Party at Home - Things to think about 2 months before the big day!

Planning the Party

• Think about which room / rooms to use in the house and if you have the space! Parents and brothers and sisters often stay on at the party so you may have more guests than you planned!
• How many children are going to be invited? Plan the room accordingly and add a plus one for the mums!
• Does your child have a favourite character or hobby on which to base a theme on?
• If you are planning an outdoor summer party in the garden, do you have cover if the weather changes?
• Pets. They may be the soppiest animal on the planet but some children will be scared of cats and dogs! Plus loud noises are not ideal for your animal so you may want to think about putting them in a separate room or leaving them with a trusted friend.
• Are you planning on hiring an entertainer or a bouncy castle? If so now is the time to book!

Invitations   

• Confirm names and numbers of guests
• Include an RSVP on the invite with a contact name, telephone and date you need to reply by.  Always include directions to your house and any key features to look out for!
• Include clear start and finishing times
• Parking instructions are a must.
• Include the theme of the party on the invitation and if children should wear fancy dress or old clothes if there are going to be messy crafts and games!

Food

• Are you going to be serving a meal at the party, or nibbles and snacks? 
• Where will the guests be eating their meal?  If space is an issue, a buffet table and floor space will suffice for children, or plan for a table and chairs.
• Don't forget to think about how many chairs and tables you will need for lots of guests!
• Decide if you are going to use an outside caterer.  If so, two months before the party is a good time to book to ensure you get a good caterer!
• Remember to get some adult friendly snacks for the mums and dads!

Cake

• If you are getting a custom made birthday cake start thinking of what kind of design your child would like and do some research!  Ask bakers for some previous examples and book well ahead of time.

Read my blog tomorrow for some tips on a venue at home to think about 2 - 3 weeks before the big day!!

Thanks for reading :)

Once Upon A Time Parties xx

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www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Hello again readers...

Hello my lovely readers of all things sparkly, lovely and celebratory!

It has been a while since I last posted on here as I have been a very busy fairy indeed bringing entertainment to kid's parties in London, Hertfordshire, Surrey and Hampshire but I promise that I will be making regular blogs about how to make the most of your child's birthday party.

As a gift to my readers, I am also offering a 15% discount on all parties!

If you are planning a magical party for your little ones big day with interactive games, themed entertainers, singing, dancing, and lots of fun is what you are looking for then look no further than Once Upon A Time Parties! 

Very experienced entertainers will take over the party and entertain the children for up to two hours and will include the following:

- An entertainer in full costume
- Theme (princess, fairy, pirate and more!)
- Dancing
- Themed games
- Music and music player
- Prizes for every child
- GIft for the birthday child
- Sweets
- Glitter Makeover

Other Information

Once Upon A Time Parties is available on weekends and some weekdays through the entire year. Please contact us for particular dates you are interested in. As we get very busy, it is advisable that you book an entertainer at least two weeks in advance although we do sometimes have an entertainer available at short notice.

We cater for children from 3 - 10 years old. It is advised that the maximum number of children per party is 25, but please do contact us for more information.

To make the day as stress free as possible for you, we come to the location of your choice either before the party or we are also able to make a surprise entrance! If you need any advice on local venues to you please ask although a party at home is ideal or even in the garden!

For more information please check out www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk or contact Emma on 07969 841770.

The Pirate Party - Decoration Ideas!

One of the most fun parts of a Kid's Birthday Party is decorating the venue to match the theme! Now is not the time for subtlety and a Pirate theme is one of the best for decorating! Think underwater, think pirate flags and of course, pirate ship!

A simple way to transform the venue to a Pirate wonderland is to hang blue and silver steamers from the ceiling of the room and to drape blue ribbon or crepe paper along the ceiling to make the waves of the sea.  Try hanging blue balloons from the ceiling and even some cut out and painted fish, octopus and other underwater creatures! Getting the children involved will make the party even more special to them and they will be sure to enjoy painting fish and hanging them up!

