Happy 80th Birthday John Williams - Da-Ah Dum, Da-Ah Dum!

It says a lot that five single notes almost eclipse any specific memories of a film. I’m betting that most of you can remember the five note call played between the humans and the alien spaceship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Got it? Thought so. But I bet you can’t remember who played the lead role, or any of the lines from the script! (Incidentally, it was Richard Dreyfuss, and one memorable quote is “Well they’re not moon burns, goddammit.”

If you’re planning a party we can’t help you with your moonburns, but we can help you when it comes to decorating for a music inspired event. From Rock Star to High School Musical, and from musical instruments to an edible electric guitar cake, we can help you deck the halls with a great selection of musically themed banners, posters and other decorations.

We know children love making music, which is why we have a whole heap of very affordable musical instruments for giving away as party prizes or in party gift bags. Sorry parents, we don’t sell ear plugs or volume controls – our advice is always that if you can’t beat them (with their instrument) then join them! After all, it can’t be much worse than some of the X Factor contestants!

But if you’re going to have a film night, here are a couple of suggestions to make it feel more like a film night and less like just another evening watching TV. Grab some popcorn – the stuff you microwave works brilliantly (and kids love watching it!) and then give everyone one of our popcorn bags full of the traditional snack. You just can’t watch ET The Extra Terrestrial without popcorn – it’s a rule.

If you want to go all out and really make film night special then we have a range of other Hollywood and film novelties and decorations which you can browse here: http://goo.gl/m41ov

A quick tip here – always do a Rolf Harris. In other words, start making the model, asking them if they can ‘guess what it is yet’. Once someone announces joyfully that they think they know what it is, agree with them, congratulate them and go with it – it’s a lot simpler than trying to justify why your bison looks like a shih tzu.

But in fact you don’t have to always use modelling balloons for modelling. In fact they can be great fun for party games. For example, Inflate three balloons, and get six people to stand in a circle, facing outwards. Then place all three balloons in the middle, and instruct everyone to reach between their legs and hold one end of any balloon in one hand, and one end of a different balloon in the other. Now the fun starts!

They have to somehow turn themselves around so that they are all facing inwards, without letting go of the balloons at any time! It’s a little like one of those infuriating Chinese puzzles, but with arms, legs and other parts not normally reached! The stretchy balloons are perfect for this sort of game, and can easily cope with the stretching, twisting and pulling, whereas normal balloons would just burst. If you have twelve or more people in the party you can actually run it as a competition to see which group can be the first to stand up, facing inwards and still all holding on to their balloons.

But then choosing party gift bags isn’t always easy either. If your child is wanting a Pirates of the Caribbean party then you may be tempted to get a pack of party bags with this theme printed on them, but if you’re on a tight budget then it’s worth being aware that often you can find generic party bags which are ideal. There are pirate themed party bags which are just general pirate images rather than Disney ones, and they’re a good deal cheaper. Or you could simply go for plain black party bags. Nothing wrong with that, and they’re very cheap indeed.

But here’s another tip when it comes to choosing which party bags to get. Think about the actual practicality of them. There are three aspects to consider, and these are size, handles and names.

First of all, think about how big the bag really needs to be. If you’re handing out just a few small things such as a few marbles, a yo yo, some sweets and a piece of cake then it won’t be too important, but if you insist on giving out glow sticks, magic wands and mugs you may need a bigger bag. Handles aren’t always included, but they can make it a lot easier if children are carrying the bags and they have a lot of little things in which could spill out.

Finally, names – this can really make a massive difference, but it’s not always something that’s considered until it’s too late. Often children will win prizes in the games at the party, and a good way of keeping these safe is to pop them into their party bags. These may still be left at the front or somewhere safe, but how do you know whose bag is whose? Even once they’re handed out, how do you know whose is whose? And if you are handing out a bag and you see little Johnny standing waiting, how do you know whether he’s already been given one bag and is now standing there waiting to see if he can get a second?

