In winter, however, achieving the same result seems a greater challenge especially as you have to overcome inclement and changeable weather. But it isn’t impossible and there are so many opportunities and ideas to organise themed parties and entertain children, both at home and outside.

Let’s see how……….

Deciding the theme according to the birthday season

We have already mentioned that the cold season offers various ideas for an interesting themed party, and this applies to all the colder and darker months.

Christmas, for example, is the most magical time of the year, when the house, but also any other place inside and outside the city, is filled with lights, decorations and music that simply enchant children and adults alike. So why host a gingerbread party or one where the children make Christmas decorations? You don’t have to decorate as the house will already be full of lights and sparkle

How about a Firework party where you can take advantage of the darker evenings, you can put on a small display outside and have firework-themed food and activities. The children can make their own edible sparkers to take home.

Other great Themes:

• Around Halloween – You could celebrate with a spooktacular party with whiches and wizards and make potions. This is the perfect time for a Harry Potter themed.
• Campfire Party – Where you have a firepit and toast marshmallows and sing songs around the campfire.
• Frozen Party – A perfect winter theme
• Star Watching party – The darker nights are perfect for star gazing and it gets the kids outside.
• Hot chocolate – Everyone loves hot chocolate and I can just imagine how fun that would be for a party.
• Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing with the Stars – Hire a hall and have a dance lesson, the kids can all dress up and you could have a glitterball cake.
• Favourite TV program.
• Teddy Bears Picnic, but set up the blankets inside.

So look at the festivities that happen around your child’s birthday and bring that into it, but in a broad way – Instead of an Easter-themed party about a bunny party or something using all the pastel decorations that are around at that time of year. One often has everything ready and the child can enjoy a party in line with the festivities on which his or her birthday falls.

Choosing the location

Who said that a birthday party in winter equals celebrating at home?

Certainly, if you have a room large enough to accommodate at least close friends, it will be a good solution, but if the child is older and has the desire not to go to bed early in the evening, you can organise a sleepover party with close friends and set up the room or hall as if it were a campsite in the woods, complete with sleeping bags, tents made from sheets, lights and marshmallows. At least it gets darker earlier in the day so hopefully the kids will go to sleep earlier.

If you do not have enough space at home or wish to host the party, then look at hosting an activity that can be extended into a dedicated children’s birthday party, in fact, many companies offer this as an added extra. This could be going to the cinema, bowling, trampolining, laser tag, soft play, swimming or a sports hall (My boys loved having football parties).

Often churches and villages have halls you can hire for an hour at a time.

If you are lucky enough to live in a ski resort, you can even think about a couple of hours on a ski slope altogether, to spend some time outdoors anyway (or an indoor ski slope in the UK). The whole thing can be rounded off with a snowball fight and a hot chocolate.

Attention to details

From the choice of winter-themed paper invitations for birthday party to the party bags to give at the end of the party, from the cake to the buffet, right down to the decorations, everything having a consistent theme can make a party really magical.

In some cases, little will need to be done, as the house may already be decorated for Christmas or New Year’s Eve, in other cases, ingenuity will be required. You can then prepare masks for the little ones to wear, give them Santa or Elf hats and a box with toys, sweets or pendants for the tree. Everything they need to align their fun with the chosen theme.

There are so many ideas for themed food and biscuits out there and you can go spectacular with the birthday cake.

Which Activities to choose

One of the ways to help a party run smoothly is to have some set activities that occupy the children and capture their attention.

So for a a book-themed birthday party get everyone to bring a book from their collection to swap and then make bookmarks – or colour in bookmarks.

Traditional party games, such as Pass the Parcel, musical statues and musical chairs are always winners and have stood the test of time for a reason.

Party-themed scavenger hunts are fantastic and can be for both inside and outside. There is something to be said about getting the kids to run off their energy in every weather. So even if you are hosting a movie party, plan a scavenger hunt first to get some of that energy spent before they all sit down with blankets and watch the movie.

