Party time!

To take my mind off ‘you know what’ I’ve started to think about Peanut’s birthday party and how I can make it lovely. There are so many aspects to think about…

Who to invite?
Even if I limit invitations to the nursery friends she talks about most, I’m already at a dozen. Then you add in their parents, plus our own family, and I start to get scared. Good job we have an enormously long garden!

Did you know Martha Stewart recommends you have one guest for each year of your child’s age? That means I should only have 4 attendees. As much as I love Martha, that’ll never get past Peanut.

Anyway, based on my glass half full assumptions about whether people like me, I will only expect a handful to want to come anyway! Only joking.

Next I start to think about venue [our garden], theme [mostly pink], food for a small army and lastly how to keep everyone amused and happy. Yikes.

Entertaining a tough crowd?
I think a small bouncy castle seems like a good idea. They have a roof should it rain and they don’t need much looking after [well, apart from keeping an eye on whether someone falls out].

And then I thought maybe a face painter would be nice, but who and how much? And would they be as well as or instead of the bouncy castle – after all, am I planning a party or a circus?

Feeding the five thousand?
I don’t know where to begin with food but I’ll stick to only feeding the children otherwise I may need to take out a second mortgage. I also don’t want to serve a load of sugar but we’ll see how much I resist as time ticks away and convenience starts to play a part.

The best bit
That only leaves the creative side of things, the set dressing if you like. Balloons, bunting, fabrics, flowers, cakes, party bags...

I have experience and training in interiors and styling so I love this bit. I really enjoyed preparing for her first birthday party but I have to admit it wasn’t cheap and it can't be the same this year, we’re on an economy drive all the way.

I’m not sure who’s more excited…