Monday 2 September 2013

Graffiti Party

Just before school begins each year, Bunny has her closest friends over for an end-of-summer party. These are friends she has known since pre-school, and I find that getting them together before the new term starts helps reacquaint everyone and calms the back-to-school jitters they’re all feeling.

This year we had a Graffiti Party. We planned to have the party in Bunny’s playhouse


Here it is before the party, with its pale pink interior (I plan to take over this playhouse when the girls have outgrown it!)




Within minutes of arriving, the girls were out in the garden having a water battle. Water guns, water bottles...even a drinking cup was used as a weapon!

Then five drenched 10-year-olds gathered outside the playhouse, reading the special sign Bunny posted

Welcome to the Graffiti Party!!!
Inside, we had lined the walls with a roll of art paper...


...and put out a little table with five plain white T-shirts, fabric pens, and an assortment of markers, pencils, crayons and stamps.

First, the girls changed into the T-shirts, and I hung out their other tops to dry in the sunshine. They proceeded to giggle and chatter their way through the next few hours scribbling all over the walls and all over each other’s T-shirts!


Ah, do you remember being 10? All the little pictures and words they doodled are in-jokes for this fun gang, and I love to celebrate their friendship. We’ll keep these graffiti walls for a long while, I’m sure!



Then it was time for some snacks. In addition to the usual party munchies, I made some chocolate cut-out cookies with the ‘speech bubble’ cartoon cookie cutters I bought from Lakeland.


I iced them with royal icing, then did my own graffiti of the girls’ silly nicknames for each other.


I used these brilliant food writing pens I found online...


I gave the girls a batch of the cookies to decorate for themselves. Again, more nonsense and fun, this time in the form of edible graffiti...  



It’s nice to find a party theme for this often tricky age group – too cool for princesses or most themes now, but still young enough to giggle and scream during water battles!

And here I give due credit to my mother, who threw me a Graffiti Party when I was a girl. I can still remember the white sheets hung all over the room, and how my friends and I couldn’t believe we were going to be able to draw on the walls without getting in trouble! I carry these memories with me still, and that what inspires me to do the same with my children. Happy times!

Chrissie x

17 comments:

  1. Happy times indeed. I love the little house and I will store a graffiti party in my mind for when big Sis reaches 10. What a great idea! Jo x

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  2. Looks as though a great time was had by all - including you!

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  3. Well thank goodness for that - I though they were going to graffiti the whole shed! What a fantastic idea this is - right through to the t-shirts and biscuits. Well done x Jane

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  4. What a great idea looks like they all had an amazing time. I know my daughter would love it x

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  5. Great idea - I know my nine year old would love this too! Xx

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  6. This looked like so much fun. What a good idea! And I love the cookies...

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  7. Love Bunny's playhouse - such a great place, made better with graffiti! A whole bunch of fab ideas strung together to make one swinging happy party Chrissie - well done!
    Joy xo

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  8. This is such a brilliant idea! I can totally see why they would love it, and it could work for boys too. Love the food writing pens and speech bubble cookie cutters, what great attention to detail. Also - their playhouse is fabulous! Two levels and everything! My two would like that. x

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  9. What a wonderful idea for a party! The playhouse is so pretty and I agree, it's something I would want for myself when they're done with it. :)

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  10. What a fab idea for a party, and what a wonderful way to celebrate friendships. Oh and I want a playhouse like that - it's just gorgeous! :-)
    Xx

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  11. What a fantastic idea for a party! It sounds like so much fun. I adore the cookies you made and how you put the nicknames on. You are a very very cool mum!
    Marianne xx

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  12. This is a brilliant idea, Chrissie! I love the graffiti theme and the speech bubble cookies fit in perfectly. I also love the little playhouse very much! I hope the girls soon settle back in to school.....I'm sure the lovely time with their friends will have helped a lot!
    Helen x

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  13. What a great idea! I would have loved a party like that at 10 XX

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  14. Whoa what a great idea.....can I have an invite next year! :) x

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  15. Just love that gorgeous playhouse. I know if that was in our back garden it would not be a playhouse, but my little sewing space, that's for sure!! I love the graffiti party idea and the t-shirts looked great. What a lovely annual tradition. Hope the first day at school went ok? xoxo

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  16. What a beautiful sweet playhouse. I can see why you want to claim it as your own when the girls have outgrown it!

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