Yep! You did read that correctly.
This weekend marked "Wagon's" birthday and we had a lovely, weird and wonderful celebration.
Wagon has... been in our family... for a few years now and is Badger's long term obsession. I'm not kidding when I say that this little yellow cart has been all over the country. "He's" even been overseas.
Wagon, belonged to my sister when she was 3 years old. Making Wagon 14, now. She called it "Polly" and was as attached to it as Badger is - it's just that Badger's obsession has lasted longer. Last year, Badger told us that it was Wagon's birthday, we went along and had a little party for it... a world food buffet theme... and all our close family came too. Thinking nothing of it, and presuming that the obsession would die down. (At the time, Badger was also fascinated with birthdays, as well as Wagon.) Until March, this year, when Badger told us that it was Wagon's birthday on the 18th of April and that we were having a party on the Saturday. Curious, we looked back at the dates from the photos from last year, and the dates were indeed correct. How could we say no?
So, Badger wanted a Wonderland theme. We did the best we could... It wasn't too bad. Badger told us "this is the best birthday, ever!" Oh, and Wagon ALWAYS has a spider cake. Not sure about that one.
This weekend marked "Wagon's" birthday and we had a lovely, weird and wonderful celebration.
Wagon has... been in our family... for a few years now and is Badger's long term obsession. I'm not kidding when I say that this little yellow cart has been all over the country. "He's" even been overseas.
Wagon, belonged to my sister when she was 3 years old. Making Wagon 14, now. She called it "Polly" and was as attached to it as Badger is - it's just that Badger's obsession has lasted longer. Last year, Badger told us that it was Wagon's birthday, we went along and had a little party for it... a world food buffet theme... and all our close family came too. Thinking nothing of it, and presuming that the obsession would die down. (At the time, Badger was also fascinated with birthdays, as well as Wagon.) Until March, this year, when Badger told us that it was Wagon's birthday on the 18th of April and that we were having a party on the Saturday. Curious, we looked back at the dates from the photos from last year, and the dates were indeed correct. How could we say no?
So, Badger wanted a Wonderland theme. We did the best we could... It wasn't too bad. Badger told us "this is the best birthday, ever!" Oh, and Wagon ALWAYS has a spider cake. Not sure about that one.
Jelly Segments
Slice an orange from top to bottom (through the stem) and scoop out as much flesh as you possibly can. Be warned, you are very likely to end up covered in orange juice. {Eau d'orange... mmmm.}
Make up your chosen jellies. We used the cubes, flavoured lime, lemon and raspberry. I'd have liked to try blackcurrant to add a little variation in colour, the lime and lemon were very similar...
Pour jelly into your orange halves, as close to the top as possible. Place on a plate and allow to cool slightly before moving to the fridge overnight.
Once completely set, take a sharp knife and slice the orange halves into segments. Try to be as quick as possible, to get a smooth cut for a better effect.
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Marshmallow Pops
We did these at the same time... One person on melting duty. (Hot, hot water in a pan and a pyrex dish over the top of this...) and one person on "pop" duty, putting the paper straws into the marshmallows.
Strawberries are very straight forward: Melt chocolate, dip generously and lay out on a silicone chopping board to set (it will peel away very easily if you use silicone, without having to grease paper etc.)
The marshmallow pops were dipped and then rolled in a plate of hundreds and thousands, or sprinkles. Stood up in the tin bucket (supported by midget gems) and left to set. The standing up was very tricky, but thankfully, they set pretty quickly so it wasn't a problem if they touched each other slightly.
The kids loved these and the adults could not get enough of the strawberries - winner.
Curried Egg Yachts
I will admit, these actually looked (to me) more like shark fins, than yachts... however, Granddad Pipi walked in and said "Oh! Look at the egg yachts!" - So, nerrr!
Not only this, but for an incredibly easy make, every single one was eaten and they were really tasty. We had Organic eggs from Abel & Cole and SUPER organic eggs from my dad's friend... complete with feathers.
Boil eggs, allow to cool, peel and slice in half.
Pop the yolks out into a bowl, add a good squirt of mayonnaise and a dash of curry powder - we used 1/4 tsp for 6 eggs.
Spoon the mix back into the "hole" and decorate with pepper sliced into right angled triangles.
Jazzy Marshmallow Teacups
My mum's brainchild - they were almost too cute to eat!
Needed:
Jazzies/Rainbow Buttons - You know, the chocolate buttons with sprinkles on.
Nutella.
Marshmallows.
Strawberry laces - then thick type.
Make two holes in the marshmallow sides and chop laces to about 1.5 inches. Insert the laces into the holes - the stickiness of the mallow will hold it in place as long as you push far enough.
