Partymakers on Big Apple Parent Magazine

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A Hawaiian Birthday

This was a very special week-end, I attended the 9^th birthday celebration of my granddaughter Chloe. It was a Hawaiian party theme, and her love for party planning came out with so many of the special touches and details she added to the evening.  And what a bold undertaking that was! She invited 12 of her girlfriends for dinner and a sleep over complete with  Hawaiian entertainment.  She planned many activities to keep her guests busy all night long.

The Hawaiian  party  started with a mocktail hour at the Tiki Bar. Smoothies and delicious fruity drinks  greeted the girls as they arrived.  There were all these little Hawaiian touches that Chloe didn’t overlook, the coconut statues on top of the dinner table, the Hawaiian skirts that rimmed the tiki bar, the festive music. I felt like I was in a little Hawaiian paradise.

Shortly after all the girls arrived, a hula dancer taught them all the right moves to kick off this Hawaiian Luau. They learned all these interesting facts about Hawaii, and learned a dance choreography that was then turned into a Hawaiian travel commercial.

The girls had a great time shaking their Hawaiian skirts, even my grandson Jack took part in the act! But  after all that practicing and performing the guests were exausted, so dinner was their next stop. Chloe had this fantastic idea of having guests create their own fruit skewers.  There was a large platter of diced up fruit and skewers that guests could customize however they wished. This is a great idea if you have picky eaters who might not like certain items, you can try this with vegetables too.

And of course no birthday dinner is complete without birthday cake! The girls topped off their meal with a Tiki hut inspired cake.

Mother's Day Cake Decorating Event

You and your child* are invited to a Mother's Day Cake Decorating Event al Linda Kaye's Partymakers. 

Talented Pastry Chef Sara Pereira, owner of Stardust Cakes, teaches you piping and cake decorating skills from Linda Kaye's Bake-a-Cake Party Book!

All skill  levels welcome!! 

Space is limited so sign up now

April 29th from  3:30-5:30p  at 195 East 76 Street.

*Children ages 4 and up

 The Bake-a-Cake Party Book will be the workbook for this class. Purchase can be made on day of event or on Amazon.

Book Your Spot Now:
Phone: 212 288 7112  Email: partymakers@partymakers.com 

Watch the Bake a Cake Video here

A Kitten's 1st Birthday Party

We've just seen a great party idea for a Kitten's birthday that we wanted to share with you! We all love our pets and some times a day dedicated just to them is acceptable, especially if it's just once a year! Take a look at this party from one of our Bakers, it has great ideas for Safari Party, not just for your pets, but children to!

I always love an excuse to throw a party! Well, this time it wasn't much of an excuse, it was my kitten Penny's first birthday party, and being the adorable little furball she is, I wanted to make her day special. You know how 1st birthdays are mostly for the parents since the children have no awareness at that point? This is the same idea!

We went with the Safari  theme since Penny is adventurous and no little sugar plum. We did all the works, the food, the decorations, the balloons, we even had Safari hats for the guests! I invited some of my close friends who had met Penny on some of our Pennsylvania trips.

Since discovering customized water bottle labels I've been dying to use them. I made a set of mini pod water bottles with Penny's 1st Birthday written on them. I used different mismatched serve ware and regular kitchen plates to serve the different assortment of food. The labels are what really brought everything cohesively together.

I made 'Jungle Juice' which was really sangria for the adults. I served it in an apothecary jar, I love the unique look it gives the table. If you want to make your own version, I added 1 bottle low quality red wine, 1 bottle prosecco, 1 cup black currant concentrate (substitute with grenadine), and lime margarita mix. Add 2 chopped up apples and 2 oranges and let soak overnight! It's not too strong of a beverage but it's refreshing!

I made the food labels sound very wild and jungle-y and mostly items that Penny likes. There was Fishy Mush which was really  Fish Terrine, Penny's Favorite: Mix 2 cans of tuna and 2 cans of salmon, mix with 5 eggs, some sauteed onions and tomatoes, bake in the oven in a waterbath and chill overnight before unmolding. It's as easy as it sounds!

Chocolate chip cookies were my Albino Ladybugs, a little sweet munchie before the cake was cut.

Snake Eyes were my deviled eggs; Penny always tries to eat my husband's eggs in the morning so it's on her top favorite list.  I made them the night before and to beat off that little crust that they formed on top of the yolk, I put them in the oven right before the party. Great trick in case you ever have a crusty problem! 

We also had Safari Mix which was trail mix served in a little green bucket: Penny typically plays soccer with my trail mix, Green Moss which was green pea dip, Giraffe Spots which were an assortment of tortilla and pita chips, Ant Hills which were duchess potatoes, and my absolute favorite, Monkey Poop which was turkey meatballs in a delicious tomato sauce, a little more time consuming to eat but Penny loves them!

And of course no party is complete without some cake. It was a pistachio cheesecake with some buttercream decorations and fondant safari animals. I wanted something different, no regular vanilla cake with buttercream for this party! We sang Happy Birthday to the birthday kitty and she ran away right after, leaving the adults to the sugar high.

I was thrilled that the adults wore the safari hats, very festive!

It was a great party,but Penny's little brother, Toby, was quite exhausted from all that partying! 

If you have any great Party Ideas you would like to share with us, please email us and we will feature them on our blog!

Is it a Boy or a Girl?

Is it a boy? Is it a girl? This is a highly anticipated answer by the parents and the entire family and friends, but when you are in the doctor's office, it doesn't seem as ceremonious as it was when my daughter and son-in-law first found out about their expected baby girl.

A few weeks ago I heard from my manicurist DiDi the most creative way of presenting this information to the parents to be. Her son asked the technician to not tell them the answer in the office.  He gave the technician the name of a baker to call to order a cake with  the inside layers of the cake to be either pink or blue depending on the sex of the baby.

The big event just happened this past weekend and we are thrilled to share it with you! Read on to find out the answer!

Friends and family were invited to this big event, all restlessly awaiting  the moment when the question mark  cake was cut!  The family sat down for dinner before indulging in the surprise cake. Old wives tales and guesses about the sex of the baby were exchanged. "The mother looks radiantly beautiful so it must be a boy" said a family member referring to the Romanian Tale that says that girls take away the mother's beauty. After an hour or so of guessing, the cake was brought into the room. The family gathered around the table all just as excited as the parents-to-be.

You can see in this photo of the parents-to-be how excited they were!

The whole family was gathered around and just as excited as the parents.

And the baby is....

a boy!

What a fun way to share the news and a great excuse to have a party! A fun beginning to parenthood.

If you have any exciting party ideas that you would like to share with us, please email us at partymakers@partymakers.com