1st birthday party

It was my niece’s first birthday recently, and her mum (my younger sister) decided to throw her a birthday bash. The theme, in case, you haven’t guessed, was a very girly, pretty, ‘pink’. My sister, who is very talented in making cakes, made a beautiful birthday cake with matching cupcakes and biscuits, and if that wasn’t enough, she also had a sweet table with all things sugary and pink too.

I thought the cake was lovely; I especially liked the ruffles in different shades and the sparkly tiara as a finishing touch.

My niece received lots of presents and birthday cards from loved ones, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy her party. I pray that she has a happy, healthy, long life ahead of her.

My sister’s Henna party

So I’m finally allowed to post some pictures of my sister’s wedding and I thought I’d start with the Mendhi/Henna party. The mendhi or henna party is where the women of the bride’s family get together to have one last fun party before the big day. Often the women of the groom’s family are also invited and are asked to bring the henna which is then applied to the bride’s hands in preparation of the wedding day.

The henna party is usually bright and colourful and my sister wanted a peacock themed affair so we spent months looking for anything that would fit the theme.

We decided on purples, blues, greens and golds and added small peacock feathers to really bring out the theme. The candles are lit and the tray of bangles and henna brought in with the bride as she is brought into the party by family and friends.

Me, my sisters and my sister-in-law decided to add a tasty aspect to the party by having a sweet table. I thought the biscuits made by my sister-in-law and the cupcakes by my younger sister were especially pretty

As the evening went on the usual traditions were carried out; feeding the bride something sweet and giving some money to charity in her name, singing traditional wedding folksongs and dancing (unfortunately I can’t show you photos of the singing and dancing)

We all had a really fun time, and the bride enjoyed herself too, with friends and family and being the centre of attention of course! My photos haven’t come out as well as I would have liked as the lighting wasn’t great, but if you want to check out the professional photographer’s photos which have come out really good, then you can head over to my sister’s blog

1920’s bridal shower

You may have wondered where I’ve disappeared to this last week; I haven’t forgotten to post I’ve just been super busy helping with preparations for my younger sister‘s wedding which is coming up fast. In the last couple of weeks my family have been celebrating and having lots of fun with parties and planning for the upcoming event.

My sister-in-law threw a 1920s bridal shower and as we all had fun at the last one we were looking forward to it

The colours to go with the theme were red, white and black and my sister-in-law’s lovely house was the perfect setting

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There was also some tasty food to eat; chicken skewers and fruit tarts and my other younger sister brought along a lovely chocolate cake she made

My older sister made a pretty banner to add to the decor and there were also pearls and feathers which looked great. Even the babies wore flapper dresses and puffy dresses that looked cute (my niece pulled the feather out of her hair in this pic)

We played ‘pin the moustach on the groom’ which was fun and I came pretty close to winning but I think the babies enjoyed themselves the most, getting lots of attention and running around together

Next is the Henna (Mehndi) party which will have lots of colour and which we are all really excited about. Pictures coming soon

Vintage bridal shower

Wedding season is in full swing at the moment and this year we have a big wedding in our family too; my youngest sister is getting married. To get the ball rolling with the celebrations my older sister decided to throw her a bridal shower, the theme; vintage, which means florals, pearls, pastels and polka dots. We held the bridal shower in the garden so we can enjoy the good weather, the extra space and also have my mum’s pretty flowers to add to the theme.
To add a bit of shade and colour we hung some pretty, flowery scarves from the fences, across the garden and added my sister’s handmade banners. We also added lots of other little touches to make the garden pretty

We each made some food for the day; my older sister made macaroni salad, my younger sister brought along chicken sandwiches and my sister-in-law made a pretty trifle. My contribution was chocolate dipped strawberries, plates of cut summer fruits and old fashioned lemonade which I thought would add a nice touch to a summery party. Our guests also brought along food and other tasty treats to share so we had lots of variety

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For fun my sister-in-law arranged a quiz for my sister who is getting married where she asked her fiancé 20 questions and asked my sister to see if she could guess how he answered. For each question she got wrong she had to put to put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth – I think she got about 2 right so she got through several packets!

Overall, it was a lovely bridal shower and everyone was able to enjoy the good weather, food and company. I think it was my baby nieces and cousin though, who stole the show with their pretty smiles and polka dot and flowery dresses, who got away with being cheeky and running off with numerous biscuits and cakes

Next up my sister-in-law is hosting a 1920’s themed party for the bride-to-be which we’re all looking forward to

Minty baby shower

My younger sister is due to have her first baby soon, so to mark the arrival of our lovely niece or nephew, my family (consisting of me, my sisters, my sister-in-law, my sister’s husband and a few of his cousins) decided to throw her a baby shower. I think my we managed to do quite a good job, even if I do say so myself!

We decided to go with the colour theme of mint green, but I think some of us got confused with what shade that was and we ended up with various shades of green instead! I’m glad to say though that even with all the greens, the decorations and food looked better than we thought it would.

My older sister who is very crafty made a lovely banner with lots of nice ‘baby’ theme touches

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Lots of parties these days have fun things like chocolate fountains, but as delicious as they are, they can be too messy for the little kids who end up with chocolate all over their faces and tops! We opted for something just as nice but less messy; a sweet bar. We have done these before and they have always been popular with the guests. We found lots of different sweets in the colour green and put them in difefrent jars and plates to make it look pretty

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I think the colours all sit really well together and I especially like the colours of the cupcakes, which are in a nice vivid green (well done to my brother in law for making these – with a little help from my sister)

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My sister got lots of lovely gifts from her guests and family. Seeing as the baby’s gender is still a secret there was lots of soft neutral colours

This is a ‘nappy cake’ made by my creative sister in law; I thought she did a great job

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There was also lots of good food and party games including one where we tried to guess baby pictures of the guests.

Everyone who came commented on how much they enjoyed themselves which was nice to hear, and as a little token all the guests got to take home a goody bag of stripes or spots

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I hope you’ve enjoyed my photos and I’d love to hear what kind of themes you may of had at parties you’ve been to; what worked well and what didn’t?