It was great fun! At one point we had about twenty children and assorted adults in the pool, all having crazy, wild fun (the best kind of fun!). An amazing result of a big swim with all their friends yesterday was that Cappers and Maxi decided today that they would ditch the bubbles and the floaties. They both swam and jumped in without them. Hooray! I must get photos of that tomorrow.
Leaping and splashing and cooling off from the hot, hot day. Isn’t that what a Summer party is all about?
More on those garlands… I really love them. I wasn’t sure how to decorate an Australia Day party without bringing out the ‘green and gold’ – two colours that I personally despise together. Sorry Australia.
Do you enjoy entertaining ‘en masse’? Or are you better at a smaller affair?
Joining in with Kootoyou’s My Creative Space today. Fun!
Toni says
your garlands are BEAUTIFUL. I also struggle with the green and gold thing and often the red-white-and-blue can look a bit ‘stars and stripes forever’ but you got it just right.
Love the pics of all the kiddies too.
Kymmie says
Those pinwheel garlands are beautiful, and if you’re into scrapbooking it’s the latest craze. I love the patterns, and especially the fact that they weren’t a horrid gold and green. Looks like you had a fabulous Australia Day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as hot in Melbourne, in fact I froze a bit. And made the worst Anzac biscuits (pancake, anyone?) ever. Happy Australia Day to you and your lovelies 😉 xx
Trish@Show and Tell says
The garlands are gorgeous! You are incredibly creative (not my forte unfortunately).
I like small gatherings. I have a very large extended family…..and while we all have tremendous fun when we get together….quite often I leave, realising that I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up with certain family members in the way that I would have liked.
Smaller, intimate gatherings give me the opportunity to do this.
But, hey, when you’re talking Australia Day and pool parties….that’s a different thing. The more the merrier!
Trish
x
Jess says
Love the garlands and that you took the time out to make them. Such a nice touch to a party.
We always end up having big gatherings too.. we seem to have collected lots of mates over the years and love getting everyone together. Everyone thought we were crazy when, 2 weeks after having Ayla (and a week after chrissi)we had a big BBQ at our house to welcome her…. to me it was better than lots of little catch ups and drop ins!
mel @ loved says
Your garlands look fantastic! I do love getting things set up for entertaining, making the place look all festive & fun whatever the theme may be. Hubby takes care of the food side of things mostly. Small or large, either way I freak out a little if I’m on the food detail..we had a quiet day at home yesterday with a good ol aussie lamb roast & some backyard cricket.
Frog, Goose and Bear says
I’m absolutely loving the pinwheels! They look very profesh and I lvoe yoru creativeness in photocopying fabric – clever! I’m not a fan of the green and gold either but it looks like you’ve incorporated the red, white and blue of the aussie flag in there….
I love the big entertain – invite them all i say! Although I’ve had to tone down a little recently to cut down on the stress.
We celebrated a 7th birthday yesterday – pictures to come! Japanese themed party, but i did put some meat pies topped with Aussie flags on the table, couldn’t let Australia Day go by without some acknowledgement.
Stacia says
I prefer the small fete. I don’t make my own festive garlands, though. I’m lucky if I find time to mop! =>
And I must know, what are lamingtons and pavlova? I have no idea but am nonetheless craving a taste.
Corinne – Daze of My Life says
Those garlands look great! What a fun day.
We love entertaining (fairly casually – BBQs, relaxed dinners) so we do it fairly regularly.
We had a great backyard barbie yesterday with about 6 friends and a bunch of kids. The sprinkler got a good work out.
Jane says
Oh, Bron, ca you do a tutorial for us on those pretty garlands? Pretty please! They’re divine and I want to make some. J x
Miss Kitty-Cat says
How festive do those garlands look? So pretty. I agree with you – not personally a fan of yellow and green either. Not sure if that makes me unpatriotic but hey…
Hope you had a wonderful Straya Day!
Maxabella says
Jane – you’re kidding, right!?! A tutorial, me??? I will say that I just got a stip of double-sided photocopied paper and accordian folded it. Then I taped it in a circle and pushed it out flat. It will “pop” up like a cup, so you get your trusty hot-glue gun and glue a circle into the centre on both sides to hold it down.
