Early Bird Breakfast

Rise and shine with an Easter breakfast spread that is definitely not one for the birds! From Butternut Scones to Hummingbird Cake, you and your guests will be invigorated to play some “egg” lawn games with these with these wonderfully creative ideas from Julie Gallagher, our Children’s Party Expert and owner of “In Good Company” www.ingoodcompany.co.za

INVITATON

CRACK ME OPEN INVITATION

DIRECTIONS 1 – Paint blown out eggs in brightly-coloured paint and decorate with white paint by drawing on polka dots or flowers. 2 – Print the party details on a thin strip of paper (2cm x 20cm). Roll the paper into a tight tube and insert through the larger hole in the eggshell. 3 – Print the Crack Me Open Tags, cut out and pierce a small hole at the top with a pin and toothpick. Thread through twine and tie the tag around the painted egg. 4 – Paint a small box in bright colour and fill with natural raffia. Place the egg inside and the box lid on top. Tie the box closed with twine.

DECOR

BLOWING OUT EGGS

DIRECTIONS 1- Poke a hole at the top and the bottom of a egg. To pierce these holes, use a pin. Also, by using a plaster it will help prevent breakage of the egg. Make the hole you are going to blow through a little larger using a nail. Then make the end hole slightly larger, about twice the size of the first hole, as this is where the egg contents will flow out. 2 – Reach through the larger hole with a toothpick to pierce the yolk and break up the membranes that keep it whole. Gently push the toothpick in and out of the hole repeatedly. 3 – Set up the bowl to catch the insides of the egg. Hold the egg right above this bowl and hold up the thin straw to the small hole. Blow air through the straw and into the egg, letting the insides flow out from the larger hole. Do this until the egg is empty. 4 – Take a glass of water and pour it over the eggshell to rinse it out. Then blow out the water and any remaining egg. Shake gently and repeat until the egg is completely clean. 5 – Dry the intact eggshells by putting all eggshells in the microwave on high for 15-30 seconds or bake them in 300ºF/150ºC oven for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can let them drain (larger hole facing downwards) for 2-3 days.

BIRDS ON A WIRE

DIRECTIONS 1 – Paint the wooden pegs. 2 – Print and cut out the bird motifs. 3 – Tie ribbon over the width of your table a metre above the table height. 4 – Tie the flowers onto the ribbon at regular intervals upside down. 5 – Peg the printable bird motifs along the length of the ribbon.

TABLETOP

TREETOP

Paint an old door/trestle table top with a distressed look and set on top of large plastic crates. For chairs, use old tree stumps.

NESTING

Fill bird nests (real or fake) with small decorative eggs and feather or ceramic birds.

TERRARIUMS

To the aforementioned nests, add a glass bell jar overhead to create a terrarium. As an alternative to ceramic or feather bird ornaments, use the printable party bird motifs glued onto the inside of the bell jar.

HOUSES

Paint wooden birdhouses found at nursery or garden centres; using bright colours and add decorative flowers, butterflies and birds with paint or use stickers. The printable party motifs can also be decoupaged.

POTTED PLANTS
Decorate potted plants with printable bird motifs pegged onto the rims. These make for great party favours afterwards.

BUD CARDS
At each place setting, tie a printable bird tag with a small egg around a cut flower stem.

MENU

BIRD MUESLEI NESTS

Xxx

BUTTERNUT SAVOURY SCONES

xxx

MINI POPPY SEED AND

CARROT LOAVES

Little loaves served with sugar syrup.

CHOCOLATE AND

RICOTTA PANCAKES

Pancake mix with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese and cocoa powder made into flapjacks – cut into bite-size eggs.

SEEDED HUMMINGBIRD CAKES

Pineapple cake, made in a Bundt tin to mimic a bird nest complete with almond shavings, chocolate dipped pretzels and speckled chocolate eggs.

DRINKS BUFFET

Mango, Pineapple and Strawberry Fruit Juice served with fruit chunks and edible flowers. For adults, serve 1 part juice and 1 part champagne for a DIY Mimosa.

DRESS UP

BIG BIRD MASKS

DIRECTIONS 1 – Print the Bird Masks Printable and cut out the masks. 2 – Roll up a piece of yellow paper into a cone shape and tape closed. 3 – Tape the cone to the bird face. 4 – Stick with tape the edge of the mask to a paper straw. 5 – Push feathers into the top of the straw.

FUN AND GAMES

ZWÄNZGERLE

Guests challenge one another by seeing if they can break each others painted eggs with a coin. They throw their coin at an egg from a “fair” distance. If they miss and the egg stays intact, the owner of the egg wins the coin. If they succeed, they keep the coin and the egg.

EGG PECK

Have each guest hold a painted hard-boiled egg and stand facing one another. Tap the tips of your eggs against each other until one egg finally cracks. The winner is the one with the undamaged egg.

EGG ROLL

Each player needs a decorated hard-boiled egg and a long stick or bat. Line up the eggs in a row and have each player stand by their egg. On “Go!” players start rolling their eggs toward the finish line. The first one to reach it is the winner.

EGG + SPOON RACE

The players are divided into two teams. Each team is divided into two groups, one at Point A, one at Point B. The first player is given an egg in a spoon to carry from Point A to Point B. The egg and spoon are handed off to the next competitor, who carries it back to Point A to the next competitor. A dropped egg means that the person must go back and start again. The first team to complete the relay wins.

EGG TOSS

Each competitor has a partner and they stand about a metre apart, and a raw egg is tossed from one partner to the next. Those who catch the eggs without breaking them continue in the game; the others are out. After each successful catch, the players must take one step backward so that the tosses are longer and longer. The last team left with an unbroken egg wins the game.

FAVOURS

CHOCOLATE DIPPED COFFEE SPOONS

MAKES 18 SPOONS

DIRECTIONS 1 – Cover baking trays with wax paper. 2 – Place the cup of chocolate chips in a heat-proof measuring cup. Microwave chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute. Remove cup and stir. Continue microwaving at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Do not over-heat chocolate. To thin chocolate, add butter and stir gently. 3 – Dip plastic spoons in melted chocolate to cover the bowl of the spoon. Remove excess chocolate by tapping tip gently against the inside of the measuring cup. 4 – Push speckled chocolate eggs into melted chocolate. 5 – Cool spoons thoroughly before wrapping individually with cellophane and ribbon.

GOOD IDEAS If the chocolate in the cup thickens, return to the microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power, stir gently. Use dark chocolate for grown up favours for a more sophisticated taste and appeal. Use clear cellophane to wrap so that the chocolate can be seen. Replace melamine spoons with plastic or wooden tablespoons for inexpensive favours.

RECIPES

BIRD MUESLI NESTS

BUTTERNUT SAVOURY SCONES

MINI POPPY SEED AND CARROT LOAVES

CHOCOLATE AND RICOTTA PANCAKES

SEEDED HUMMINGBIRD CAKES

FRUIT PUNCH BAR

For more ideas and for the delicious recipes recommended for the Early Bird Breakfast why not purchase In Good Company’s brand new book FOR GOOD TIMES?

Click here to follow the link www.forgoodtimes.co.za

Not only will it take the guesswork out of party planning, but it will also give you the goodies to make it! FOR GOOD TIMES retails for R298.00 and can be purchased from all In Good Company stores, online or alternatively at Exclusive Books or Wordsworth Books. The website has over 100 free graphic printables you can download on purchasing the book.