If the mark of a great party is a complete lack of commemorative photos then we scored a blinder at this year’s Easter bash. A combo of my phone being used to play music and Andrew being glued to the BBQ to feed 60 people resulted in very little visual documentation of the fun that went down (there is some evidence on my Instagram stories but most of it isn’t pretty enough for immortalisation here). Leaving aside the photographic failure (and I am not even going to mention my hostesszilla moment when Andrew decided that a Tupperware box made a suitable ice bucket – we have ice buckets, really nice ones – and that it’s fine to present sliced lemons in a zip-lock bag), here are a few notes that I will doubtless want to refer back to next year. Happy chocolate-eating!
LNx
A piñata. Yes, we did a piñata and an egg hunt. This was probably excessive from a sugar pov, but I love piñatas, particularly the pull-string variety, which are so much easier to manage than the bashing ones (try to pre-identify the opening string and tuck it away till the end).
It’s something of a bonus when one of your friends makes the best carrot cake in the country. The recipe is a fiercely guarded secret, which is probably why Lidija’s masterpiece vanished in five minutes flat.
Daiso is your friend. I couldn’t bring myself to brave Dragon Mart but Daiso came through with a decent selection of Easter decs starting from Dhs7. Chocolate hunting in the 30-plus degrees of late April in Dubai was a challenge but plastic eggs stuffed with candy provided a cost-effective and heat resistant alternative.
It wouldn’t be a party without a trip to Creative Minds in Dubai (there is a new branch on Wasl Road, round the corner from our house, which could get dangerous given my afore-mentioned piñata habit. Our swing frame does now appear to be a perma piñata frame. I know. I have a problem). I love their accordion paper fans to hang in the trees (save and re-use). Super-easy to hang – unlike pom-poms which require full-on assembly – and very beautiful fluttering in the breeze.
It helps to have a friend who isn’t averse to hitting up YouTube for some Easter Nest-making inspo. Thanks, Ruth!
Grapefruit is the ultimate accompaniment to a G&T.
People really love cheese straws. I always forget this, thinking they are some relic of the ‘80s. But no, they are possibly the ultimate canapé and I didn’t have enough.
A crafts table is always cute (and more to the point gets the kids out of the grown-ups’ hair). We did simple Play-Doh, temporary tattoos and I printed a ton of Easter pics for the children to colour-in.
All those Jellycat bunnies that mysteriously accumulate (or is that just me?) come into their own for strategically placing round the garden lending extra Beatrix Potter vibes.
I wish I had allocated someone photography duties, because it really was an epic afternoon and wonderful to have so many incredible friends in the same place at the same time. But I didn’t so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
