Fun Ways To Make Jelly
I think jelly is one of those forgotten gems! There is so much you can do with it! Each packet cost 99 cents at Countdown, which makes 2 litres of jelly. Value for money! I have had a play around with some different things that you can do with jelly, themed and not. It was so much fun!
Rainbow Jelly
This was a bit of an experiment to see how to do this and get the vibrant results. I tried tipping the different colours on top of each other in one go. The result of this was all of the colours mixed together which was a total disaster. To do it properly can be a bit time consuming but the end results are amazing. You need to put the glass/tray in the fridge as you add each colour and let it set before adding a new colour. You can see the results for yourself! Doesn’t it look amazing!
Pirate Ship
If you are having a pirate themed party first of all I hope you have purchased our Pirate Party Bags! The next thing you need to think about is the food. There is so much you can do with this theme. You can make eyes with grapes and raisins, you can cut sandwiches into an X shape and you can make pirate ships with jelly. First I cut an orange in half and hollowed it out. Next I poured in the jelly. You can use a range of colours or just stick with one.
Put it in the fridge to set. While the jelly is setting, you can make your pirate flags. For the flags you can use coloured paper, pirate themed paper or you could write the childrens names for a place setting at the table. Once the jelly is set you can cut the orange again and put in the flag. Each orange will make 4 pirate ships. These are very cute. The only advice I would offer for this is to make sure you use a sharp knife.
Octopus
The octopus is very adorable! This could be used for a underwater themed party. They are really easy too! Mix some red jelly…now this can be strawberry, boysenberry or raspberry as we discovered at the supermarket. Put it in a container and put it in the fridge. While it is setting, get the tentacles. For this you can use red liquorice, snake lollies or anything else that is long, red and thin. I used snake lollies. Once the jelly is set, turn the octopus out on the tentacles. I added some plastic eyes, but these can be a bit of a choking hazard. I would recommend using pebbles or m&m’s. They are a lot safer and yummy too! I also found the octopus a bit hard to get out of the container at first, but the remedy for this was to just sit it in boiling water for a few seconds. They fell right out of the mold.
Watermelon
I saw these and thought they were super cool! All you do is cut a lime in half, hollow it out and add red jelly. Once it is set, add poppy seeds and it looks just like a watermelon. The only problem with this one is that limes can be very expensive. I would only do this if you know someone with a lime tree. Each lime makes four pieces of watermelon. They brighten the table too!
Bugs and Grubs
You can have lots of fun with this one! First you need to go shopping at your local dairy or pick and mix. Look for gubs, worms and anything that looks a bit revolting. This is quite good for a party for children who like gross things. Add some of the lollies to the container and pour over green jelly. Once it is set, you can add some more to the top. You can also add a crushed up chocolate biscuit to the top for dirt. Your imagination is the limit. The kids will love it!
Shark Attack
Lucky last, I made a shark attack in a cup. I mixed the blue jelly and poured it in a cup to set. I whipped up some cream and stuck the shark fin onto the spoon. Once the jelly was set I put it all together. You could make this for a sea themed party or a pirate party. It is simple, but looks really effective!
As you can see, there are so many fun things you can make with jelly. This is just a few ideas. One thing I will say is beware of shrinkage, especially in the boats and watermelons. I just topped these up as they were setting. I hope this inspires you to use jelly at your child’s party. It is a cheap food, with loads of potential!
Happy cooking! Please leave a comment below 🙂
