Sunday 23 September 2012

Happy Birthday Baby Misfit

Son of Mummy Misfit turned seventeen last week.  How it happened I’ll never know!  It seems like only yesterday that I was giving my husband and sister murderous looks as Baby Misfit bungee-jumped in and out of my ‘fandango’ with the umbilical cord around his neck.

So what type of celebration do you have for a young man who likes things to be fairly low key?  Well, his oldest and best friend had turned eighteen the week before and had also decided on a ‘no fuss’ birthday, so we decided to get both families together (with another close friend) and have a dinner party quiz night.

As there were eight of us, our usual dining table wasn’t big enough so we had to use our ping-pong table which is stored in two halves under our sofas.  After manoeuvring the dining table through the hallway and across the kitchen to the back door we proceeded to try to roll it out into the garden.

We must have done this a dozen times before.  It’s not possible that the table has grown or the door frame shrunk but we found ourselves - The whole Misfit family - with it firmly lodged and refusing to budge for about 45 minutes.  Think ‘Krypton Factor’ or one of those really annoying puzzles which you have to jiggle and shake to set something free.  It was certainly ‘fun for all the family’ and I thank heavens I have such a patient husband.  Finally the table must have breathed in and it was released into the garden.  It must also have shrunk in the cold because there was no problem getting it back in later!

With everything now in place I could start on my decorations.  Now, those who have read my other blogs on party planning will know I love to give ‘good table'!  My son chose green and yellow as the theme - opting for a grass effect gift wrap with contrasting grass and flowered serviettes.  Grand total of £2 in Tiger!  I re-covered old drink mats with the paper and then coated with clear contact.  I then painted old party favour boxes and hubbie covered the lids to match the mats, finishing off with a paper daisy and filling with chocolates and Smarties.



My centrepiece was an old vase filled with oasis and decorated with more paper daisies.  The flowers were from Poundland!  Grand total of £4 - typical Mummy Misfit style.



So I think my table looks pretty impressive for the princely sum of £6!

The menu, with three fussy teenagers, (son’s friend’s sister is my God daughter, so was also there) was slightly trickier, so I opted for lazy nibbles to start - smoked salmon on rounded bread with cream cheese, parmesan crisps, stuffed mushrooms, nuts, tortilla chips and breadsticks.  The main was a safe chicken casserole, roast potatoes and veg - a winner for all!  Pudding was green and yellow cupcakes with a healthy dose of chocolate ganache.


 Cakes in the making.

The quiz comprised of six rounds for three teams of two - hubbie and I were in charge as we’d set the questions so couldn’t take part.  Some rounds were done before eating and the rest after.

Dogs - name the dog breed
Lyrics - what’s the next line?
Cryptic pop groups - who are they?  Eg: Nun on a toboggan = Sister Sledge
Number challenge - eg:  10GB H on the W = 10 green bottles hanging on the wall
Logos - name the company.
Totes random!  - how many objects can you find on the tray, within three minutes, beginning with the letters you’ve picked from the pot?

I think you'll see from the photos that much fun was had by all.
 

  Team one - 'The Drury Lanes', deep in discussion.


Team two - 'M&M'


Team three - 'The Birthdays' - who drew willies and testicles all over the dog round pictures!

Quiz in full swing.

Me and the boys.


Me and my boy - tall and skinny (him, not me!)

Some of the cupcakes in all their glory.

Misfit and the cakes

The winners, by one point!
The scratch card prize which revealed - a big fat ZERO!

 A gossip at the end of the night.

Music ranged from The Beatles to The B52’s to Bowie and, as is customary with these friends, ended on Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ with us all singing along, playing drums or spoons on the table and punching the air.

So I think that just goes to show that with the right mix of friends and at very little cost, you can throw a truly fun night.

Did you know that my Mummy Misfit books have remained in the Top 50 in humour on Kindle for the past week?  Go check them out - at only £1.91, what do you have to lose?

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