In a matter of weeks it will be Miss Eliza's 4th Birthday and to celebrate we're giving away one of the beautiful ELIZA set of pendants. One of our most popular pendants, the ELIZA has been with us since we started koolaman designs way back in 2007.
One of the reasons this necklace has been so popular is that you can add another pendant as your family expands.
Miss Eliza affectionately known as "Lulu"
To win the set which includes three pendants and a 45 cm large ball chain (as pictured). is easy, and will help me on 'party day' All you have to do is include your party hint, favourite recipe or an idea to keep a group of 4 year olds entertained, perhaps it's a theme that we can use or what's the thing that you do to make your party run smoothly with as little effort or maybe it's something totally different but is your favourite party thing. Include it on the list please, we'd love to see it.
We've asked Kate from
Sambellina who is very well known around the party scene to be the guest judge with this ELIZA giveaway. Since we discovered her beautiful
partyware last year at
Magnolia Square, we've been in love. From the gorgeous pale pink and white dot party cups and matching plates to the bright red and white dots, there is something for everyone in the Sambellina range of 'kids partyware and stationery' which is not just for kids!
Pop your entry in the comments box here and the competition closes 8pm Wednesday 31st March, winner will be announced on Thursday evening. If you dont have a Google ID just leave it as anonymous and your name or email address. Just some way that I will be able to contact you.
At the last birthday party at our house these were an absolute hit!! You can even get the kids to help you make them as they don't make much mess at all. Just fill up lots of little bowls with all the different sprinkles and get the kids to dip them in. You can stick your marshmellow lollipops in an empty egg container (all I had on hand) or a turned-over water melon to let them dry but it hardly takes a second. I used white and brown chocolate and had pink, reds and purples for the girls and green and blues for the boys. An absolute winner! http://bit.ly/tVsUu
ReplyDeletesimonefranssen@hotmail.com
the greatest party hint i have is to made sure that you breath.
ReplyDeleteNo seriously, we our family it is all about sharing and caring, we make sure that each person brings a plate of their favourite food, so you can educate others to different foods that they are not familar with. As we are multicultural family this is important to us
sbooth29@gmail.com
We just had the most delightful sunday afternoon celebrating my daughters 5th birthday with a Mummy & Daughter Tea Party.
ReplyDeletehttp://sunnymummyaus.blogspot.com/2010/03/mummy-daughter-tea-party.html
We had good old fashioned party food, kept it simple and short (2 hrs).
I had so much fun planning it and am over the moon and back with the way it turned out.
My little tip for you is to put coloured popcorn in the cupcake cases, it looks so cute on the table & little girls LOVE having their own popcorn cups.
Another nice touch was popping rasberries in the ice and then mixing mineral water with a dash of apple & raspberry cordial in the punck bowl. These were then served in plastic fancy cups with the rims coated in pink sugar and were enjoyed by both the big & little girls!
Have fun plannning your party, thats what its all about from start to finish...celebrating LIFE!
Stace x stacey@sunnymummy.com.au
Sure to be a hit is do it themselves cupcakes! HAve a range of cupcakes ready for the decorating, along with small containers of things like sprinkles, choc chips, sultanas, small lollies etc. Then add a small candle and WOW we all have a small cake as well as the Birthday girl! :)
ReplyDeleteLeah Dowdell
What you will need is some terracotta pots, paints, brushes, soil and seeds. During the early stages of the party get the children to decorate their own pot. When the pots are dry it is time to plant the seeds. At the end of the party the children have a party favour to take home with them, which hopefully lasts longer than a bag of lollies!! Also as they watch it grow they will be reminded of the fun time they had at your daughters birthday!
ReplyDeleteSarah
bourkey80@hotmail.com
I am in the process of planning Miss Lily's 5th Birthday, we are very Fairy orientated at the moment so it's fairies.
ReplyDeleteEasy decorations is pearl curling ribbon, just cut at different lengths drawing pinned to the top of door frames or windows, and fairy wands that we cut out of rice bubble boxes and glittered our self. i just blue tacked them around the place.
We are doing pass the parcel, egg and spoon and pin the wand on the fairy.
Food is simple, fairy bread, either with sprinkles or with pink jelly crystals, if you do crystals, you have to do them just before serving. We are also going to use the suggestions of marshmellows that was written above, thanks S. Franssen.
We have got the long bread sticks, biscuit things, and plan to dip them in melted chocolate and then roll in sprinkles.
One last thing, our party loot bags, i got some organza bags from the $2 shop and have put glitter, jewels and bubbles and one lolly pop.
Hmm sorry for the long winded message, i got carried away, you can see i've had fun planning.