Spread a blob of nutella on top of the marshmallow and place a Jazzy on top.
Voila!
Caterpillar Kebabs
Pretty self explanatory, thread your grapes onto long skewers and paint a smiley face using icing, sauce or chocolate.
Mice
This one was my sister's effort after seeing a pic online.
She sliced the side of the eggs so that the mice would be able to sit up.
Chopped radish and made a cut in the other side (top, now) of the egg and put the ears in.
For the whiskers and tail, tops of spring onions were used.
They eyes were made with blobs of brown sauce!
Toadstools & Slugs
For the uber gross effect... and in line with Badger's slug fascination.
The slugs were made using pickled salad cucumbers and toothpicks... that was it. They were very lifelike indeed!
The toadstools are hard boiled eggs, bottoms trimmed so they stood up, and a de-fleshed tomato, sliced in half, on top. Then "spotted" with mayo.
A bed of rocket to add to the outdoor effect.
We also had a selection of sandwiches - cucumber & cream cheese, egg & cress and ham {traditional of a tea party} a Cheshire Cat cheeseboard, complete with crackers, apple and grapes and soups with rustic bread. Plus a bunch of cakes!
Slice an orange from top to bottom (through the stem) and scoop out as much flesh as you possibly can. Be warned, you are very likely to end up covered in orange juice. {Eau d'orange... mmmm.}
Make up your chosen jellies. We used the cubes, flavoured lime, lemon and raspberry. I'd have liked to try blackcurrant to add a little variation in colour, the lime and lemon were very similar...
Pour jelly into your orange halves, as close to the top as possible. Place on a plate and allow to cool slightly before moving to the fridge overnight.
Once completely set, take a sharp knife and slice the orange halves into segments. Try to be as quick as possible, to get a smooth cut for a better effect.
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Marshmallow Pops
We did these at the same time... One person on melting duty. (Hot, hot water in a pan and a pyrex dish over the top of this...) and one person on "pop" duty, putting the paper straws into the marshmallows.
Strawberries are very straight forward: Melt chocolate, dip generously and lay out on a silicone chopping board to set (it will peel away very easily if you use silicone, without having to grease paper etc.)
The marshmallow pops were dipped and then rolled in a plate of hundreds and thousands, or sprinkles. Stood up in the tin bucket (supported by midget gems) and left to set. The standing up was very tricky, but thankfully, they set pretty quickly so it wasn't a problem if they touched each other slightly.
The kids loved these and the adults could not get enough of the strawberries - winner.
Curried Egg Yachts
I will admit, these actually looked (to me) more like shark fins, than yachts... however, Granddad Pipi walked in and said "Oh! Look at the egg yachts!" - So, nerrr!
Not only this, but for an incredibly easy make, every single one was eaten and they were really tasty. We had Organic eggs from Abel & Cole and SUPER organic eggs from my dad's friend... complete with feathers.
Boil eggs, allow to cool, peel and slice in half.
Pop the yolks out into a bowl, add a good squirt of mayonnaise and a dash of curry powder - we used 1/4 tsp for 6 eggs.
Spoon the mix back into the "hole" and decorate with pepper sliced into right angled triangles.
Jazzy Marshmallow Teacups
My mum's brainchild - they were almost too cute to eat!
Needed:
Jazzies/Rainbow Buttons - You know, the chocolate buttons with sprinkles on.
Nutella.
Marshmallows.
Strawberry laces - then thick type.
Make two holes in the marshmallow sides and chop laces to about 1.5 inches. Insert the laces into the holes - the stickiness of the mallow will hold it in place as long as you push far enough.
Spread a blob of nutella on top of the marshmallow and place a Jazzy on top.
Voila!
Caterpillar Kebabs
Pretty self explanatory, thread your grapes onto long skewers and paint a smiley face using icing, sauce or chocolate.
Mice
This one was my sister's effort after seeing a pic online.
She sliced the side of the eggs so that the mice would be able to sit up.
Chopped radish and made a cut in the other side (top, now) of the egg and put the ears in.
For the whiskers and tail, tops of spring onions were used.
They eyes were made with blobs of brown sauce!
Toadstools & Slugs
For the uber gross effect... and in line with Badger's slug fascination.
The slugs were made using pickled salad cucumbers and toothpicks... that was it. They were very lifelike indeed!
The toadstools are hard boiled eggs, bottoms trimmed so they stood up, and a de-fleshed tomato, sliced in half, on top. Then "spotted" with mayo.
A bed of rocket to add to the outdoor effect.
We also had a selection of sandwiches - cucumber & cream cheese, egg & cress and ham {traditional of a tea party} a Cheshire Cat cheeseboard, complete with crackers, apple and grapes and soups with rustic bread. Plus a bunch of cakes!
