Squished between all the dentist appointments and teacher conferences on our calendars are those wonderful things called “holidays.” Or sometimes they’re called “birthdays” or even “parties.” For Bunchland families, there’s always a reason to celebrate.
- CITY: Brockton Triangle, Toronto, Ontario
- OUR BUNCH: Kessa, designer of kids’ clothing line Patouche. Len, civil engineer. Elton, 5.5, dinosaur enthusiast. Jessie Bea, 3.5, spirited princess/mermaid/fairy aficionado.
Kessa’s daughter Jessie asked her mom for a pink-and-purple fairy/princess party for her 3rd birthday. Rather than hit the dollar store for cheap plastic tiaras, Kessa, designer of the storybook-inspired children’s clothing line Patouche, got busy sewing and created an enchanting day for both the kid and grown-up guests.
The families were invited to Geneva Park family camp in Southern Ontario for a day of chilling in the woods by a beach. Kessa planned a few simple activities that fit the theme, such as making tutus, headbands and wands.
“I liked the headbands and the wands, because we pretended the headbands were ninja headbands and the wands were swords.” -Elijah, party guest
Kessa served simple foods like salads, sausages and lots of watermelon. The cake was a “chocolate dump cake” (called so because it’s made by dumping all the ingredients into one big bowl) with a cream cheese and raspberries icing (the raspberries turned the icing pink!)
The cupcake toppers, party invitations and gift tags were supplied by Vintage Paper Parade from Toronto. Kessa says they fit the bill perfectly.
Kessa’s family spent the week at Geneva Park with a few other families, and the rest of the guests were invited up for the day. The adults spent the party engaged in great conversation, drinking beer, having a barbecue and taking turns supervising the children. The younger party guests were content to run around with their magic wands, enjoying the beautiful weather.
“It was pretty wild. It gave the kids a chance to run around in their bare feet in the woods, waving magic wands. It was magical.” -Sarah, party guest
Kessa says you can never count on things being too perfect when kids are involved. A few minutes before the party started Jessie changed her mind and said she wanted a mermaid party, so that is what the family is doing this year. Jessie changed her outfit several times throughout the party, and at some point shed the gorgeous dress her mom had sewn for her and ended up in her mom’s beach coverup, which to her was the most beautiful thing.
Wanna throw your own pink-and-purple princess/fairy party? Here are some magical how-tos from Kessa!
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 block (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup raspberry jam
Beat butter on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy.
Add cream cheese and beat on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy (30 seconds to 1 minute).
Sift powdered sugar over creamed mixture and beat on medium low until the sugar is all incorporated.
Add jam and continue beating.
Make sure you don’t overbeat or else the frosting will become soupy.
This was nice because the raspberries give it the nice pinky colour without using any food colouring.
Birthday Bunting
Get a nice mix of cotton prints that go with the motif of your party. You’ll probably only need about a yard or so each. For Jessie’s party, I was under very strict instructions that everything be pink and purple, so that’s the palette I was working with.
Create a triangular template out of cardboard that has a width of about 6″ at the top and is about 8″ in length. Double each fabric (wrong sides facing each other) and trace out a handful of triangles on each fabric. Measure out about 20 triangles of matching fabric. Cut them with pinking shears so they don’t unravel at the edges. Sew along the sides with about 1/4″ seam allowance.
Next, get a piece of bias tape that matches the colours you’re working with. Sew up along the edges of the bias tape for about 6″, and then start sandwiching in the sewn triangles, alternating the different pattern. Make sure you leave about 6″ of bias tape length at the end for hanging.
Voilà! Instant party feel wherever you hang ‘em up.
Photo credit: Lisa Kannakko
Bunchland wants to know how your family gets down. Email amanda@bunchfamily.ca
