Umm. Help?

Two things. One, Lauren's birthday party is coming up and I've heard of these

http://www.partypieces.co.uk/PartyPieces/category/Party%20Boxes_Party%20Trays/1/

which look really good, as we might be having 20 - 30, 4 year olds coming.

Trouble is, they're only in the UK and with posting, it's about $80.

Anyone seen them in the US/Canada? I've tried searching but found nothing.

Second, anyone got any tips for creating shoebox dioramas? David and I Eleanor's been assigned it as a project (our first making something project! We're so excited!) and after spending most of yesterday trailing from store to store, begging shoeboxes (people so very helpful and nice :;hugs them:;) and buying polar bears, white felt etc, we're all ready to start, but I have a feeling there are pitfalls...

Not least the shame, which David feels more acutely than I do as he's the one who knows all about fauna and always wins Animal Alphabet, of returning home to discover polar bears and penguins don't live in the same place ::head desk:: I think we knew that, I really do.

And they looked so darn cute together, even if the polar bear was supposed to eat them...yes, we have to 'demonstrate a food chain.' Luckily we got seals as well. Bear--->seal---->fish.

We, uh, she, has to, 'fill the complete area and surface of my shoebox' (standing on its side?) and 'create a lifelike resemblance of a habitat (got my cotton wool at the ready!) then give an oral prsentation throwing around words like 'carnivore' 'habitat' 'energy' 'ecosystem'.

I think we need a bigger box...sheesh.

Eeeee!

Knock at the door and it was a man bringing back our VCR, bought in April, broke in September, gone for weeks. I was just on the verge of starting to think seriously about calling them, so, cool, but, but but!

Packaged! Inside! With sheets of white foam stuff, flat on one side and corrugated on the other (snow, scoured by the howling Arctic wind...) and plastic bags of polystyrene squiggles (good for something, I'm sure) and black foam (rocks!) and the elmer's glue and blue food colouring is drying on a cut out of a cereal box piece of cardboard even as we speak.

And I'm taking photos with the digicam so Eleanor can explain all the steps I took, and I'm so getting an A+ for this...

(It's possible I'm taking this way too seriously but eee!!!)

Meep

Must stop refreshing reality_bends.

Meep.

So very agonising right now and edge of seat-y.

Been at least five minutes...::goes to refresh::