Hanging decorations for a party

Posted on November 11, 2016November 11, 2016 by Wishes in a Bag

11 Nov

Other than balloons and buntings, lanterns make fabulous hanging decorations, guaranteed to liven up any party.

Tissue Pom Pom (By Chelsea @ two twenty one)

These ‘tissue paper pom pom’ are absolutely sweet, easy to make – a wonderful bonding activity with your little ones.

Materials required:

Tissue wrapping paper (8 – 10 sheets per pom pom)
Scissor
Floral wire / yarn
Ruler

Detailed step-by-step can be found here. Photos included.

If you wish for a two-toned pom pom, simply place a lighter tone / contrasting coloured tissue paper in between a darker tone.

The diameter of the pom pom is more or less the length of the tissue paper as you fold it repeatedly. Think of paper fan, and you will likely get what we mean. So size and colour wise, you decide. The sky is the limit.

Jellyfish lantern (By Paper lantern Store)

Whether or not you are having a ‘Under the Sea’ theme, these wriggling jellyfish lanterns are simply too gorgeous to give it a miss.

Materials required:

1 10 inch / 12 inch round paper lantern
Tissue wrapping paper
Scissors
White glue

Paper Star Lantern (by Homemade Gifts Made Easy)

Starry starry night…diamonds twinkling so merrily. Add a bulb inside the star and watch it comes to life. This set of instructions comes with template of 3 different sizes. Why not give it a try?

Materials required:

Star template
pretty paper / thin card paper
printer
scissors
glue / double sided tape
needle and thread

Detailed step-by-step can be found here. Photos included.

Honeycomb ball (by Mr Printables Blog)

Materials required:

Tissue wrapping paper
pencil
scissors
glue stick
needle and thread
ruler
thick paper
protractor (to draw a nice round circle)

Detailed step-by-step can be found here. Photos included.

Hot Air Balloons (by Lindsey Cheney of the pleated poppy)

Having a “Wizard of Oz” theme? Engage everyone’s imagination as they sail away in these colourful creations.

Materials required:

1 round paper lantern
2 styofoam cups
scissors
glue
yarn
needle and thread
ruler
scrap fabric / ribbons
watercolours and brushes

Detailed step-by-step can be found here. Photos included.

Decorating for a party (1)

Posted on July 1, 2016July 2, 2016 by Wishes in a Bag

01 Jul

Decorations have always been an important aspect of any party – party ornaments allude a cheery ambience and add a celebratory vibrancy to the entire room. Let’s explore some fabulous birthday party decorations ideas.

Balloons Lollipops (By Amanda Kingloff and Taryn Mohrman from Parents Magazine)

These ‘lollipops ’ do downright look cheery – definitely a big hit with the kids.

Materials required:

Latex balloons
Plastic wraps (from bookstores)
Wrapping paper / aluminium foil tubes
Clear sticky tape

Detailed step-by-step can be found here.

The “most challenging” material on the list is the wrapping paper / aluminium foil tube. You may have to start asking friends to ‘keep’ those tubes for you. As the tubes may come in beige (as with most of the aluminium foil tubes), you may want to consider painting the tubes white.

Alternatively, craft shops like Artfriend or Spotlight may sell these tubes.

Of course, using the standard balloon holders is also a possibility – no doubt the holder is much thinner and flexible than a wrapping paper tube, we have utmost faith that you, can be creative enough to work your way around the ‘problem’.

Wall Candies (By Amanda Kingloff and Taryn Mohrman from Parents Magazine)

From the same authors as Balloon lollipop, these wall candies are as sweet as they sound. Fact is, they may even bring back quite some nostalgic memories for some of us adults.

Materials required:

Coloured plastic plates
Plastic wraps (from bookstores)
Clear sticky tape / ribbons

Detailed step-by-step can be found here.

If you want to give it a little 3D twist, then replace the coloured plastic plates with balloons.

See how well it was done here by Celebrate the Big and Small.

Swirly lollipop balloons (by Michael Langerman)

Materials required:

Coloured long balloons
Clear sticky tape / ribbons

DIY Pinatas

Posted on May 27, 2016February 2, 2017 by Wishes in a Bag

27 May

Piñatas are now a common feature in children’s birthday parties. Other than cake cutting, the breaking of a piñata is a sure-proof way of adding vibrancy and squeals of delight from both children and adults. This fun-filled activity does not come cheap though. An average piñata can easily set us back by S$30, not inclusive of the treats and goodies needed. Instead of purchasing a piñata, why not consider making one? This promises fun and quality bonding time with your little Precious Ones. In time to come, among all the long-past memories, the one thing the birthday child will most likely remember is that she/he made her /his very own birthday piñata with you. You can, in fact, imagine how happily and proudly your child will announce “I made that myself with Mummy / Daddy” on Party day itself.

Here, we have a couple of recommended website for you.

There is no particular order of Most Preferred choice by us. There are no prizes for your choice. Maybe you will try one out for this year, and something else the next year. Just select any one as time permits or as you feel comfy with. Simply wanting your little Precious One to have a wonderful birthday celebration has already pinned upon your chest the badge “Best Mummy” or “Best Daddy”.

Piñatas

This tutorial on How to Make a Donkey Pinata is wonderful – plenty of high resolution photographs to guide you step by step.

You can easily adapt the steps to make a different animal.

From personal experience, unicorns are a hot favourite among girls and boys alike. I say, just include a cone and there you have it, a unicorn. Well, you get the idea!

If cardboard is an issue, (as it is for me..couple of days after I have discarded the cardbox of my new electrical applicance, e.g. fan, rice cooker etc, led me to my regretful ‘Oh No!’), then you might want to use another easily available material – balloons.

This tutorial on How to Make a Piñata shows you the steps, plus some useful tips. A video is also available if you prefer the video-mode of learning.

If you have a very large party guest size, and you are keen to reduce jostling or disappointment by the younger guests, you may want to make a couple of these mini ones, put them at different spots of the room and group your guests according to ages. This way, no worries that an enthusiastic older child may accidentally bump / bash a younger, unsteady child while he/she is breaking the piñata.

This tutorial Rainbow Piñata with Pull String has clear photographs to guide you along. The bonus – a printable template is available.

Piñatas Alternatives

Punch Piñatas

If you cannot bear to break your prized Piñata, consider constructing a Punch Piñata then. This ensures that every guest has an equal chance of getting a goodie from the piñata. Sort of like a sure-win lucky draw. Of course, you can choose to leave some “circles” empty to raise the excitement level. (boy! Is this mean or what?)

Check it out. It is downright cool. A party with a Punch Pinatas is bound to make for a wonderful, enjoyable and much talked about celebration.

And you know what else is good about it – yeah, we’ll get to recycle the Punch Piñata for the next party. Talk about cost savings.

Children Piñatas

If space is not a constraint, you may want to let the children run wild outdoors in a game of “Catch”. The difference is instead of having one catcher, all except the person holding onto the candy bag (also known as Candy Keeper) are the catchers. When the Candy Keeper is caught, he/she must freeze on the spot and the only way to ‘unfreeze’ is to throw out the candies and escape while the catchers are busy picking the candies off the ground. For more ideas on outdoor games, visit PartyGamesPlus.com