By writing all of the names of the children on the bags you can make sure that prizes go in the right bags, and that everyone is given the correct bag, and only the one bag. Not all party bags have a space for writing the child’s name, but some do, and so it may be worth looking out for these as they do prove useful. Don’t forget though that if you’re writing on plastic bags you’ll need something like a biro or a permanent market, as felt tip pens and roller balls won’t work. The kind of pen you use to write on CDs and DVDs is usually perfect for this.

Think about what you really need, think about whether the benefits and extra features will be an advantage or not, and think about your budget. It’s also sometimes helpful to plan what you’ll be putting in the party bags before buying them, otherwise you can find yourself being unexpectedly restricted as to what you can purchase, and if you find a really fantastic toy at a discount price it can be disappointing if it simply won’t fit in the bag.

If your child is having a pirate themed birthday party, which is certainly one of the more popular choices at the moment, then maybe you could try to tie in the party food to this theme. Let me offer a few suggestions. You know that jug of juice you have sitting there? How about drawing, or printing off a pirate themed label which explains clearly to all budding scallywags that this ‘ere be Pirate Grog.

You can easily label plates of food such as sandwiches and sausage rolls using sandwich flags. You can label these anything you like, such as transforming crisps into ‘Pieces of Eight’, cheese sandwiches into ‘Map Slices’ and of course the plate of cocktail sausages could be ‘Pirate Fingers’!

It’s surprising how simply labelling food like this sparks children’s imaginations, and often you’ll find less food being thrown away at the end. Children have fantastic imaginations, and just by doing something as simple as this you can turn the meal into another game.

Of course, planning a children’s party and preparing the party food is time consuming, but if you do find you can call upon some extra help and you have enough time you can always try doing one or two fancy things with the food. For example, rather than cutting the sandwiches into triangles or rectangles, how about cutting them into bone shapes? Or skulls? Just draw or print out a template onto cardboard, cut it out and then use this as a template.

If you have any suggestions of how you can turn ordinary party food into themed food, do please share your suggestions by using the comments box below!

Gingerbread men are often a popular decoration, and with salt dough it couldn’t be easier. To make good gingerbread men salt dough Christmas decorations the trick is to throw in a little cinnamon with the salt dough mixture. This gives the salt dough a gingerbread colour when hardened.

I also get two or three coloured beads and push these on for buttons (before baking) and then decorate the cooked decoration afterwards. I actually find that using a felt tip pen is a great way of adding details such as scarves, eyes and mouths. Rather than over decorating them, keep them fairly simple so they look just like real gingerbread men hanging on the tree.

It’s also important to seal the decoration so that it lasts a long time. The cheap and simple method is to use PVA glue, but for a longer lasting solution use clear varnish.

Interestingly, did you know that it was on this day, the 5th December 1697 that the very first Sunday service was held in the new St Paul’s Cathedral. Particularly interesting considering the recent disruptions to the services there – who would have thought? Still, it’s not for us to judge, and we’re certainly not going to ‘do a Clarkson’. It says something about you when your name becomes a noun, doesn’t it?

With all of the Christmas planning at the moment it’s easy to overlook a few basic things, such as glasses and paper plates. So much of the time over the festive season you have plates of sausage rolls, bowls of nuts, bowls of crisps and plates of nibbly things for people, from lunches and buffets to simple snacks left lying around for people to find and help themselves to.

But that’s a lot of washing up.

Why not save yourself some washing up by using paper plates instead of your normal china ones? There is a wide range to choose from, and in fact using bright red paper plates and paper bowls the seasonal fair can look very festive indeed. Paper plates can sometimes look a bit cheap, but we don’t stock that kind. You’ll find our party plates and bowls are very strong and sturdy, and look fantastic with their bright colours. The best thing is that when you’re done you can simply toss them in the bin (the recycling bin if you have one) and the job is done. Consider it a gift to yourself, of time!

Of course, what you won’t want to do is to hand out a pack of three juggling balls to each of the twenty children at your child’s birthday party, because the idea of 60 balls being thrown about your house is likely to be enough to have you reaching hastily for your contents insurance policy.

The solution is easy of course. Rather than handing out the balls to everyone to try out, teach them how to juggle first. If you can already juggle then you’re on to a winner, but if you can’t yet juggle three balls then here’s our very handy guide to juggling three balls. Just don’t come running to us looking for compensation. All juggling balls are sold on condition that you’re wholly responsible for any and all breakages!

