When Mimi had her fourth birthday last weekend, we came up with the idea to hand out mini-aquarium keepsakes. I tried putting bath toys in plastic lunch bags, with and without water, but Mimi kept asking; "what can we eat?" OK, so when it comes to making sweet-treats, remember that children think 'sweet' has only one meaning.
Back at my (digital) drawing board, I designed some printpapers, which I blogged before, showing 4 mini deep-sea pictures to be used as the backdrop to the edible aquariums.
If you want to get your hands on the papers, subscribe with us for a monthly newsletter (issued in the first week of each month), and I'll send them out to you with the November newsletter. You can also use textured paper, new wrapping paper or even scrapbooking papers as a substitute.
Here's how I made our bags;
- Purchase clear cellophane gift bags approximately 15x25 cm (6"x9") in size.
- Cut a panel of your chosen printpaper into A5 panels or slightly smaller, to fit into the bag.
- Place a strip of blue cellophane and some shredded paper into the bag - always ensure the pieces are large enough to see and safely separate from the food. If you are worried about young children eating the paper, do not put it in, and perhaps consider using pieces of blue candy-floss instead.
- Put large items into the bag first; I suggest a balloon, and a large gold coin.
- Place the smaller items of candy into the bag; I went with sweets to suit the watery theme, such as sour worms, frogs, snakes, coral coloured jelly-rings, and bubble-like candy-covered chocolate drops.
- If you can get your hands on a fish-shaped treat, place that in last, ensuring it is at the front of the bag and visible.
- Turn the bag over and fold the excess bag end into an envelope shape and seal with a themed sticker.
- Stack the bags somewhere cool and dry.
- Enjoy!
Form more pirate and mermaid party ideas, look at the gallery images on this blog from Mimi's birthday, pop across to my Partycraft Secrets website, or check out my Pinterest Pirates Love Mermaids board!