Sunday, November 8, 2009

Happy birthday! Part 2


Shiny wrapping paper lies shredded on the floor and the helium is slowly leaking from the balloons but there is no post-party flatness. Family and friends gathered to help us celebrate Emily's first birthday and the party euphoria and sugar high lingers.

Hosting a party, particularly at home, brings a whole host of administrative issues on top of the catering. Cleaning, dusting, putting precious objects out of reach of 15 stampeding toddlers, sorting out toys into boxes for different age groups, sweeping the back deck, setting up outdoor furniture, arranging the pot-plants, buying the balloons and streamers ... the list is endless. But an inveterate list-maker like myself finds it satisfying ticking off each item.

Also satisfying, and much more fun, is planning the party menu. With up to 50 people coming, we can't just throw together a few platters and hope that will be enough. Luckily there are good cooks on both sides of the family and all are drafted in to help fill the white platters that are marching out of the cupboards, eager to be used. Of course we have bowls of chips and lollies to put out, but there's also pastry pinwheels, club sandwiches, potato and fetta pastries, corn and ham mini-muffins, caramelised onion tartlets and smartie biscuits.


I'll share some recipes in a future post. In the meantime, here is the fairy toadstool birthday cake that I made for the party.


4 comments:

Bec Brown said...

The cake looks great! Pity you had to cut it up. I really like the toadstools made out of marshmallows - so clever!

Melinda said...

Thanks Bec! It was a pity to cut it up but it did taste great! There were a lot of little people clamouring for a toadstool or a loveheart lolly.

LittleBigCompany said...

Hi, looking to make a toadstool cake for my daughter's birthday on saturday - do you have the recipe or the "how to do" instructions ;)

LittleBigCompany said...

Hi, love the cake, wondering if you have the recipe and the "how to" instructions...
Have Miss 6 year old's birthday on Saturday and need to make a toadstool cake for enchanted party them..