Cheers
Moira
moirahiemy@gmail.com
My favourite things at my daughter's recent birthday were the cake pops! Check them out at www.bakerella.com - I made them instead of lolly bags and just wrapped them in some clear cellophane with pink ribbon. They were a HUGE hit.
ReplyDeleteKim
I was very proud to learn the art of icing the perfect birthday cake (which was a green dinosaur) using delicous butter frosting for my sons 3rd birhday. I won big brownie points from the girls at mothers group and from the kids alike!
ReplyDeleteHere are my best tips for perfect cake icing.
1. Freeze cake for 30-45mins
2. Apply thin layer of frosting-this becomes the crumb coat. Put cake into the fidge for a few hours until the icing becomes had.
3. Add a second layer of frosting to the cake, decorating with lollies chocs etc
This will give great coverage over the cake, without your cake crumbling away! Best result every time.
ckweadley@y7mail.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWe hired a bubble machine (or you can buy them from party shops for under $40) for our son's party. It was such a hit with the kids, they were chasing bubbles all afternoon (and were absolutely more interested in that than the expensive jumping castle that we had also hired!)
ReplyDeleteandalwilaus@optusnet.com.au
A quick and easy but effective treat at a little girl's birthday party is mini tea cups. All you need are marshmallows, a packet of Tic Toc biscuits, musk lifesavers, chocolate and a small amount of icing. Simply use the icing to stick a marshmallow onto the coloured side of the biscuit creating the cup and saucer. Next, stick half a lifesaver to the side of the marshmallow creating a handle. The last step is to just add a small dollop of melted chocolate onto the top of the marshmallow. Very easy, and very cute.
ReplyDeleteThe most successful girls party we have had was a beading party. I set up a table with various beads and other 'bits' to thread, along with some jewellery elastic, and the children made either a necklace or bracelet. The girls loved making patterns and comparing designs with their friends. They were completely engaged with their craft and it was a wonderful 'wind down' activity following party games and food. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteeastaugh@bigpond.net.au
My most helpful tip is 'Be Creative'. You can save so much money doing DIY, there is so much info and ideas on the net. We just had our sons 4th birthday party on the weekend and I made all the invitations, party bags, a door sign, happy birthday banner, cupcake toppers and personalised cups. http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?id=590977916&aid=156420
ReplyDeleteHave fun planning!
Jay
sjjtchurches@bigpond.com
A friend of mine recently had a party for her 4 year old daughter. It wasn't much, but it was a nice family/close friend occasion. The host family (not the mother of the party girl) had 3 girls under 7, and they brought out all their old toys that they don't play with anymore. By agreement with their parents before the party, these were toys they were happy to give away. During the party the toys got played with by all, and at the end instead of lolly bags, each child got to choose and take home a favourite toy.
ReplyDeleteSo not only did each child get a 'new' toy which would last longer than lollies, but the host family got rid of some old, unwanted but still good toys to new homes.
The only problem was the big decision of "which one do i want?!"
Also, on the birthday cake instead of candles they used sparklers, and there was one for each child there, so everyone was trying to "blow out the candles" together! Lots of laughs!
Good luck with your party!
Carly
scellicott83@bigpond.com
keep it simple and have the birthday celebrant involved from start to finish.
ReplyDeletea wonderful idea for a girls party is a white angel theme. all guests come dressed in white and all decorations in heavenly white - just beautiful! all food in white - think mini pavs decorated with silver cacherels, white chicken pillow puff sandwiches, vanilla milkshakes etc etc, your creativity is stimulated when you only have one colour to work with and makes for some gorgeous photographs. Have the girls make their own angel wings at the party with glitter and jewels on hand. Aaah dreamy...
Toni
tonilou1@bigpond.net.au
if you set a theme for the kids ensure you dress to theme as well... my daughter Eliza (affectionately known as lizelu) had a hula party and I dressed as a hawaiin girl, my son Harry had a pokemon party where the adults partook in the theme as well. It makes the party so much more fun for you as well and if you are having fun just think - the kids are having 10x more fun! It takes the stress out of the party and puts you in the swing of the day
ReplyDeleteand you will be guaranteed the party will be a success.
bec
bec@urbanescape.com.au
My absolute favourite party food is fruit sticks. Instead of a fruit platter, have square cuts of your daughters favourite fruits like apple, watermelon, strawberrys, even grapes plus one marsh-mellow skewed on wooden bbq sticks. Kids love them and its a great way to serve fruit at a party.
ReplyDeleteNaomi
naomi@roofing-materials.com.au
Simple, colourful and creative is what works best. Food - Back to basics, good old fashioned party favorites.