Easy Guide To Juggling 3 Balls

1. Hold one ball in your left hand and two in your right.
2. Throw one of the balls in your right hand up to about eye height, and towards the left hand.
3. At exactly the moment the ball reaches the apex of the throw (the highest point before it starts falling) throw the ball from your left hand towards your right, and at about the same height again.
4. At exactly the moment the second ball reaches the apex, throw the third ball from your right hand.
5. Pick up all the balls.
6. Mop up your cup of coffee.
7. Apologise to the neighbours for the expletives.
8. Hold two balls in your left hand and one in your right.
9. Realise you’re holding the balls wrong and swap them over.
10. Pick up the one you dropped.
11. Make a mental note to ring the chiropractor about your back.
12. Hold one ball in your left hand and two in your right.
13. Throw one of the balls from your right hand up and hit yourself in the eye.
14. Drop the other two balls and check you haven’t got a black eye.
15. Mop up the remaining coffee and pick up the pieces of your mug.
16. Take a deep breath and hold two balls in your left hand.
17. Try to find the third ball.
18. Forget juggling with three balls and try juggling with two instead. Hold one in each hand.
19. Get confused, throw both balls together and watch them hit each other right in front of your face before knocking a tooth out.
20. Pick up tooth and place on table. Pick up juggling ball.
21. Try to find other juggling ball.
22. Forget juggling with two balls and try juggling with one instead. Hold ball in right hand.
23. Throw ball to left hand. Catch.
24. Feel smug.
25. Throw ball from left hand to right hand.
26. Casually pick up tooth and try juggling it at the same time as the ball.
27. Throw ball at eye, accidentally swallow tooth and start choking.
28. Pick up ball and hurl with rage.
29. Apologise to child for knocking their tooth out.
30. Give up juggling and book dentist appointment.

Simply pick up a black table cover, and spread this out. Next you’ll need some glue – either a glue stick or a spray will do. The easiest way of decorating your own Halloween table cover is to use a glue stick to draw some spooky shapes such as pumpkins, ghosts and bones. Then get some glitter and sprinkle this over the glued areas, shaking off the excess afterwards. Orange glitter for pumpkins, and silver glitter for skeletons, bones and ghosts makes for a great look. Try green glitter for a spooky hand or gravestone!

If you want slightly crisper images then simply print off some black and white templates of pictures such as skulls and pumpkins, then cut out the shapes, creating a template. Lay this over the table cover and use a spray glue before sprinkling the glitter over the area. This can be really effective, although obviously make sure the area is well ventilated, and don’t let children use an aerosol glue without adult supervision.

If you do create a Halloween table cover, please send us in a photo as we’d love to share your creations with all our readers! Don’t forget to grab some candles (black look fantastic!) and a few spooky decorations such as a pumpkin in the middle of the table! For some great tips on creating your own Jack o’Lantern pumpkin face check out our recent blog post.

There’s a fly in my drink
Pick up a pack of plastic flies, available from any decent joke shop. Place one in each ice cube compartment when filling up with water, and freeze them with the flies inside. These ice cubes look revolting!

A radioactive cocktail
You know those glow sticks that seem to be at every Halloween party and fireworks night? They make great cocktail sticks! Simply crack the sticks to make them glow, and pop them straight in the drinks for an illuminating experience. Best not for children’s drinks though.

The colour’s a bit off
Food colouring can be excellent for drinks, turning anything into a gory blood red or a vomit green goo! Only place a drop or two in the liquid though.

I’ve got my eye on this drink
This is one of our favourites – fiddly, but very effective. Grab a radish and peel most of it, leaving a few wiggly red bits of skin to look like veins on an eyeball! For the coloured iris grab an olive and cut in half. Then cut out a section of the ‘eyeball’ and stuff the olive inside, open end out. You can either freeze these and drop them in a drink, or serve as they are!

My glass is half there
In the shops these days is a bewildering array of novelty glassware for Halloween, with everything from Martini glasses to pint glasses with skulls, claws, teeth and all manner of other ghostly symbols and appendages attached. These make any drink look like a spirit!