Saving the (Birth)day!!

My twin girls had their birthday last week, and as usual, in the lead up to the Big Day, we talked about the Birthday Cake/s they would like me to make for them. 

 

I thought I was so clever.

 

"Girls, this year for your birthday, you can share one decorated theme cake or you can have an easy cake each." (FYI, an Easy Cake = coloured icing with Smarties and Freckles on top, my supposedly failsafe, go-to method for cake decorating)

 

"Easy cakes, Mummy!!" they shouted.

 

 See? Easy!

 

 

Until Miss J, on seeing her baked, circular and cooling-on-the-rack cake, burst into tears.

 

"But Mummy, my cake is meant to have straight edges."

 

What??

 

"And where is the beach and water going to go? I had a dream about my cake. And what about the boat?"

 

Er... what boat, my darling?

 

"Izzy's!!!!!"

 

Er... who is Izzy?

 

 

 

Izzy, it turns out, is the girl character in Miss J and E's current favourite licensed animated series which includes automated sailing ships, a captain with a hook, and a cheeky flying boy in green clothes who helps to save the day.

 

Quick! Grab the DVD cover, copy it twice, cut out, laminate, trim, and stick into icing on cakes between some Smarties. Phew!!

 

And of course, in the midst of all the birthday party craziness, the only photo I managed to take was one after everyone had left. Not an Izzy to be seen anymore, but I remember what the cakes looked like.

 



 

In fact, I'm thinking I will never, ever forget.

Do you have a favourite cake decorating moment? Or technique?
Do you have any stress/time saving ideas for kids' parties? Successful and not so successful ideas (like mine!) are most welcome - I have another party to organise in three weeks and I could do with all help I can get!!

Have a great week!

 xx

Playdate Ettiquette for Twins!

Gouache on Paper
 

 

Our most recent Twin Conundrum:: The Playdate Minefield

 

Oh, the emotional pain, the potentially traumatic situation of the playdate invitation, the one where one twin is invited but the other isn't.

 

It has just happened to one of the twin families at school. The mother of twin 8 year old boys was talking about it at after-school soccer practice as she had experienced it for the first time yesterday. She said that she didn't handle it well initially; she had started with anger - "how mean to invite one and not the other".  She then moved to sadness - "I had a cry". And then she asked us what we thought. 

 

Hmmm.

 

I gently suggested that maybe here was a perfect opportunity to develop her twins' individuality, that the family treat this playdate situation as if the children were of separate ages, in which case they most certainly would have different friends and therefore different playdates. I also suggested that this was also a good opportunity to do something special with the uninvited twin while the playdate was underway, an activity that was just for him and not his brother.

 

One of the other mummies piped up: "But what about the invited twin? Wouldn't he feel as if he were missing out on his mother's attention, then?"

 

I don't think so - there will be other times when the roles are swapped and then it will be his turn to have his mother's attention. And if there are other siblings to be considered as well, there are other options for that, too.

 

Twin mummy looked at me rather strangely, and then she remembered that I have twins too.

 

Now, I haven't yet encountered this situation, but it is definitely on its way, and I have already thought about how we might approach it with my twin girls.

 

We are currently experiencing the joys of sorting out who likes which after-school activity; yes, it would be great if both twins liked the same dance class, but with one liking the traditional approach and the other preferring a more, er, holistic style, there is no way we can get around their need to attend different classes at different times. Or two concerts to prepare for at the end of the year. Joy.

 

I know, I know, it seems a no brainer, but when the twins and I are used to them doing everything together, suddenly having to do something separately is a bit of an event and needs to be managed as sensitively as we can.

 

Playdate etiquette for twins. Look, it isn't a happy situation, nor is it likely to pass without someone's feelings being hurt, but at least that hurt can be reduced with careful management. Every child is different. Even twins. Of course!

 

 

Do you have any other ideas for managing twin playdate situations? I'd love to know.

Or any other interesting info about playdates you would like to share?

 

 

Take care!

 

Sam xx