ReplyDeleteColour - Stick to one prominent colour and add silver or gold touches
Creative - Use fabric, paper, ribbon, beads etc to make the difference.
Forget extravagance...that is so yesterday...
Remember - kids remember the experience and it takes such simple concepts to make this happen.
Jodie B
jodiebatton@westnet.com.au
I love parties at home, no clowns, bouncy castles or reptiles - just a happy simple lovely celebration. A formula has developed over the years that can be adapted to age and personality- it works for us. So here we go...
ReplyDeleteInvitation - something fun/pretty. May ask guests to dress up ie birthday persons favorite colour,a party dress, fairy costume, something sparkly etc
Duration - short and sweet - 1.5 to 2 hours for little ones
Table - I like to have everyone seated to eat so the table has to look fun - pretty tablecloth, flowers,a few balloons, cute plates,cups etc. Not extravagant just festive.
Food - not too many choices, prepare as much beforehand as possible, mix of healthy and treats. Fruit kebabs are a winner - chop up chunks of fruit, thread onto skewers and finish with a marshmallow tip. Make lots - they love them!
Water - I only offer water to drink and no one has ever complained, surely there is enough sugar already.
Games - pass the parcel still a favorite. I wrap a chocolate frog and say a sparkly necklace at each layer so everyone gets the same. Not too many games as they seem happy to just run about. Musical statues is a good impromptu one if needed.
Presents - as guests arrive I ask them to put any presents
into a big basket. There can be a grand unwrapping at some point during the party or you can do it later when all is quiet - whichever way at least those lovely presents are not ripped open and left scattered all over the house!!
Cake - always icecream cake - upend a tub of icecream onto a cake stand, decorate with sweets, strawberries and sparklers for wow factor. Serve directly into cones and let them run off to eat, preferrably outside!
Party bags - I love them, something small wrapped in a cellophane bag to take home
Thankyou notes - it seems to be a dying art but its important to me. First the kids did a squiggle and I wrote the rest, then they did their name and now they do it all themselves. I hope its a habit they'll have forever.
oh and for any attending parents - I set up an urn, coffee/tea things and a yummy cake or biscuits and then ask everyone to please help themselves!!
So theres our party 1.0.1, hope you have a lovely time at yours
Melinda
tm.barr@bigpond.com
My suggestion is something that is sooooo easy to make and can be used for any theme and especially perfect for a little girls party of all ages! They are fluffy, floaty and just so delicate and feminine looking.
ReplyDeletePoms Poms! The lovely paper ones! The Martha Stewart shows how to make them and once you make one the rest are easy, and with the all colours of the rainbow in tissue paper you can make so may different combinations. We recently had my daughters first birthday and we made pink and white Pom Poms and they just made the perfect decorations! People asked me where I got them from and when I said I made them they were like wow they are great! The whole party was pink with white polka dot theme and it turned out really lovely! I wish I could post a picture of the Pom Poms but I am not sure how, they are uber chic! The best bit it is after the party they can be used again and they can be used to decoarte you daughters room or even the play room. They look amazing as a bunch with the ribbon cut at different heights. Don't you love dual use, not only great for the hip wallet but also the environment!
Also we had a bubble machine and it was to windy :( but I also had some bubble mixture with the bubble wands and this entertained all the older boys too! They had to have competitions who could catch the bubbles again and who could hold them for the longest without bursting! boys!
We had the Sambellina polka dot plates and cups and pink with white polka dot runner on the table. The napkins I just used white and pink and just layered one of each on top of each other, it was cheaper then buying the special ones. What looks great and the kids loved what colour co-ordinated lolly jars. I used plastic ones that were easy to get the lids on and off, glass would be lovely but not with kiddies! These were a hit! They had the choice between, marshmallows, musk sticks and pink and white mushrooms, a You'll Love Coles Brand and so yummy!
For the little ones I had a mat down with lots of my daughters toys and they were entertained for hours!
It was lovely and worth the work. Oh I forgot to mention the pink and white cupcakes, looked great and were easy with pink frosting (you can cheat and get it in a can now!) and little white marsh mellows.
I know it will be a awesome party and I can't wait to see the photos! I love party planning but not so much the clean up! lol!
Hope there are some ideas to help you out!
Kym
busybbee05[at]yahoo[dot]com[dot]au
My tip is be creative - ths may come easier to some than to others, but it can save you alot of money and gives you sense of pride!
