Good Morning I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. As you may have noticed we have had a little makeover and the blog also has a new name, ‘Let’s Plan A Party’ but don’t worry this is still the Les Enfants blog.  I will also be adding some more features to the blog over the next couple of weeks, so be sure to pop back!

I am very excited to be sharing another fabulous real party with you today.  Earlier last week I received an email from Alison of Alison Lawson Cakes in Bowral, Australia enclosing amazing photos and details of her sons third birthday party in August. This party takes the theme of favourite childrens book The Gruffalo and the details really are amazing.  I’ll now hand you over to Alison who will share with you how she created this fab party.

Deciding on a theme for Harry’s 3rd birthday celebrations came easily this year. We had to look no further than his favourite book The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

For the party table, I decided to do a range of Gruffalo inspired treats straight from the story, for adults and children to enjoy. I came up with most of the menu ideas myself, but enjoyed gathering some bits and pieces of inspiration from the official Gruffalo website

A colour scheme of brown, white and green came to mind quickly, and represents the ‘Gruffalo’ as well as the ‘deep dark wood’. Making my own bunting was relatively quick, and I was able to incorporate the papers of my choice. Thank you Martha Stewart for your template and easy instructions.

The Gruffalo Feast Menu was colourful and filled with fun. It was a hoot to see the children embracing the treats in their ‘Gruffalo’ form. Vegemite sandwiches were disguised as Roasted Fox Sandwiches – a sure crowd pleaser at a toddler party.

Owl Ice-cream, otherwise known as ‘Cookies and Cream’ ice-cream prompted many giggles.

I couldn’t help but notice that the Gruffalo Crumble, otherwise known as Apple Crumblewas very popular among the mums and dads!
 


 

Ghoulish cries were the result of noticing the shot glasses containing the Orange Eye Balls, made famous by the Gruffalo, and possible by balling a rockmelon.

Great hilarity centred around the popcorn cones which featured as Scrambled Snake! The individual cups of Purple Prickle Jelly proved popular too, and Blackcurrant jelly was the starring ingredient here.
 

Given my love of baking, I couldn’t resist whipping up some decorated cookies. I honoured the character of the Owl, as well as the setting of the Forest. Cookie Wands are always very popular with the children, and I love the effect of being able to stand them up. The red and white ‘mushroom’ cookies looked ever so inviting, and were hard to resist.

 

 Besides the colourful array of Gruffalo inspired treats on the table, the real ‘ooh la, la’ contributor to the party table was the Gruffalo cake!

I decided on a three dimensional design to capture the ‘giant’ nature of this much loved literary character. The Gruffalo sat up tall, in all of his ‘giant’ glory, watching over the entire party!

The cupcake toppers on the Deep Dark Wood Cakes were loads of fun, in that they pictured the Gruffalo holding quotes from the book. I also personalised some of the toppers by including ‘Harry’, ‘3’ and ‘Happy Birthday!’

The ever so stylish Sambellina party bags  were a great addition to the overall scene. Inside I included an individually wrapped ‘forest’ cookie, as well as a personalised chocolate bar.

I purchased the bamboo mini serving spoons and bamboo cones (used for the scrambled snake) from ‘Sweet Style’.

Would I recommend using a book again for styling a party…..for sure! Loads of scope for inspiration. My gorgeous Harry was truly thrilled to be living through his favourite story!

And, just in case you didn’t know…..There’s no such thing as a gruffalo!

Thank you so much Alison for sharing this fantastic Gruffalo party with us all, I am sure your son had a wonderful time.

Have you planned a party and would like to share with us?  Please email me zoe {at} lesenfants {dot} co {dot} uk, with a few images and some details about how you planned it and where you purchased various things from.

Thanks
Zoe
x