Karmel - Complete party planner: over 120 delicious recipes and party ideas for every occasion

Complete Party Planner

Also by Annabel Karmel

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Over 120 delicious recipes
and party ideas for every occasion

Annabel Karmel

To my children, Nicholas, Lara, and Scarlett, who uncomplainingly ate their way through all the birthday cakes, gelatins, and chocolate cookies in this book yet surprisingly still managed to demolish all the leftover sweets from the photo shoots.

1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
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Text copyright 2000 by Annabel Karmel
Photographs (with the exception of those listed below) copyright 2000 by Daniel Pangbourne
Chapters on the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and new recipes copyright 2006 by Cooking for Children Limited

Photographs on copyright 1999, 2005, 2006 by Dave King

A previous edition of this book was published in Great Britain in 2000 by Ebury Press

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information address Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of
the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Karmel, Annabel.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Complete party planner : over 120 delicious recipes and party ideas for every occasion / Annabel Karmel.

p. cm.

1. Entertaining. 2. Parties. 3. Cookery. I. Title.

TX731.K34 2006
793.2dc22 2006045088

ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9713-4
ISBN-10: 0-7432-9713-X
eISBN-13: 978-1-4165-4231-5

First Atria Books hardcover edition October 2006

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ATRIA BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases,
please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales:
1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com.

This is a book for everyone who has something to celebrate, and my aim is to make sure that your childs party goes with a swing. Whether it is a first-birthday celebration or you are looking for new ideas and inspiration to come up with something truly memorable after many years of organizing childrens parties, there is something in this book for you. As a mother of three children, I have learned a lot from my own successes and failures. I remember my daughter showing the first signs of chicken pox and breaking out in angry red spots just as her friends were arriving for a party. Or there was the ill-fated disco party I organized where none of the children wanted to dance, and my sons sports party in the pouring rain where it was so muddy it took some skill just to remain upright. Yet sometimes the unexpected can make the day, and I overheard one boy tell his dad as he was leaving that he wanted a sports party on his birthday but only if it was raining. It turned out that the boys had more fun sliding around and getting caked in mud than if the sun had been shining!

Parental involvement means far more to your child than spending money on a lavish party. The smile on his or her face mirrors the love you show for your child. Be a part of their fun, dont sit on the sidelines, join in with their growing upits such fun. One of the most successful parties I gave my son was a soccer party, and the highlight was inviting all the dads to play a game at the end against the boys. Despite the dads not having played soccer in at least twenty years, Ive never seen a more competitive bunch. Needless to say, the boys loved every minute of it, but I think a lot of the dads suffered later on in the day!

Advance planning and organization are the secrets to success, and party preparation is all part of the fun. Once your child is old enough, he or she will enjoy being involved in helping to make the party invitations, choosing the games, or helping prepare the food, and this book is packed full of fun activities for you to share with your child.

KEY FOR SYMBOLS

easy for children to help

N contains nuts

suitable for freezing

An approaching birthday is the biggest event in a childs life, and although the charm for us wears off around the age of thirty-five, children look forward to it all year, counting the weeks to the special day with feverish excitement. Active participation is definitely a key to success. For my older daughter I organized a cooking party wherehorror of horrorsno food was prepared in advance and it was up to the children to make their own. They had enormous fun rolling out dough, cutting out cookies, and making milkshakes. Yes, it was messy and you needed a team of willing helpers, but, boy, was it worth it to see their little faces beaming with pride at their newfound culinary skills. For my younger daughter I organized a beauty and jewelry-making party where the girls faces and hair were done, their nails painted, and before-and-after pictures taken. In between, the budding supermodels also had the chance to make jewelry and play party games.

From the original and fun invitation that sets the mood to the last crumb of the novelty birthday cake, I hope that this book will help ensure that your childs party is truly memorable.