A different sort of bunny party (no Hugh Hefner in sight)

It was party time in the Household yesterday. A bunny party to be precise. But it was as far from the Playboy Mansion as you can get – think 10 squealing seven-year-olds and lots of furry animals.

Please remind me never to hold a kids’ birthday at 10am again. My god it was frenetic getting ready before the first guests showed. And to think I’d been boasting the night before that it would be the easiest party EVER. Pfft. No party is easy. Well, unless you completely outsource it.

Since it’s Easter next week, we gave Sprog 2’s celebration a bunny theme. Bunny cake, honey bunny biscuits, real bunnies to cuddle in the backyard …

OK, not just bunnies, a whole menagerie. When the farm animals – three goats, two lambs, two bunnies, five ducklings, six chicks and two guinea pigs – arrived, I heard the oh yeah! words from one of Sprog 2’s little friends: “This is the best party ever!”

The kids fed them, groomed them, gave them bottles of milk, cuddled them. I thought it would be one of those flash-in-the-pan things where they’d get bored and be jumping on the trampoline after five minutes, but the folk at Golden Ridge did this clever thing where they stretched out every activity so the kids were busy for an hour.

Hardly any food was eaten, probably because I sent them all on a lollipop and easter egg hunt while the animal farm was being set up.

The party pies were a bit of a fail – I made pastry bunny ears for them, but accidentally bought rectangular party pies – when did you last see a rectangular bunny?

But the bunny cake was a hit. A cinch too: a plain sponge from Woolies cut into a 7, iced with some Betty Crocker ready-made, scattered with green sprinkles and icing roses, with some cake-decorating shop-bought icing carrots around the edges and 7 plastic bunnies on top. Voila!

On their way out, each child received a bunny party bag, not opened with the dazzled enthusiasm I thought they would be. Perhaps because they only contained one measly little chocolate. Party pooper.

OK, time to start planning the Hawaiian party for Sprog 1’s birthday in December. First step, get a swimming pool …

PS On the upside, the lovely girls from Golden Ridge told me they repatriate roosters … at a price. I just have to call them today for a quote. Deep breath … and a 45-minute car drive to Dural. There’s my Easter Saturday sorted.