Children's Party Venues in Fleet, Hampshire

Hello Readers!

As many of you know, I am a firm believer that you can have a fantastic Birthday Party at home or in the garden and I have some top tips on what to think about when organising a party at home in my next blog!

But as so many of my lovely clients in Fleet, Hampshire are interested in hall hire, I have compiled a list of my top venue choices and everything you need to know about them so I hope this helps!  With Fleet in Hampshire being such a child-friendly area there is lots of choice so if your favourite venue  is not on this list please do let me know!

Some things to think about before hiring a hall:

1.   What services are included in the price? Most halls have several offers and some can cater food and drinks while others will not allow full use to the facilities so double check exactly what the price includes

2.     Do I have to pay a deposit fee? To reserve a date, most halls ask for a deposit fee, which is usually 25% of the total amount.

3.   What is the hall’s capacity? Don’t forget that your guests must feel comfortable at all times so try not to hire a hall that is far too big or far too small.

4.  How many cars can the parking lot fit? It’s also a good idea to ask about parking arrangements.

5.    Can I have a look before I book?  Most hall managers will be more than happy to show you around the venue before you make a decision and this will allow you to ask any more questions you may have.

6.    How long should I book the hall?  Again, it is a good idea to speak to the Hall Manager as all venues have different policies when it comes to setting up the venue area but if you are hosting a 2 hour party, it may be worthwhile to book the hall for an extra hour to set up and organise the day.

Some Great Venues

The Key Centre, Elvetham Heath, Fleet, Hampshire

The Key Centre has ample parking facilities and is in a very easy to find location (next to Morrison’s).  There are two different types of party, one in the Hall, and the other is a Play Party in the Heath and Village Rooms. They last for two and a half hours, and use of the bouncy castle in the hall if required is included. If you don’t need the bouncy castle, you can still use the hall, or you can hire the Heath and Village Rooms with their own children's toilets and outside play area. Party bookings in all rooms include the use of the kitchen.

The children’s party rates are:

Heath & Village Rooms: £59.95 

Hall: £89.95

To make a booking check out their website or call 01252 623700

http://www.elvethamheath.org.uk/parties.html

Ancells Farm Community Centre, Fleet, Hampshire

Ancells Farm Community Centre is another great choice with lots of parking and a convenient location.  The hall is available for party bookings and is a very decent size. The price at the weekends is £17.50 an hour plus VAT. This is for the Main Hall, other smaller rooms are available at more reasonable prices, but most people book the Main Hall. The Hall can be booked for however many hours or parts of an hour you require. Only the furniture is included in this price.

For any enquiries please contact the Centre Supervisor Karen Godfrey on 07702 834701 or email ancells@fleet-tc.gov.uk

http://www.theharlington.co.uk/ancells_farm.aspx

Zebon Copse Centre, Fleet, Hampshire

Zebon Copse Centre has two main halls which can be combined into one large L-shaped hall by retracting the acoustic screen between them.  Zebon Hall has a stage with comprehensive AV facilities and stage lighting.  Crookham Hall has direct access to the kitchen and also has dedicated toilet facilities to enable users to be completely self-contained when Zebon Hall is in use by another group.

Zebon Copse Centre provides flexible layout, excellent parking, WiFi and an upgraded kitchen.  The price at weekends is £16.80 for a single hall, or £27.00 for both halls.  All prices include VAT and are the hourly rate.  To make a booking enquiry, please follow this link: http://www.zeboncopsecentre.org.uk/zccBook.php?addr=zcc, or call 01252 615003

The Cross Barn, Odiham, Hampshire

The Cross Barn in Odiham is a great place to host a Birthday party and the Great Hall, the largest room in the Cross Barn, accommodates up 80 people and is a beautiful room with lots of old beams for a Princess feel!  The venue has a fully equipped kitchen which is accessible through the great hall and is included when hiring this hall.   Prices for the hall are £19.60 per hour (May – Sep), and £20.60 per hour (Oct – Apr).

For more information, contact 01256 701 803 or follow this link: http://www.thecrossbarn.org.uk/contactUs.asp

Halls and Venues to hire in Streatham, Clapham, Battersea London!

