My eldest daughter turned 7 on New Year’s eve (how time flies!) and we had a little celebration for her at home. This year we had to throw two parties for her. The main one (with her school friends) was luckily at a rented venue. There is no way I could imagine hosting 20 children in our house (unless it was during the summer months and I could extend the party to our garden). We decided to have a little birthday celebration with close family as well, with very minimal effort from my side I should add. I didn’t have a lot of time and energy to shop the decor, cakes and balloons. I decided to pretty much shop the entire tablescape in our local supermarkets (minus the glassware and balloons). I was actually surprised how pretty it looked with so little effort. I didn’t even bother with a tablecloth and our table (miraculously) survived!
Let’s start with the cake. I do like stylish cakes and often go for a personalised one from a bakery, such as Lola’s Cupcakes. I have ordered quite a few cakes in the past from Waitrose and M&S as well. I didn’t have time for a personalised cake this time though and just luckily wondered into our nearest M&S and spotted this heavenly Orio Chocolate drip cake. It’s not necessarily a kiddie cake, but since our daughter loves chocolate I knew it would be a safe bet. I always like to collect the cake in person so I can inspect it properly. This cake was a big hit and I cannot believe we actually ate it all. It’s meant for 12 people and I think there were 8 of us. The gold cake topper is from Lola’s Cupcakes (which was conveniently located right next to the M&S).
I love using my Iittala Kastehelmi cake stand for birthday parties, although it was a bit too big for a cake this size. Luckily I had some cupcakes left from my daughter’s first birthday party and I placed them on the sides to fill the empty space. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. It looks almost like I had it all styled and planned before (which I didn’t). Sometimes the best ideas come to you when you least expect, right? The Party hats, balloons and plates are from Card Factory (another local shop).
I didn’t even buy birthday/NYE flowers would you believe? The red berries flower arrangement is from Christmas and since it was still looking good I didn’t want to throw it away. Normally I would pick pink flowers for my girls birthdays, but I loved this arrangement from Isle of Flowers (located in London Victoria station) so much that I wanted to enjoy it as long as possible. Isle of Flowers have a really good selection of individual flowers (especially if you want to make your own bouquet like me) and they have little flower stations in Victoria, Paddington, London Bridge, Kings Cross and Westfield Stratford (to make flower shopping easy for commuters). I find that central London flower shops have a much better flower selection than we have here in suburbia and sometimes I go there just for the flowers.
As you can see it really doesn’t have to take a lot time and effort to create a pretty tablescape. Shop locally and buy as much as you can with your weekly grocery shop. Buy flowers in the tube/train station. Also remember to make use of what you’ve already got. I use the same cake stand and the same Waterford Crystal glassware every time we entertain. They are my special occasion tableware and it does feel very special whenever I take them out. Invest in timeless pieces that you will love for a long time (and that you can sell on ebay should you get tired one day).
I think we’ve had the busiest Christmas and New Year ever and I’m quite looking forward to getting back to routines and for school (and pre-school) to start. I don’t know about you but I’ve got quite a few things planned this year. I’m looking forward to attending the first interiors tradeshow of the year this week and to start planning our next mini make-over. Exciting!