ReplyDeleteMy son had a pirate party which started with the home made invites that were a huge hit I got some brown butcher's paper and printed the invites on it (in pirate talk) including some "arghs & mateys" and wrote when and where the pirates were to meet to come aboard the ship, I burnt the edges and rolled them up like scrolls, tying them off with brown ribbon and a pirate sticker as a seal. It showed everyone that we were serious about the pirate theme and ensured that everyone did their best to dress up....which by the way can cost you next to nothing if you get a bit creative, my son's costume cost us $6!! 2 sets of bits and pieces from the $2 shop & a $2 white polo from Kmart! the rest was pits and pieces we had and cut & shredded at home and he looked fantastic!
My tip for the game "Pass the parcel" is to use a pretty box to pass around and fill it with individually wrapped gifts so each of the children get to open a gift. This saves time and maintains interest especially with the little ones because the game can continue and it stops the old problem of too many sheets of paper accidentally being unwrapped.
ReplyDeleteMy children are still both young, at the moment i enjoy having parties out of the house, less stress for me, no cleaning up etc.
ReplyDeleteThe best party food's that i have found all kids enjoy are in the summer - icypoles, the kids love them. During winter pies and "little hot dogs" as my daughter call them are a sure hit.
As a Kindergarten teacher I have had many chances to work with this age group. My friends often ask me to help with their children's parties.
ReplyDeleteMy advice includes:
- Start the party with a craft activity. This allows children to arrive slowly. Each child can complete the craft at their own pace but it is also a nice social activity. Crafts might include threading (they often love necklace and bracelet making), model making or plain old drawing and painting. Either way, offer exciting colours and materials and they're sure to love it!
- Be sure to include music and dancing. They love it! You could play games like freeze (the children freeze in various positions or as various animals/objects when the music stops) or classics like limbo and hokey pokey.
- Other games like pin the tail on the donkey (or whatever animal/object is appropriate to your child), Duck duck goose and Simon Says are great to keep them interested too. Pass the parcel and broken telephone are also excellent games!
- Depending on the number of children you could do a simple scavenger hunt. Give the children a clue (tell them one at a time) that they must find in the backyard (You need to find something that came off of a tree. Find something that is spiky, etc.)It would get them running around and having fun.
- Finally, don't make too much food for the party. In my experience, the children are usually more interested in the games than they are in eating.
A happy happy birthday to Eliza (Lulu!)
rachy8242 @ gmail.com
I have had parties for all 3 of my little boys and at 4 years of age all they want is to run wild. They do not really appreciate time spent on fancy invites or pretty bows on pressies it basically comes down to plenty of grass to run free. We also had good old fashioned games like egg and spoon races, sack races and of course apple bobbing which is always a big hit. But saying that they do have a fancy cake for every birthday and I totally Love my Womens Weekly Kids Cake Book (which has been handed down from my Mum to me which is so special) It is starting to get hard as I have close to done all the boys cakes in there and what is even nicer is that I have the photos of the same cakes which my mum had made us for our birthdays many years ago. It does not take alot of time or many to have a fantastic party for the special little people in your life.
ReplyDeleteI also write my boys a letter on every birthday which I started when they were born. These are put aside and maybe they will appreciate them one day (Might be a 21st gift)
Thankyou for this fantastic opportunity to win. Many Thanks Katrina D xxx dunnkat@hotmail.com
Every child loves to experiment with food & what 4 year old girl wouldn't want to take home a little momento of the occassion, get the girls to decorate simple milk arrowroot biscuit with some icing which ofcourse is pre-made & pink & make sure you have lots of little lollies like smarties, snakes cut up & jelly beans & sprinkles. Kids love them & can take them home to show mum & dad too.
ReplyDeleteAlso we made placemates which we designed & photocopied heaps of with a space for the childs name, all the kids sat at the "party placemat table" & decorated their picture with textas, crayons & stickers & then we had a laminator on hand to complete their art work & then enjoyed their cake & party food on their special placemat & took them home as a party momento.
Happy birthday to your little miss.
Many Thanks
Joanne P. joanneben@bigpond.com
I love birthday parties! My about-to-be-five year old loves them too and has planned out her 5th and 6th parties and has moved on to her 7th.
ReplyDeleteMy advice is - regardless of theme chosen/age of child/party activites - be organised, be prepared, make to-do lists for the lead up and for on the actual day. Then when everything is "under control" - be flexible! Last year we had planned to have the party food outside as a picnic, but it was drizzling. So instead we moved the dining table to the side and put the picnic rugs down on the floor and had the picnic inside. Smiles all round. Fortunately it did ease up so that we could use the bubble machine and the children were able to have a run around outside as well.
Happy Birthday Eliza!
