Have you thought about throwing a "Junior Bake Off" style party? Does it seem like too much hassle, don't know where to start, what about the mess and what would it involve? All those thoughts race through your head, it certainly would be a challenge, but there are simpler ways to throw a bake off style party. Here's how we created a similar party for a young girls 9th birthday.

Throwing a party for a 9 year old allows you to try out difficult activities and intricate crafts, as their understanding and attention span, is that much greater than those of a younger age. However, time at a party can be a deciding factor on what you can and can't achieve, so careful planning is required. For this baking style party we decided to plan a cupcake decorating activity using already baked cupcakes. With a 2 hour party slot this would allow enough time for guests to complete the activity, yet still have enough time for party food and games too.

We used a traditional style marquee, with the guests completing all the baking activities under the canopy, just like they do in "The Great British Bake Off". A hanging rail with aprons was positioned at the head of a long table, which had been set with individual baking stations, prepped for each guests arrival, with cupcakes, piping bags, mixing bowls, spatulas, food colouring, buttercream and lots and lots of sprinkles and decorations. The squeals of delight from the party guests when they arrived was fantastic.

The party guests first task was to decorate their own paper chef hat, this was a fun activity to get things started and to chat through the items at their baking stations. Guests were then allocated 45 mins to decorate their cupcakes in any colour they liked, with sprinkles and decorations galore. Once completed they were instructed to place their finished creations on one of the gold cake stands, ready for judging later in the party.

We all know that the perfect party food for a "Bake Off" style party, is of course afternoon tea! Mini sandwiches, cupcakes, cake pops and pink lemonade, all served on vintage china, it doesn't get more British than that. Using china instead of plastic plates really gave the party a grown up feel. The birthday cake was a simple single tiered cake, covered in sprinkles with a chandelier style candle holder, which just happened to hold 9 candles. Perfect.

After the party food had all been consumed it was time for the next activity, button pictures. We set up button trays with different coloured buttons, templates they could cover with the buttons and ornate picture frames for the guests to display their works of art. This was definitely an activity that only works for older children due to the buttons being so fiddly, but it was perfect for this age group. With little time left before the end of the party, there was just enough time for a couple of quick games, the donut challenge and the smartie game.

Finally, it was time to judge the cupcakes. With all the guests together, a simple show of hands to vote for your favourite, found a "Bake Off" winner. Yeah! A trophy and rosette was awarded to the winner, then it was time for home. The best part about this party, was that everyone was able to take their own cupcakes home, along with their button picture and a quick visit to the mini sweet shop too.

Sounds like everyone was a winner to us.

We hope this party gave you some inspiration for your next "Bake Off" party?