I then threaded twine through using a darning/ wool needle (which I now own soley for this purpose). Tie a little knot before and after the pinwheels as you go to hold them in place.
Leave room on the twine to hot glue gun little circles alomg the way. All random, looks better than matchy-matchy.
There are good tutorials around for the pinwheels and I just modified! Google “pinwheel garland blog”. Oh, that’s a little tip right there – add “blog” to crafty searches and you get the good stuff!!
x
Megan Blandford says
Looks like lots of fun!
Ms Styling You says
Love those garlands.
Life In A Pink Fibro says
Looks gorgeous, as ever!
Sarah says
Looks like it was a great day at your place. As you know from my post mine wasn’t what I had planned. This morning however I hosted 8 mums and about 20 kids. I love hosting things, it’s just getting round to doing it sometimes isn’t it?
Tricia Rose says
The wattle here is out now and smells fantastic, bringing those wattle songs back from my childhood (“The bush was grey, A week today…”).Somehow it looks better in nature, yellow and green together~
Michelle says
I love the pinwheels they look great, bet you keep them up a few weeks past Aussie Day too they’re too cute to put away. This year I want to a family bbq, but next year plan to have a big bash at mine if there is more than just sand in our backyard by then!
Naturally Carol says
Your garlands are fabulous! (and you say you’re not very crafty…I think you are!!) I love small get togethers and large ones as long as they are not so loud that you can’t talk and hear what people are saying to you.
Brenda @ Mira Narnie says
aaaarrrrrraiba aaaaarrrrriba! At least that is what i think a mexican would sound like!!! i love that you took some artistic license to the Austrliana theme (and banished the hideous green and gold!) Yes i know yellow is my fav colour, urgh, but not the bright fluro yellow and paired with green – Puuuulleeeease!
Love love love the garlands – you are such a clever crafter mumma and how clever to photocopy some fabric, oh how i love coming to visit xx
Posie Patchwork says
Great garlands, much nicer than the green & gold, go Mexican, why not!! Go the non floaties, i never let my children use floaties & they were swimming by age 2 really confidently. Me, not a strong swimmer, of course i married the water polo captain & super swimmer, but i grew up with a pool & just had to swim or my siblings wouldn’t play with me. Positive peer pressure!! Happy splashesin this heat, love Posie
Emma says
I adore your pinwheel garlands, they are just gorgeous! I am another who is not a big fan of green and gold, I always find myself cringing at the Australian Olympic Team uniforms.
melissa says
I love those pinwheel garlands – just the right touch! Very clever.
Now entertaining? I like any size get together when I ‘m not 1. hosting or 2.trying to supervise small children…
hehe
Wendy says
Love those garlands, M, and it’s sheer genius to copy the oilcloth!
Mammamusing says
I love your garlands.
I’ve got my sister and her kids visiting so we all dressed up and headed into the gardens in the city to join in the various festivities.
Kelly says
The pinwheel garlands you made are gorgeous, I love the colours you made them much better than green and gold.
Sounds like you had a fantastic Austalia day, we did too.
Adorebynat says
Love those pretty garlands! One of these days I want to dabble on this. It seems so much fun making them.
Joni Llanora says
The garlands are fabulous! I love hosting parties but not the clean up 🙂
Cat from Raspberry Rainbow says
Love your pinwheels, they are gorgeous! I also don’t like yellow and green together, eeeww, so wrong.
Kirsty says
I LOVE your pinwheel garlands.
It looks like you all had a fantastic day.
Heather says
Happy days. We just got back from a months holiday at the coast. Just devine. Looks like you had a wonderful oz day. Look at that pool! Me, I prefer small affairs when I am hosting as I get too stressed! But I love going to a big party with lots of new people to meet, kids running around and making new friends. Love those times. xx
Jill says
I love your party ideas and creativity!
We have just finished our 4th Aus day festivities recently.
We always use the old mum’s group and try to involve the kids to see some competition in a friendly way.
It’s good for the kids to see us throwing thongs into lake Tinaroo (yes, we are in Cairns and Tinaroo was the kids sandpit full of water).
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