Most houses have loads of LEGO so why not get the kids to build something in line with the theme of the party with a special prize for the best, or most inventive or even get the children to vote for their favourite?

There isn’t one set way to host a birthday party. look at what your child is into at the time and try and theme it around their likes. It doesn’t always have to be seasonal and if all else fails call an entertainer and get them to do it for you, every child loves a magician!

1. I am a the cat’s pyjamas
2. You can not have a champagne lifestyle on a larger income
3. Less is more
4. You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream – C.S Lewis
5. Sew a little love into every stitch
6. That life is not a one way journey, you can make turns and even go backwards if you chose.
7. Being wonky is good
8. The sum is greater than the parts
9. Fairy lights are for all year round, not just christmas
10. Family is EVERYTHING
11. Most things can be healed by spending time with children
12. That I am not the only person in the world to have a stationery and washi tape addiction
13. Creativity is like a muscle
14. Happiness is not perfection, it is learning to look past the imperfect
15. That it is acceptable to get satisfaction from hanging washing on the line
16. Not much beats slipping between freshly laundered better, other than being joined there by the ones you love.
17. The secret to good Yorkshire puddings is an extra egg.
18. That having gift vouchers means that there will be nothing you want from that shop and not having them means you are longing for something!
19. I am not defined by my broad Northern accent.
20. Being polite costs nothing and gives so much.  Always say please and thank you.
21. My best has to be good enough
22. In order to make life better for woman, I have to raise feminist boys.
23. There is unbound joy in finding money in old bags and coat pockets
24. A pot of tea solves a lot of life’s woes
25. Tea tastes better served in china cups
26. I would rather spend more on paper straws then drink from plastic ones
27. I have to be the person I want my children to become
28. Kindness costs nothing, starts with me and needs to be an intention I make everyday and I should always give more than necessary
29. That now is my happy ever after
30. There is something wonderful to be found in a family button tin
31. Life is too short and unpredictable to not live in the present. Yes life is a grind, but I am not being worn down, I am being polished!
32. No balls in the house is a good rule
33. Where there is love there is life
34. That I light the way for my children by the bridges I burn
35. Accidents happen
36. Buy quality and only buy once
37. Given enough glue sticks and glitter I could rule the world
38. There is no way to be a perfect mother, but I am the right mum for my boys
39. That if I can not change a situation then I have to change my thoughts about it.
40. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

Blatantly copied from Housewife Confidential and kept for my 40th Birthday, well actually I turned 40 on December 20th, but with illness and a superb family christmas I forgot to post this!

1. You give the best cuddles in the whole wide world, they are all encompassing and frequent.  One of my favorite times of the day is that cuddle in my bed before we get up and face the day ahead.  Oftren we each say five more minutes.
2. You have no pause button.  You do everything at full speed.
3. You are extremely sensitive, although you often hide it under your bravado.  You care about what other people think and say.
4. You have my temper!  It is like looking into a mirror.  I know this is something you are working hard to control, but baby it is going to be a challenge.  I know, I have been there, however, it is part of your personality.  We talk about being able to learn to read and write, so learning to control your temper will be something you can do too.  We are already starting to see results and benefits from your hard work and you are becoming calmer everyday.
5. Your family mean everything to you.  You love us all with a passion.
6. You are a reader.  You love fact books and sleep with your Guinness Book of Records and 2013 Football fact book.  Every morning I remove at least 4 books from your bed.
7. You put your clothes on back to front.  When we tell you, you just shrug and say it is “your thing”!

Happy birthday dearest boy.  I see your Grandad in you everyday and my only regret in life is that my parents are not here to see the men my boys are growing into and share in our lives.  Today we are going to celebrate with jaffa cake, rainbow cake, good friends and family.

These are the clues we used, which I took from the Real Treasure Hunt website.

Refrigerator
A clue to find where you keep things cold
Where to go next is what you’ll be told.

