Family

Eliza’s My Little Pony Craft Party

For her last two birthday’s, Eliza has had a princess theme with her favourite princesses coming to her party to play games with her and her guests.

Although she toyed with the idea of having princesses again, this year she decided she wanted to do something different and decided upon a My Little Pony party.

Now getting Rainbow Dash and crew to turn up to a party just was not going to happen, so we got our thinking caps on. Thankfully the answer was there thanks to a networking group I co-run, as one of the members runs Made By Me Craft Parties and had lots of My Little Pony ideas.

Lexy offers three packages to suit any budget and needs: bronze, silver and gold and
provides aprons, tablecloth and all the materials and equipment for the craft party.  All I had to provide was the venue and the food!

Eliza wanted the whole class to go, but as the craft party is quite involved we whittled it down to 12 and hired out one of the new party rooms in Lemur Landings as my house is not big enough for that many children, especially on a cold January day.

The itinerary for the party was set:

  • Making their own pencil case
  • Making charms for the pencil case
  • Making a My Little Pony Tail
  • Making a My Little Pony Headband

They started the party by colouring in their very own ponies on a special paper which magically shrunk when Lexy applied heat – these were to be their charms.

My Little Pony Party

Whilst the charms cooled, they decorated their pencil cases with stencils, pictures, stickers and their names, then adding beads and the charm to the zip when it was finished.

My Little Pony Party

Next it was tail making time and the girls got to choose three different colours of organza to make their own individual tails, which were super simple to make with just a safety-pin and a ribbon.

The headbands were slightly more tricky as they involved cutting out the ears and then sticking them around the headband before adding more coloured organza but thankfully some Mums and Abbey were on hand to help.

My Little Pony Party

We allocated 90 minutes for the craft and over-ran slightly, but the girls really enjoyed making their creations and were all ready for some food and of course that all important cake.

My Little Pony Party

I want to say a big thank you to Lexy for running the party so efficiently, to the staff at Lemur Landings who not only arranged for Lola to come and say hello to the birthday girl, but made each child a balloon animal and hosted the food so well, the Mums for staying and helping with some of the trickier activities and my very talented friend Michelle for making such a wonderful Rainbow Dash cake.

Eliza's 6th Birthday

Oh, and of course a very Happy 6th Birthday to Eliza!!

 

 

 

Sebastian car seat

Milestone Moments

Having a baby opens up a whole world of milestone moments.

I always think that people should be given a pink flashing light to put on top of the car for baby’s first journey home as it is probably the slowest, most careful drive you have ever undertaken………well that and when carrying a delicate birthday / wedding cake in the passenger seat.

Keeping babies and young children safe in the car is essential these days, although as a child of the 70’s, my mum tells me that as a baby, I used to slide around the back seat in a carrycot and when I was older my siblings and I all used to fight over who would sit in the boot.

Car seats have changed alot since even my eldest, Abbey, was a baby. She had an old Britax carrytot carseat which had a rocking base on the bottom which seemed the height of technology at the time.

90's car seat

23 years, 5 more children and dozens of car seats later I can honestly say we have tried out so many different makes models and sizes that I cannot remember them all. What I do remember are the nervy first journey’s home, the shouts of  “are we nearly there yet?“, bickering over who sits in the front, middle or back of the car (it seems to be a different favoured position every year and is currently the front seat holding favour at the moment).

BABY KIAN
Kian August 2000

There is no doubt that buying car seats is a somewhat confusing and expensive hobby but Graco have thought about this and developed the new Graco All in One car seat.

This is the only car seat you’ll ever need as it grows with your child, from birth to 12 years (0 to 36kg) meaning it will be with your child for all their important moments, providing a comfortable ride and added peace of mind with every journey.

Milestone forward facing

Imagine the journey this car seat will go on. From teeny, tiny baby meeting older siblings for the first time, through those nights where you drive round the block just to get them to go to sleep and on through shopping trips, their first theme park and travels home and away. I find travelling with babies easier as they tend to sleep if they are warm and comfortable.

isaac and callan

Suzie Hayman, from Family Lives has some great travelling tips for travelling with older children.

Small children may sleep through long journeys but older ones can make the experience absolute hell. So prepare in advance. Start a countdown days ahead and get them to help plan packing, travel and what you’ll do when you get there. Ask them to think about ways of passing the trip happily – their favourite toys, games, videos, music. Use a mix of digital media and traditional games such as I-spy and 20 Questions. The best way of avoiding ‘are we nearly there yet’ is to keep up a running commentary and once they’re old enough, have them look at the scenery and maps and work it out themselves. And allow plenty of time on your trip for stops so every two hours – 60 to 90 minutes for younger children – you can all stretch your legs.

The last use of a car seat, depending on the height of your child could potentially also be their last day of primary school and it is essential that you are prepared for an unexpected rush of emotion (I have sobbed my way through many a last assembly).

Kian's Leaver Disco

On your way to the final assembly or day of primary school and you’ll realise you’ll never take that particular journey with the same feelings, the anxieties, the jokes or the questions again. It’s an ending for you both. You’ll lose those friendships at the school gates and say goodbye to being the parent of a small child. For your child, it’s a giant step, maybe losing touch with some companions while keeping contact with others they’re rather avoid. And the move to somewhere bigger, more anonymous and with new teachers and pupils, will change those relationships so it won’t be the same.

The last day is the end of an era but it is the chance to look back and celebrate your child’s development – their triumphs and achievements but also the learning that might have come from failing, and getting up to try again.

Why not enter the Milestone Moments competition on the Graco FB page which gives you the opportunity to win a bumper Graco hamper of goodies, which includes the Milestone car seat. 

Simply click their facebook page for more news, reviews and giveaways.

Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post with Tots100 and Graco. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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