Next, hang skull and cross bone flags on the walls - you can pick these up from any good fancy dress or party store - to bring the theme to life!

At the main table, cover it in a green table cloth and a fun idea is to fill a treasure chest with sweets and other goodies and make this the centrepiece.  Place chocolate coins on the table and around the table, think about adding some cut out palm trees to make this area into 'land'.

Try adding nets to the table and make sure to use pirate bunting and lots of stripes to decorate in a pirate style!!

I hope that this gives you a few ideas to get started with the Pirate theme! Keep on reading for lots more ideas on decorations, cakes, food, games, crafts and take home gifts in the Pirate theme!!

Don't forget - if you are planning a child's party please contact us at Once Upon A Time Parties for entertainers and party planning services...

www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Thanks for reading :)

The Fairy Party- Makeover

Every little girl wants to grow up fast, start wearing make up and girly clothes.. so why not give them a taste of this with a fairy makeover during the party? 

The party girl would go first of course and get her hair and make up done whilst the other children are occupied with food, music and games. To reduce costs you could always ask the children to come in fancy dress (Fairy outfits) and highlight that whichever child has the prettiest fairy costume will win a small prize. 

            The Fairy Makeover could consist of a catwalk, where at the end of the party all of the children walk down the 'magical catwalk' wearing the outfits that they came in but with their hair and make up styled. The winner again will win a small prize! The children would be sure to love this fun and friendly competition with their friends. 

Now to the important part- the Makeover itself

*Pop down to your local Claire's accessories and buy some  sparkly eyeshadows, glitter, glittery mascaras and some lipgloss- Maybe even some face paint too!

             * As shown in the picture to the right you could use your face paint to create patterns such as this butterfly with bright, girly colours such as pinks and whites. This will sure to make the girls feel more fairy- like and pretty! 

            *You can ask the girls what colours they would like when doing their make up such as pink eyeshadow or blue glittery mascara! After all they will want to look the best fairy there!

Finally, when applying hairstyles on the little ones, make sure you have a relatively quick and easy style, but also one that is comfortable for the children.  Whether they want a plait, left down or up in a bun you can always make them look even more fabulous with decorative headbands such as the ones in the pictures below! 

 I hope that you find the tips on this blog helpful and will apply them to your own littles one's party! Or if you want OnceUponATimeParties to do it, we are sure to include them in our hour long parties! Book now for our special deal of £99

The Fairy Party - Food

Being a bit of a foody myself, the party food is one of the best things to me about having a birthday party! But all to often it is just to easy to bulk buy crisps and sausage rolls from Tesco and call it a Birthday tea... But no more! Here are some fantastical fairy-like food ideas for your child's party.

Firstly work out where you are going to set up the party tea.  Opt for the traditional long tables and chairs and decorate these with fairy themed table cloths and bows. Or for something a little more exciting, set up a fairy woodland space and have a picnic / tea party sitting on toadstools or rugs and surrounded by trees (real ones or cardboard cut outs), fairy lights and streamers. If you are blessed with  good weather, try adding canopies and bows to trees to create a lovely backdrop to the fairy tea party.  

Now for the food... Personally when I think of a fairy tea party, I think of old fashioned English afternoon tea (think cucumber finger sandwiches and scones) mixed with a good handful of sparkles and magic (pink jelly, cupcakes with glitter and cute cakes).  Don't forget fairies love colour, so firstly I would make sure to add lots of vegetable crudites and a big fruit salad to add a splash of rainbow to the day.  

* Use cookie cutters to turn sandwiches, cookies and cakes into the shape of fairies, wings, butterflies and hearts

* Cut star shapes out of fruit and vegetables and put onto skewers to make fairy wands

* Sprinkle cupcakes with edible glitter

* Make a fruit punch bowl and float flower petals on the top

* Freeze orange, apple, cranberry and blackcurrant juice in an ice tray and add to the fruit punch to make floating jewels.