Computer
Letters, a screen, and even a mouse,
look around, you’ll find it somewhere in the house.

Bed
When it gets late and you turn out the light
This is the place you’ll be found each night.

Socks
You’ll need to think hard to solve the next clue
Find a covering for your foot, but it’s not a shoe.

Oven
Turn up the heat it will help you bake
Cookies, casseroles, even a cake.

Shower
A place where water falls down like rain
after it falls on you it goes down the drain.

Microwave
A metal box with numbers is usually the norm
For this thing that helps us get our food warm.

My boy adores gemstones  so his birthday present was a tiny wooden chest filled with gems.  He also got some LEGO and Tech Deck too.

What can I say, this has been a weekend of celebrating  cake eating, family, friends  fun,  scoring his first two goals and lots of love.  I live for weekends like these.

1. You adore being tickled and trying to pretend that you are not ticklish.  You challenge me to make you laugh.
2. Oh and what a laugh.  it is infectious, it fills my heart with such joy.
3. You are fearless.  You are a mini thrill seeker, adrenalin junkie and embrace new things.
4. You are an early riser, but as soon as your head hits the pillow you are off in the land of nod.
5. You are a team player.  You love football and being part of a team.
6. You do not mind being different.  You embrace your curly hair, wear checked trousers and love being you.
7. You are kind and considerate. You help other people when you can.
8. You love with a passion.

How can you be eight already?  We never really believed that we would have you.  You  were a challenge form the moment you came in to being  and kept us on our toes.  You are a joy, my eldest child, an integral part of our family and I love you more each passing day.

We gave him some options of what he wanted to do for his birthday.  Did he want a party, a day out or a quiet birthday tea?  Not one for a party, he said that we would rather have a family day out and then we were invited down to London by Dairylea and it was just perfect as London is his favorite place in the whole world.  He didn’t even have a birthday list, when asked what he wanted for a present, he wasn’t sure!

We had an amazing weekend., which included a day with friends at a farm in London courtesy of Dairylea, a fab meal with the lovely Jo and her girls, a visit to the Tower of London and then a day at Duxford on Sunday.

Six things about my six year old:

• Mini is football mad.  He is a proud player in the local Under 7’s team and also loves going to see The Boro with his Uncle!
• We still find Mini in bed with us every night, not that we are complaining (we have a superkingsize bed). He is a real snuggler and a pleasure to cuddle
• Mini loves books.  He is a great reader and can often be found engrossed in a book.
• Dressing up is Mini’s thing, he is happy when he is in an outfit and pretending to be someone else
• He loves cooking and will often be found by my side in the kitchen
• He has worked really hard on improving his temper, but we still have a long way to go!

So seven facts about my seven year old………..

1. You love being different, having slightly longer hair, wearing checked trousers, the need to conform isn’t in your genes!
2. You are a wiz at maths and ask me to give you sums to do all the time, in  fact you idea of “fun” is a list of sums to work on!
3. You are a very sore looser
4. You fall asleep within minutes of your head hitting the pillow
5. You are an early riser. 6am is a lie in for you
6. You must have hollow legs, as filling you is impossible at the moment
7. You always tell me you love me more than I could ever love you, but that is impossible, although I love hearing it

I have also linked this to the gallery this week (as the cake is covered in colour)

Mini’s last night as a four year old

Today my baby turns five and my mum will have been dead six short months.
Today I will out on a brave face and celebrate all that is good in the world and be thankful for small children and the joy and delight they see in everything.
Today I will watch the echo that my mum’s life makes in my children.
Today I will rejoice in being a mother.
Today I will hold my children close and listen to their heartbeat.
Today I will contemplate the future with nothing but optimism.
Today I will be the mother of a five and a six year old.

Five years ago I was in hospital giving birth to my wonderful youngest, it was a long and arduous journey, but well worth it.  people often asked is we had planned to get pregnant so soon after Maxi.  I always ignored that question and told them that Mini was so wanted.  He was and he still is.