Harry's Gruffalo Feast!

Deciding on a theme for Harry’s 3rd birthday celebrations came easily this year. We had to look no further than his favourite book The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It was to be my first time at styling a party around a book theme!

When it came to the invitation, it was obvious to introduce our star character – the Gruffalo! My sister and I worked on the invitation, and Harry was thrilled with the concept of a Gruffalo Feast. He proudly carried his own copy of the invitation around the house for days!

For the party table, I decided to do a range of Gruffalo inspired treats straight from the story, for adults and children to enjoy. I came up with most of the menu ideas myself, but enjoyed gathering some bits and pieces of inspiration from the official Gruffalo website www. Gruffalo.co.uk

A colour scheme of brown, white and green came to mind quickly, and represents the ‘Gruffalo’ as well as the ‘deep dark wood’.

Making my own bunting was relatively quick, and I was able to incorporate the papers of my choice. Thank you Martha Stewart for your template and easy instructions. (www.marthastewart.com)

The Gruffalo Feast Menu was colourful and filled with fun. It was a hoot to see the children embracing the treats in their ‘Gruffalo’ form.

Vegemite sandwiches were disguised as Roasted Fox Sandwiches – a sure crowd pleaser at a toddler party.

Owl Ice-cream, otherwise known as ‘Cookies and Cream’ ice-cream prompted many giggles.

Great hilarity centred around the popcorn cones which featured as Scrambled Snake!

I couldn’t help but notice that the Gruffalo Crumble, otherwise known as Apple Crumble, was very popular among the mums and dads!

Ghoulish cries were the result of noticing the shot glasses containing the Orange Eye Balls, made famous by the Gruffalo, and possible by balling a rockmelon.

The individual cups of Purple Prickle Jelly proved popular too, and Blackcurrant jelly was the starring ingredient here.

Given my love of baking, I couldn’t resist whipping up some decorated cookies. I honoured the character of the Owl, as well as the setting of the Forest. Cookie Wands are always very popular with the children, and I love the effect of being able to stand them up. The red and white ‘mushroom’ cookies looked ever so inviting, and were hard to resist.

Besides the colourful array of Gruffalo inspired treats on the table, the real ‘ooh la, la’ contributor to the party table was the Gruffalo cake!

I decided on a three dimensional design to capture the ‘giant’ nature of this much loved literary character. The Gruffalo sat up tall, in all of his ‘giant’ glory, watching over the entire party!

The cupcake toppers on the Deep Dark Wood Cakes were loads of fun, in that they pictured the Gruffalo holding quotes from the book. I also personalised some of the toppers by including ‘Harry’, ‘3’ and ‘Happy Birthday!’

The ever so stylish Sambellina party bags were a great addition to the overall scene. Inside I included an individually wrapped ‘forest’ cookie, as well as a personalised chocolate bar.

Would I recommend using a book again for styling a party…..for sure! Loads of scope for inspiration. My gorgeous Harry was truly thrilled to be living through his favourite story!

And, just in case you didn’t know…..There’s no such thing as a gruffalo!

• Party Favors

  Gorgeous Sambellina party bags with decorated forest cookie and individualised chocolate bar.

• Best Moment

  Singing happy birthday!

• What People Ate

  The Gruffalo Feast Menu was colourful and filled with fun. It was a hoot to see the children embracing the treats in their ‘Gruffalo’ form. Vegemite sandwiches were disguised as Roasted Fox Sandwiches – a sure crowd pleaser at a toddler party. Owl Ice-cream, otherwise known as ‘Cookies and Cream’ ice-cream prompted many giggles. Great hilarity centred around the popcorn cones which featured as Scrambled Snake! I couldn’t help but notice that the Gruffalo Crumble, otherwise known as Apple Crumble, was very popular among the mums and dads! Ghoulish cries were the result of noticing the shot glasses containing the Orange Eye Balls, made famous by the Gruffalo, and possible by balling a rockmelon. The individual cups of Purple Prickle Jelly proved popular too, and Blackcurrant jelly was the starring ingredient here. Given my love of baking, I couldn’t resist whipping up some decorated cookies. I honoured the character of the Owl, as well as the setting of the Forest. Cookie Wands are always very popular with the children, and I love the effect of being able to stand them up. The red and white ‘mushroom’ cookies looked ever so inviting, and were hard to resist.

• What People Drank

  Gruffalo Tonic!

• Alison Lawson Cakes

  Cake designer

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