* Fill meringues with berries and a bit of cream for a different dessert idea

* Use a skewer and alternate ripe red strawberries with fluffy white marshmallows

* Make or buy mini quiches and vol-auvents, scones and savoury wraps

* Try adding jars filled with jelly sweets for a colourful and tasty table centrepiece

* Finally, use vintage looking tea cups, plates and pots to make a truly fairy like magical tea!

Try serving the food on layered cake stands and be sure to add ribbons and table decorations, flowers and streamers... Add edible glitter, cupcakes and teeny tiny sandwiches and you have got yourself a perfect party tea!

Theme 1: The Fairy Party - Invitations

So I thought it would be a great help to my readers to give some tips and advice theme by theme and topic by topic, starting with my favourite theme of the fairy party!

Appealing to children of all ages, the glittery, pretty, fantastical fairy party is a timeless hit that never gets boring. From fairy tea parties to fancy dress to makeovers to baking, there are literally hundreds of ideas on how to get the fairy party started!

Today I am going to start at the very beginning: the all important party invitation!

Fairy themed party invitations can be really easy to make, and your little one will enjoy getting involved with the card making activities.

Fairy Wand Invitation 

1) Cut out a star shape from coloured card

2) Either print invitation onto card, or handwrite using pen (try metallic or glitter pens to make it more fun) or paint. You can also use tags and attach to the wand.

3) On the back of the card, attach either a skewer or straw to make the 'wand' using sticky tape.

4) Add streamers or ribbons to the base of the wand

5) Decorate the wand with glitter, stick on sequins, dried flowers, feathers and whatever else you can get your hands on!





What to put in the invitation?


- Date and time
- Age, name of child
- Location
- Activity and theme
- Dress Code
- RSVP

To put some fun into your invite, try making up a little rhyme to go along with the theme! Some examples are below:

• You are invited to an afternoon of fun, this little fairy is turning one!

• Fairies slip on your dancing shoes, For Fairy Roxanna is turning two!

• Come one come all to this fairy tea, Fairy Emma is going to be three!

• To enter fairy land: Knock knock knock on our fairy door, As little Tanya is turning four!

• Fairies, Pirates, Pixies and Elves, All come together and jive! For this is no ordinary party as Dexter is now turning five!

• Fairy dust, spells and magical tricks, What are you waiting for? Leona will be six!

I hope this has inspired you to get to work on your home-made fairy wands!

Check back for my next post on decorations to create a magical fairy setting for your child's birthday party!

Once Upon A Time Parties x

Recipe 2: Fruit Stick Ideas

Chocolate, sweets, ice and candy-floss ALL taste better on a stick (according to children anyway!) so why not choose fruit stick recipes to make with the children, either at a party or in my recipe take home gift book that I discussed a few blogs back!

Not only is fruit super healthy, the array of colours, shapes and sizes make fruit a kid friendly ingredient and there is no need to do any actual 'cooking'! I hope you will find joy in the recipes below:

Blingy Bananas

Ban boring bananas from the kitchen and instead jazz them up with some colourful sprinkles and all round yumminess...  Simply freeze some bananas on a lolly stick and then let the kids decorate them by rolling the frozen banana in their favourite chocolate sauce, sprinkles and nuts!  

Frozen Fruit Kebabs 

Fresh, sweet, juicy and refreshing... Get with the frozen fruit trend NOW! These frozen fruit kebabs are a proven hit with kids and so easy and healthy.

Use any fruit but a favourite of many is frozen grape and frozen berries.  Simply pierce fruit onto the skewer (cut the ends to make them child friendly and not to sharp) and freeze for a couple of hours - perfect for Summer days!

Chocoholic Fruity Treat

One sure way to get kids to eat more fruit is to add chocolate to the mix! Simply cut up an array of tasty fruit, add yummy chocolate sauce, a couple of skewers and get dipping! Children and adults alike will love this treat, and there won't be a single piece of fruit left over!