And so it was that I found myself in Pirates Play Centre enquiring about kids parties. I'd always said I would never have a party in a play centre- only home organised traditional fun for my children. That was in my idealistic pre-actuallyhavingkids days. Now the idea of letting someone else do all the organising and cleaning up is somewhat appealing. (Although I do love doing home-made too- depending on other demands and time allowances).
For anyone in the Nottingham area, I would definitely recommend Pirates Play Centre for a gluten-free party.
I did do the cake myself, and I have to say, it was one of the best tasting cakes I've done in a while. I found the recipe on the 'all recipes' website here and just added some Xanthan gum when my first attempt fell apart. The icing was ready roll from Sainsbury's with the top bit bought from 'caketoppersbynikki2012' on ebay, after her immediate response to my email, confirming that all the ingredients and her production methods were gluten-free. Again, an easier than expected transaction with someone who is obviously used to dealing with dietary requirements. Pleasingly, nearly everyone who ate the cake expressed surprise that it was gluten-free. I did freeze some, and it defrosted well, although I don't know why I bothered freezing it as I took it out again pretty much straight away as it was so morish!
In any case, a very different gluten-free party to last years, but a very happy 5 year old and Mummy.
(And seeing as Alex is starting to read- if you ever read this sweetheart, the statement in the first paragraph about grinding your parents down and having your wish come true does NOT apply to Disneyland Paris. For now!)