We woke up yesterday morning to gray skies and rain; not good considering we were planning to have the birthday party at the beach. After checking the forecast all morning on the computer we finally made the call to have the party at our house. Pete made a quick trip down to Matheson's to confirm our decision and yep, it was a soggy mess; not very practical for a children's party. We rearranged the furniture, started blowing up balloons and put the final touches on the lunch food. As 11am arrived, the sky cleared, the sun came out in full bloom and it was absolutely gorgeous and warm. The guest of honor had a long morning nap; what a convenient surprise! Slowly the guests trickled in from near and far.
Two sets of twins and their families showed up at the same time! Kids everywhere. The birthday party was a resounding success, declared by all! Good food, lots of sunshine and great company. We feasted on bbq pork shoulder, a spicy sweet tangy coleslaw, smoked fish, ceviche, tofu for some, lettuce from Noelene's garden, a pile of fruit skewers and an assortment of rolls. There was lots of cold beer and wine as well. My Malay friend, Zeti, brought along a delicious treat of glutinous rice balls topped with palm sugar and coconut. Yum!
After the feast we went outside to have a go at my homemade pinata.
All the strong and able kids took turns whacking the decorated beer box with a stick. It was hard going as I used quite a lot of packing tape on the box so Pete made a few more incisions and debilitating holes in the owl and the kids finally got it open. Out came all the candy and party poppers, stickers and toys. Just as the kids finished gorging themselves on chocolates and lollipops, we headed back in for some cake.
We sang happy birthday to Gigi and she seemed to enjoy the attention. Rita and her mates blew out the candle and then got stuck into the gifts which they ripped apart in the most unorganized fashion. So much for personalized thank you cards for everyone. I have no idea who gave Gigi what!
A delightful day indeed.
And by the way, did you notice my 'theme'? Check out the matching pinata and cake. Doesn't that owl look familiar Estelle?
well done meg!!! and happy birthday to gigi. that looks amazing and i love the owl theme. did you make fondant for the cake??? let me know how you did it and how it tasted. i have very mixed feelings about fondant but am curious to try it and want the scoop. im very impressed with the party....even more so considering that you have felt like crap for the past few weeks. give the birthday girl a big kiss from me.
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I didn't make the fondant; you can buy it here at the supermarket. I don't really like it but you can decorate cakes nicely with it. I rolled it super thin so you didn't get a huge whack of it on your slice of cake. I had real icing sandwiched in the layers of the cake so you got some of that nice buttery sweetness too. It was a chocolate and vanilla marble cake. I might go have a piece right now! I suggest trying to use fondant, it is quite fun but hard to work the food colouring into; very messy job.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a rockin party!
ReplyDeleteThings I love- pete's aloha shirt and that adorable owl cake!
Also all the food sounds delicious. Gigi is one lucky girl.
Thanks for your encouraging words re: birth and labor. Maybe I can channel you when the moment arrives...
XOXO
Wow, Meg. I am blown away! Seriously, everything about the day sounds perfect. (except maybe that I was not there to enjoy some cake and pork shoulder of course). Seriously, your pinata and cake are so adorable. Had I known about the theme I would have made Gigi a little owl tee. May have to get on that one now. She's just a little cherub. Did she show off her walking skills for her guests?
ReplyDeleteMeg - it's all so great! The owl theme was fabulous and I'm beyond impressed that you made a piñata. Happy birthday to Gigi!
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