Blog Archives
Pass the parcel
Last week, my daughter turned 4!
And she had her first big birthday party with her friends. There was a bounce house, a cake with whipped cream, fresh strawberries and princesses on it and a good old fashioned British game for the kids – Pass the Parcel.
I’ve never played the Pass the Parcel before, but the kids loved it. It’s one part Musical Chairs, one part Hot Potato, one part Russian dolls. You’ve got a wrapped present and the kids sit in a circle and pass the present around and around. When the music stops, whoever is holding the present gets to open it! But the present has been wrapped so many times in different types of wrapping (we alternated with wrapping paper and newspaper) that you’re never sure when or who will get to the actual present inside all of the wrapping.
My husband did an awesome job leading the game and he had wrapped the present nearly 20 times ahead of time, so each child who came to the party would have a chance to open the present at least once! You can only imagine the fun of finally getting to the bottom of it – it was a little apron with Paddington Bear on the front from our trip to the U.K. earlier this year and the lucky winner was a lovely 3-year-old girl who quietly beamed when she realized that could open the present and keep the gift!
How to throw a British party
No British party would be complete without these decorations, courtesy of Chickabug. Items include bunting, water bottle labels, cupcake wrappers and toppers, and thank you cards. Jolly good!
10 ingredients for a jubilant 4th of July bbq
Happy 4th of July! Whether you’re stateside or in Blighty, here are Boden‘s ingredients for a jubilant 4th of July bbq.
I’ll see you back here on Monday! Enjoy the long weekend!
Hen night
Last weekend, a good friend of mine and her fiance got married in a beautiful ceremony in South Lake Tahoe.
In classic tradition, on Friday night, she had a bachelorette party or what Brits would call a “hen night.”
To protect the innocent, I'm going with this generic shot from "Bridesmaids."
I’ve been searching online to find something about the origins of “hen night” and could only come up with a few theories – but the most popular has been that it originated in Scotland where women are termed “hens.”
I actually prefer the British term. Bachelorette party just has a sordid connotation, don’t you think? It just sounds like it would have to involve a bow-tied Chippendale leaping out of a cake or worse. I also think that if American guys can have a stag party, then we should also be given a term with a female animal equivalent. But what? Doe party, perhaps? Sow night? Bitch ‘do?
Yeah, I’ll pass and stick with a free-range hen. Cluck. Cluck.
BRITRISH.COM 