DYI Photo booth props

Photo booth props are easy and fun to make.  They make cute memories for kids parties, are great for thank you cards and the big kids love them too.  Make your own or download our free templates to get you started at My little party planner

Pretty Polka Dot Cake

I've just uploaded the steps to create this pretty polka dot cake.  To try this yourself, visit My Little Party Planner.  Such fun and so easy!

A letter of love. A beautiful gift.

A letter of love.  A beautiful gift.

A friend recently told me that on their 30th birthday one of her most treasured gifts was a card from her mother. It was special as her mother had written in great detail about the day she was born. It included everything from the weather on the day details on what everyone was doing when they realised she was on her way, what happened to the other siblings when she was off to hospital through to the emotions and excitement she felt as things were happening. Everything that could be remembered was noted right up until the moments she held her for the first time.

My friend said while she knew the basics of the day, she hadn't known all the tiny details before.  She was incredibly touched.

Another take on this could be to write a letter about the first time you met someone or about what make them so special to you.

Christmas lights

One of my favourite ways to get into the Christmas spirit is to check out all the lights around the place.  There are some fabulous displays.  My favourite place this year was a house in Cremorne (Corner of Rangers Road and Spofforth Streets).  It was just amazing.  The lights stretched right around the corner, over the roof and in every little place you could see.  There was even a live Santa!  Just when I thought it couldn't get any more amazing....it snowed!!!!

I am so grateful to these amazing people that bring a little extra magic to Christmas.  Many also collect for charities which I think is a fabulous idea.

Visit My Little Party Planner for a list of my favourite displays

Magic Garden Party Venue

Manly is blessed with lots of great venues for hire. Manly Scout Hall is just one. Nestled in Ivanhoe Park Botanic Gardens between Sydney Road and Raglan Street it's a great space. The Sout Hall boasts a large wooden hall perfect for disco dancing and plenty of room for indoor games.

The back door leads out to ... more info & photos

more info & photos

Make your own 10 pin bowling game

Recycled water bottles make great pins!

My daughter and I have spent the evening playing 10 pin bowling. We are actually experimenting as we're making our own version using our recycled drink bottles.

Our first game proved that empty bottles were too easy to knock over with our bowling ball (really a soccer ball). We filled them with water deciding this was cheaper than rice and handier than sand.  Full bottles were too hard to bowl down so we ended up playing around to get the levels right to suit the weight of our ball and the skill of our players.

Now we've got the water level's sorted, we'll work out how we'll decorate them. One thing I know is my daughter has "Rainbow" colours in her thoughts.

We did it. Check out the how to video if you want to have a go yourself!

For more craft and party games visit the My Little Party Planner website

My favourite gift ideas

Recently I've had several family members reaching milestone birthdays. One was 100 years and two were 90 years (I'm hoping I've inherited the right geans!)

While I'm happy to say that all of these family members are content with the things they have in life and they've been blessed with wonderful experiences, it can make it a little tricky to come up with gift ideas on a budget but we did.

Here are some of my favourite ideas for without breaking the bank.

Notes from the Prime Minister
& Governor General

• A note from the Prime Minister, Governor-General or Queen: for special birthdays and wedding anniversaries like these you can organise the birthday or wedding anniversary couple to receive a personal congratulations message from the Prime Minister, Governor-General or even The Queen.

• Memory box: this is a fun and thoughtful idea. Decorate a box, jar or any suitable container and fill it full of trinkets and memory joggers that each have a story. As each item is removed from the box and handed to the recipient, the giver retells the story about that item.  My amazingly creative cousin gave this to my Grandmother and we all enjoyed hearing the stories as each random, intriguing and special item was revealed. 

• Personalised vouchers: make your own book of vouchers that can be redeemed for hugs, poetry reciting, grocery shopping trips, assistance for getting to places or just every day chores. They can be lots of little things to help fill a need or put a smile on the birthday persons face.

Sing it or say it: write a short poem or song about the birthday person.

• Messages of celebration: use your iPhone, smart phone or video and ask everyone you can to say a little message to the birthday person.  Compile them into one video and have play it in the background during a party or wrap it and give it to them to watch when the party is over.

90th birthday cake for a keen gardener

• Hand made: if you have a talent (or think you do) have a go at making a special birthday gift.  Perhaps it's hand made biscuits, a cake, quilt, cards or even a flower arrangement.

• Slide show: collect as many photos of the birthday person as you can and create a slide snow.  Add some background music and enjoy. Note: instead of gathering and scanning loads of images, particularly when it came to those in albums that were difficult to remove, I just grabbed my smart phone camera and took photos of the photos. It was ideal as it was quick and meant I could simple download the photos and they were ready to go. I didn't even have to take them away.
• Music to their ears: put together a CD with special songs and design your own cover.

Hi everyone!

I look forward to sharing party theme ideas, cake ideas and anything party realted with you.   It shouldn't matter where you live in the world or how old you are, I hope you'll find something helpful or inspiring in these posts.

Be in touch soon.

My little party planner