The Fairy Party and the start of the business

This year my daughter, totally against my initial ice cream idea, decided on a fairy theme for her birthday.  To be perfectly honest, I was hoping we could save that one until she was a bit older, but that was mainly because I thought she'd enjoy it more.  It was 3 months before her party and that is where the prep began.  I did some Pinterest and image trawling and came up with my general plan.  It was a smidge ambitious given the budget of, um, well zero actually, but with the length of time it was doable.

Job no 1: rope in husband to make daughter a house bed (technically not anything to do with the party, but it kept him in the workshop and busy and therefore I didn't feel too guilty about spending my evenings making wands and fairy headdresses!

Jobs no 2-400: prep prep prep!  Items on the agenda: toadstool cushions, flower wall, backdrop, paper flowers, tutus, headdresses, wand craft prep, pass the parcel, invitations and cake topper.  I enlisted my husband to make a top for the kid's play table so it could be used as their table for the party, I also got him to make a frame for the backdrop.

It seems like a lot, and to be honest it was quite a bit of prep, but in realistic terms it was done in the evenings, an hour or so at a time and certainly not every night. We are still battling a sleep adverse toddler so I only really get an hour in the evenings before he wants me to go up to him!

I've put a separate post with the how tos for this party as there are many!

Fast forward to the party and after weeks of pretty awful weather, we woke to the hottest morning of the year.  We relayed seemingly endless car loads up to the community orchard in our village (the one huge downside of not having a party at home, and one I'll admit, I was completely unprepared for!) flatly refusing this year to have the party at our house again! A combination of a tiny garden and a ridiculous amount of people meant our carpet was virtually ruined and I ended up with a houseful.  I do love having people over but not when you plan for everyone to be outside!

To be honest, the initial part of the prep was horrendous. Imagine being dressed inappropriately for the weather, roasting in a party tent, refereeing two children and attempting to drape and decorate at lightning speed. I was saved by family reinforcements mid morning, and in reality, there is no way it would've got done without them.

I collected the cake at the last minute, i.e when people were arriving and I was still cutting fruit for the wands when the kids were here.  Even though I left the cake to the last second, my marshmallow and white chocolate flowers melted within seconds, drooping and losing their petals and looking rather sorry for themselves!  I could barely grab a picture of them before they dismantled! The weather is just the one thing you can't really prepare for.

I have found a fantastic artist in Australia who has designed a "pin the wand on the fairy" game which seemed to go down well plus the obligatory pass the parcel.  The kids decorated wands, fairy houses and elf hats with paint, leaves, gems and feathers and seemed to love it despite the ridiculous heat. Simple wand prep how to on separate blog.

The party looked lovely and the kids had a brilliant time despite the ridiculous heat. It was at this point, standing in the tent, watching the adults sitting, chatting and drinking pimms and the kids running around in their tutus and elf costumes that I realised that this is what I love doing.  I'm definitely not a matching plate/food in perfect rows kind of party planner, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of the rustic, country style affair. So that's when it came to me, to start a business helping other parents throw parties that the children will love, and that more importantly means that the parents aren't stuck in a sweaty soft play centre for two hours on a sunny day or are left filled with dread at attending another children's party!  Yes, I know the thought of the prep is enough to bring most people out in hives, but that is where I hope I can help. I am championing the old school party games and am bringing back the children's party of our youth.

You can find me on Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/GreatLittlePar1 Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/greatlittlepartyco/  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/greatlittlepartycompany/ and I now have an Etsy page https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GreatLittlePartyCo?ref=hdr_shop_menu .  It's all a bit daunting, but this is what I love doing so I hope I can help you out! I supply themed party boxes which contain party essentials (plates, cups, napkins, straws etc) plus at least one craft and everything needed to complete the craft, party games and ideas, decorations and filled party bags with gorgeous handmade and unique items the kids will love.