Amanda Heitmann (heitmann@iprimus.com.au)
As a kid we used to love it when my mom would take a big ball of coloured string for each kid who was coming to the party. She would go into a room and undo each ball of string all over the room, over the furniture, under the tables, throught the lamps until it looked like one big, massive,coloured spider web. After filling up on treats we would all be ready to tackle the wonderous web. After lots of giggles from bumping into each other all over the room we would see who the first person was who could wind back up their whole ball of string! Lots of fun and great memories thirty years later!! Erika ehellstrom@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for all participating in the ELIZA giveaway. We are very impressed at all the suggestions, hints etc.. Kate from SAMBELLINA partyware and stationery is going to have a very difficult time judging the winner. Still a couple more hours before the giveaway closes. Cheerio Lisa & Stacey
ReplyDeleteThe last 4 year old party I went to had the good old fashioned Pinjata. It was such a hit, all the kiddies (and some adults) loved it. It kept the kiddies active and entertained for a good while, as it took quite a lot of pounding from tiny 4 year olds before it cracked open.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that all little girls love, is to play dress ups,visit op shops in your area and get a selection of clothes, hats, shoes and bags, the girls will have a ball dressing up.I know my granddaughters love the dress up box we have, the eldest aged 8 and the 4 yr old even dress up their baby sister 17 months, they even get their Auntie and myself dressing up too, we have a great time.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Julie
rjpacker@bigpond.com
I LOVE parties! I have found a wonderous site which can start all the ideas flowing. Check out http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/party_ideas.html
ReplyDeleteit is wonderful. We search through each idea - "Aussie" it up and then come up with our own. I think the best thing to start a party is an invitation. We don't send out a piece of paper. For a pirate party we sent out treasure maps in sand coated plstic bottles, with raffia wrapped around it, with the details etc. printed on old maps. We had a rainbow party for Miss Kate - 4 yo - with paper plate rainbows and streamers, with the invitation written on blue clouds which were attached - both to the plate and the streamers. We had a racing car - slot car party - with the inviation stuck on a road - with the other side a toy car hot glued on, with dotted white lines down the middle. We had an "op Shop" party - and the invitation was in an old handbag - which had to be used with the costume. We had an 80s party - with the invitation printed on a cassette insert, and various 80s tracks on the cassette. Guests had to compile their own side B to bring along to make the sound track to the evening - side A was to get them in the mood.
We also have a publisher file up and ready with a "thankyou message. We leave spaces for a few photos of the birthday child and the "guest" - and then personalise the message. It's great to give with the "treasures" at the end.
We also have "entries" to our house on party day. We have had pirate flags, a balloon rainbow for guests to walk through, a checkered finish line for guests to walk under and a line of pacman and ghosts eating the "dot" food. Beats a couple of balloons tied to the letterbox!
The web site will have lots of ideas for the "in between" times.
But for us it's about the invite and the entry and the thankyou.
Kellie Grady
wkgrady@internode.on.net
(photos are in my albums on Facebook too)
Oh bugger, I think I may have missed out on this but thought I'd add my bit anyway!
ReplyDeleteWe had my son's second birthday in a beautiful local park with room for the parents to sit near the playground while the children played in the park under some amazing trees. We had a bunch of finger food - some suitable for the adults (brie and pear on crackers, antipasto, champagne etc.) and plenty to keep the kiddies happy (cupcakes decorated with the theme of the day - I love to have a colour and theme for the day like elmo and red, or cookie monster and blue etc. lollies, mini hotdogs etc.) but the biggest highlight of the day was the freshly brewed coffee! Have a travelling coffee van - choose one that uses a brand of coffee that is known to be great. Call them at least a week in advance, and have them come to your location, and you have your own private barista!! Perfect.
PS. They generally don't charge a fee to come there, just the normal cost per coffee that you can either treat your guests to or let them know in advance that the van will be there so they can purchase their own. Hope the party goes well! :)
Thank you all very much for taking the time to enter the giveaway. We had a few days off over Easter and now, Kate sambellina.com.au is considering all of the gorgeous posts and will let us know which one she loves the most.
ReplyDeleteCheerio Lisa & Stacey xx
Hi there everyone !! Firstly, WOW - what a fabulous response and so many amazing and creative ideas and inspiration that you have all so kindly shared.... A very hard one to judge - I loved the "decorate your own" cupcakes and milk arrowroot biscuits, respeberries in ice, tic-toc tea cups and the bubble machine and so many others.BUT......drum roll.....My favourite idea was THE BALL OF STRING ide by Erika !! Such a simple and original idea, a bit traditional/retro and especially the fact that it is a party memory that obviously has stuck for a long time..... Congratulations Erika !!
ReplyDelete