Spring Garden Party

By Contributing Writer, Sobia Hussain

Despite the recent fluctuations in temperatures, spring is officially here in North America. It represents life, renewal, growth, and warmth–something to be happy about. After being bundled up in heavy coats and scarves for several months, it’s nice to be able to step out for some fresh air and sunlight without feeling cold. I might be biased to say so considering spring is my favourite season, but either way it’s a wonderful season and worth celebrating.

After our party last summer for Ramadan, my daughter and her friends were asking when I’d host our next party. So I decided to have a little Spring Garden Party with spring themed food and activities. It’s a happy season after all!  

We had plenty of finger foods and snacks with some fun spring elements.

To make sure the kids don’t fill up on the sweets first, I offered the kiddos a variety of fresh vegetables and homemade sour cream & onion dip. Surprisingly, they finished it all. That’s a plus in my books!

Then came the meal. With tiny tummies, I opted to make mini chicken sliders with seasoned fries. The pinwheel toothpicks made a great final touch to the mini burgers. Each child took one home as a souvenir. 

Finally, there was the cake that everyone was tempted to dig into before any other food. Luckily I was able to hold the girls off until after their food was eaten :). 

My munchkin helped me make this chocolate dirt cake featuring worms and grass–all edible food ingredients, mind you! For the soil, we used the Oreo cheesecake crumbs. For the green grass, I used a special piping tip which gave the fun effect of fresh blades of grass. This tip can be found at any store offering cake decorating tools such as Michael’s. For the final touches, we rolled fruit leathers into long worm-like creatures. They looked a little too real because some girls asked not to have it on their cake! The brave gals, on the other hand, gobbled it up right away.

Once we wrapped up lunch, the kids moved onto our planting activity. I gathered some organic vegetable seeds, soil pods and mini cups to help them plant their own mini gardens which they can take home. 

We planted some tomato, carrot and lettuce seeds in different cups. The girls were eager to take it home to show their parents. 

Afterwards, we got a little messy with some crafty pom-poms, pipe cleaners, crown cutouts and headbands. The girls were making fairy garden crowns. I used a hot glue gun to stick everything together, keeping it away from little hands. 

The girls got very creative and were happy with their new wearable creations. 

Finally, when it was time to go home, each child was given a little party favour my daughter helped me pack up. It contained some little candies, animal-shaped pencil toppers, and homemade strawberry lip balm. Yum. They loved it! 

I was happy to see the girls chatting about how they were going to plant the seeds in their gardens when they sprout and share the veggies with their families. Incorporating some mini lessons and life skills into the party is something I enjoy doing. I hope they enjoyed their day. 

Sobia Hussain is a professional soap artisan who runs The Olive Tree Soap Company located in Toronto, Canada. She creates vegan natural soaps and skincare products with an eco-conscience. She is also Editor of Muslim Gift Guide and writer for various international publications. Sobia loves teaching creative Discovery Workshops designed to help children discover their inner talents and inspire creativity through explorations in art and science.