Thursday, 15 September 2011

what do coco chanel, marie antoinette, charles de gaulle and brigitte bardot have in common....


Absolutely nothing that I know of except that they were some of the characters that starred at a fancy dress party my children hosted. 

The theme of the party was 'Famous, Fabulous and French' where each guest was invited to attend as a well known French character...political, theatrical, cartoon, model or fashion icon..... Marie Antoinette sat next to Charles de Gaulle...they got on quite well considering their age gap....Gerard Depardieu behaved impeccably as he chatted to Brigitte Bardot...after his latest airplane antics this was a huge relief....and Coco Chanel had great fun discussing her favourite books with Alexandre Dumas...Amelie Poulain did cast a few covetous looks Coco's way...her outfit was spectacular....

A bit of fuss and loads of preparation always makes for a good party so for the dinner my girls and I made elaborate place-cards out of coloured cardboard. The place-cards were over-sized and each piece of cardboard was red or blue in the French theme. We folded the cardboard in half so that the place cards could stand, and on one side we stuck a photograph of a French character. To liven them up a little we added some cartoon cut-outs and relevant captions. The place cards were easy to make once we sourced and printed all the images...all it took was a little imagination, scissors and glue....

I often think that planning a party...deciding on the where and the how.... devising the theme and creating the mood... is the best part....xv

my daily click HERE

image - carla coulson

27 comments:

  1. What a great theme for a party...I may have to borrow it, but not for the kids!!

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  2. What a fabulous theme party Vicki. Love the Gerard Depardieu paring with Brigitte Bardot.
    Sam

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  3. Vicki what a fun and inspiring idea!! The place-cards are so fun and inventive!

    xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

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  4. Sounds like a fun dinner party !
    Would love to have been there - not sure just who I would be though !!
    We are enjoying glorious Spring weather in Perth...
    Best,
    Joanna x

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  5. I think Marie Antoinette was Austrian. But I got the idea and she was, after all, famous and fabulous!

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  6. Sounds like a great party!

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  7. What a fabulous idea! I couldn't agree more, the anticipation and planning can be just as much fun as the party itself!

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  8. What a fun idea. How old were the kids were? Old enough to know who Coco Chanel was (unlike Charles de Gaulle or Marie-Antoinette, she is not mentioned in French elementary school books as far as I know.) i am so proud of Gerard Depardieu for behaving next to Brigitte Bardot. By the way, have you seen the spoof Depardieu made of the "airplane incident" with his Asterix and Obelix co-star, Edouard Baer (his traveling companion on the day of said incident?)
    Hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7estuFU6VU
    Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  9. Oh how fun for you and the girls, Vicki! What a wonderful idea and a great time had by all I'm sure.

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  10. I AGREE with you!Party prep is the most fun.

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  11. What fun! I would love to have been there. Making the plans for a big & wonderful party are like dope to me, I enjoy every single little detail. We are finally down into the 90's, V, here in Houston...seems almost like Fall. :)'s

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  12. Absolute fun!! I would have loved to see Depardieu! :-) I agree with you, the planning is definitely the best with the joy of anticipating...
    Wishing you a sweet autumn Vicki...
    xo
    Lala

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  13. This is why I read your blog...always...what a great idea for a party. I have a 8yo and she has a school break coming up and it is my time to host a day of fun for 6 of them and this will be a wonderful theme to have them work on. We will get started tomorrow so they will really think of all the possibilities...maybe they could even dress up like some of the famous people they are going to read about in preparation. Thank you again for sharing.

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  14. FUN!! Had to laugh.

    Today posted something on Summerland-Santa Barbara where used to live and once chaired the annual symphony ball at the Montecito Biltmore's oceanfront Coral Casino club. Was hand-caligraphing 300 place cards a couple of hours before the ball--while supervising the band/stage backdrop set-up...etc. A glorious time. But so rushed in getting ready....after dancing all night glanced down and heels were on the wrong feet! LOL

    It's so nice you and your girls do things like this together. Making beautiful memories that will last for life. Just adorable, Vicki!! What a fabulous idea!

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  15. What fun!! And what a great way to make the party memorable as well!

    -Keri

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  16. What a great party! Love the placecard idea. I agree making the plans are a lot of fun. Lots of French Bubbly I presume! Would love to have seen the characters dressed up.

    Loving the blog.
    Trish xx

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  17. That would be a great theme for Halloween. Thanks for sharing, I may just follow your kids' example.

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  18. oh what fun!!! I completely agree!!
    xx
    callie

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  19. What a fabulous party theme! I absolutely adore it! Did you get any pictures?

    ~ Clare x

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  20. Une soirée qui s'annonce plus que parfaite... à la tonalité française...
    gros bisous

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  21. Why am I not surprised that your children would come up with such a clever idea?? I love it and think that this should be another chapter in your new book. I am thinking that if I drop enough hints it will happen. :)

    I am sure I have counted at least ten chapters from recent posts! Oh..the things that you could do!!

    Jeanne xx

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  22. We love your blog and here we are always checking the news, we are following you.
    Super Glorinha kisses.
    We wish you a great Thursday.
    http://sbrincos.blogspto.com

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  23. I want to go to a party with Coco, Brigitte et Charles! I guess I'll have to follow in your inspirational footsteps and plan a "Famous, Fabulous & Fun" soirée soon!

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  24. What an amazing party, I love the idea

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  25. Thats a lovely theme for a party.
    The placards are beautiful. I love Asterix and Obelisk - so thats my favourite of the lot

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  26. Such a fun party idea and I love those place cards! Will have to remember those for my next dinner party! A little mini collage with something on it regarding that particular guest. Fabulous! Makes them feel special (which everyone wants). Thanks for the wonderful idea. Your children are lucky to have you.
    Kirsten

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