thing about living in Melbourne and Sydney is there are always loads of things to do in the school holidays. In fact winter holidays have become my favourite time of the year here in Melbourne.
Here are a few of my top things to do in Melbourne over the winter holidays.
Skating
One of my favourite things is the outdoor skating rink that gets set up in Federation Square. It’s an outdoor rink and even people who have never been on skates can have a go. They have these great penguin stabilisers you can skate with to keep you upright. It’s great fun for young and old and a great way to be outdoors as skating can help you work up a sweat!
Find out more here
Ice slide
Yup that’s right – Melbourne is getting an ice slide this year! It’s going to be 40 metres long and 4 meters high! The kids will love it and personally I think this sounds like a do not miss event too. There will be a food truck on site serving up yummy food so you can grab a bite after you slide!
Find out more here
https://www.eurekaskydeck.com.au/events/the-variety-ice-slide/
Want to stay indoors
I love the National Gallery of Victoria. Even when there isn’t a special event on, just wandering around the free areas is a lot of fun (and your kids may learn something too!). There is the glass floor to walk across which scares me but my daughter loves it. It’s warm and welcoming and offers so much to see and do it’s a great place to burn off a few hours!
Want to head out of town
Sovereign Hill in Ballarat does a Christmas in July spectacular. The town is painted Christmas and there are loads of things to see and do. At night they light up the buildings and you can enjoy the music and what really is a spectacular light show. Bonus is they make it snow – it’s not real snow but the kids love it. Ballarat also has a pop up skating rink so if you enjoy skating hit this one too.
Find out more here
Wild nights at Werribee Zoo
Another favourite of mine is Wild Nights at Werribee Zoo. You get to roam around the zoo after dark. It’s great seeing the animals who often come to life when the lights go down. You can do an evening safari (pack warm clothes and a blanket as it’s cold on the bus) and you get to walk around with torches hoping to catch some glowing eyes! They also have fire pits around the zoo, some of which have marshmallow roasting going on. The evening ends with a fun show. It’s a great night and the only chance you get to be there at night every year.
Find out more here
As well as this there are movies, play centres, and loads of other entertainment. Pretty Little Things also runs workshops and can come to your house if you want to entertain a group of kids for a couple hours. You can find out more on our website www.prettylittlethingsparties.com or by calling Susie on 0433 397 463.
Happy holidays! Stay warm. x
The Ultimate Party Decorating and Styling Tips For the Best Bash
People go all out for party decorating nowadays. The ideas for different party decorations are very inventive and exciting. They do add an ambiance to your party that you won’t have without them.
The options available are amazing with more balloon colours and decorations available. Not to say that you have to keep up with anyone, but your child will truly appreciate the time and effort that goes into planning just the right birthday bash to make them feel like a princess for a day!
Memories of birthday party celebrations last forever, so having just the right style tips for the ultimate celebration is important. If you feel like you are up to the task of handling all the details for your celebration by all means go ahead, if not you can always hire a professional party planner to help you get everything planned the right way.
If you are planning to have a Pretty Little Things jewellery making party, you can visit our website for some inspiration to use with whichever party you choose for your kid. One place to start is by having some gorgeous floral decorations on the tables where the girls will be making their pieces. A floral motif is very popular because all little girls love flowers, so you can really amp up the charm that way.
The Theme Party
If your child has a favourite superhero, princess, or they happen to adore animals you can centre their party around a specific theme. That way if everything is geared toward that theme, it’s easier to tie everything together from the décor to the food. Even the gift bags you hand out to the children can be themed. Plus, they will get to take home the jewellery they make from the party as well, so having a pretty bag to put it in is helpful.
from karaspartyideas.com
Colours Of The Rainbow
Rainbow colours everywhere is another fine trend to follow. Making the decorations all different colours can be bright and appealing. You can also focus on one specific colour if they have a favourite, and then do all the different shade variations of the colour. For example if they love “purple” you can do an array of purple shades from light lavender to deep royal plum.
from karapartiesideas.com
Having a party styled to be remembered by your child forever is not as hard as you think with the right inspiration. Talk to our party stylists today at Pretty Little Parties on how to make your kids party the absolute best it can be with games, entertainment, and themes that will become a treasured memory. Just check out the photos on our website of all those smiling girls’ faces!
Some of our favourite party decoration places include:
Where it all began...
From one Mum to another (or Dad), I would like to share with you my story and the birth Pretty Little Things Parties that began back in 2010.
After working in London for a prestigious Jewellery Designer I decided it was time to start following my passion and discovering my purpose and vision for this life. My vision is the change the world one woman at a time through empowerment, education, and employment – my passion is photography.
I was lucky enough to be offered a rare placement at RMIT to study photography, and on my new journey moving to Melbourne I discovered I was pregnant. This was a pretty tough time as you can imagine, having no home, moving interstate, beginning studying, no family support, and no job.
I was offered two different casual positions in retail to help me through studying and after announcing I was pregnant I was slowly eliminated from the roster. This is when I decided I would never work for anyone again.
So Pretty Little Things was born…
I remember my very first party I had booked, I sourced the beads from necklaces at op-shops, had one set of tools and invested my last $100 in bead boards and other strings and findings.
It took 3 months for me to make my own first $100 back and by this stage I was 6 months pregnant. From there it grew and flourished into a beautiful business where I still have so much enjoyment in seeing little girls eyes light up at their very own creations.
The beads I now source from all over the world and am very selective about only getting the most stunning ones, so no matter what design the children make they look fabulous.
I also employ mother’s, and teachers who share the passion of creativity and working with children - sharing our skills, knowledge for jewellery making to build children's confidence and create memories of their birthdays.
5 years later we now run parties in Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and soon to be Perth, and also offer DIY party kits.
I hope this inspires you to follow your passion, and also give your child the opportunity to create their own Pretty Little Things.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to hosting a party for you.
