Starting early

I know Bianca's birthday is still a little while away - 2 months and 1 week, but from experience I've learned that that sounds much longer than it actually is.  Time goes by so fast and before I know it we'll be in that week right before her birthday. 

This year Bianca wants a Harry Potter birthday.  Because Bianca's birthday is in winter (and likely cold and rainy), we can't rely on an outside venue like at a park so need to have an indoor venue - just in case.  Bianca has so many friends and already has about 15 kids on the invite list, so we've decided we are going to see if we can perhaps get the school hall which so far looks like we'll be able to book it.  And if we use the hall, we may as well invite all the kids in her class as well as some kids from the other Year 3 class who are her friends.

So we've been thinking of ideas of things to do at the party and I think we can make a fairly nice party with this theme.  One of the things I am hoping to make are little cauldrons and I saw the coolest website showing how to go about making this using paper mache.  And then of course Bianca chose this fancy cake which I'm sure looks way easier than it really is. 

So I really have no choice but to start preparing early.  Yesterday I started making the first cauldron (and I'll have to come up with a way to have a bit of a production line going I think) and last night I baked a trial cake which I'm hoping to try and decorate today just to get my head around what is involved.  Fingers crossed it actually comes out the way the book shows. Otherwise it is back to square one...