Organising a children's party is tricky enough without doing tons of research on hall hire in London!  That is why I have put this post together as I have had lots of clients asking for my advice about halls to hire for a children's Birthday party in Streatham, Battersea, Clapham and surrounding areas.

As lots of my clients book their children’s Birthday Party in halls and venues around Streatham, Clapham, Wimbledon and Battersea in London I have put together a list of some good venues that are local, have ample space and can be hired on weekends. 

 As well as this, these halls to hire in SW London are very reasonably priced and some come with great added extras such as staff to help set up and pack away, music equipment, kitchenettes and tables and chairs!

Some things to think about when hiring a hall:

•  Do your research – some halls may advertise a great rate but when it comes to booking on a popular weekend day the price could shoot up!

• Book well in advance.  The most popular venues often get booked up well in advance and you may end up having to hold your child’s Birthday party a few weeks after their big day.

• Always ask the venue what is included in the price.  Sometimes venues and halls will charge you for the use of their equipment such as tables and chairs.

• Size of the hall.  If it is to big for the amount of children coming, they could end up running all over the room and the entertainment will be that much harder!

• Acoustics.  Some halls can echo and with parents and children filling the hall you may have to shout to be heard. 

• Decorating the venue.  Some venues will have decorations you can use but if not, buying enough decorations to make a large hall attractive can be hard work AND costly.

• Parking – very important, especially in London! Always find out how many parking spaces the venue has, and if there are any good local car parks in the area.

• Most importantly – always try and see the hall or venue before you pay a deposit on it! You do not want to be disappointed or stressed on the day of the party!

Venues / Halls to Hire

·     PAPAS Park, Brixton.  Mon – Sat.  £30 hourly rate  http://papaspark.org/hall-hire/    (Discount if you are a member)

·     St Pauls Church Hall, SW4.  Book 7 days a week.  £30 hourly rate  http://www.stpaulssw4.org/church-hall   

·     Church of the Holy Spirit Church Hall.  Available weekends.  £29 hourly rate  http://www.holyspirit-clapham.org.uk/contact-centre   
 

·    Chatham Hall.  Available 7 days a week – a favourite!  £42 hourly rate http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200021/community_centres_and_facilities/243/chatham_hall_hire 

·     Romany Scout Hut.  Weekend bookings.  £30 hourly rate   http://www.scoutinginwandsworth.co.uk/hall-hire/  

·     Bees Knees Room at Battersea Arts Centre.  Weekend bookings – Another favourite!! Min spend is £180 for four hours  https://www.bac.org.uk/content/16326/hire_us/spaces/bees_knees_room/bees_knees_room   
  

I hope this information is helpful for you!  If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear from you! Alternatively, if you would like some information on venue hire in another area I will write my next blog on this.

Thanks for reading!!

Emma at Once Upon A Time Parties

info@onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

07969841770

Party at home? Things to think about 2 weeks before the Birthday Party

Following on from my last blog on things to think about a couple of months before the BIG day, here are some things to think about around 3 weeks before the party.

Selecting a theme for the Party

Most children love typical fairy, princess, pirate, superhero, animal themes at their party.  Encourage originality!!

Book an Entertainer

Most entertainers get booked up quite far in advance if they are good so you will want to make sure that you book a good one! Friends, family and social media are good places to get referrals!

Plan Party Games and activities!

If you are deciding not to have an entertainer, it is a very good idea to make a list of the activities and games you are going to do - and in what order.  The order is surprisingly important and often overlooked! For instance, you do not want to encourage the children to do a running / dancing game straight after their party food or you might have some horrible 'extras' to clear away...

Crafts are an excellent party activity and can often be incorporated into a take home gift... Please check my previous blog posts for some cool ideas or check in the future as I will be sharing a lot more craft ideas with my readers :)

Purchase your party supplies

My advice is to do this sooner rather than later in case you find you need to get more supplies closer to the time.  The main areas to think about are tableware, decorations and party bags and supplies.  I have lots of tips on these main areas in previous posts!

REMEMBER - This should be fun and your child(ren) will love helping you and feeling a part of the process... So enjoy!

For information on what our entertainment packages include please contact Emma at Once Upon A Time Parties on info@onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk or 07969 841770

We provide fully insured and CRB checked entertainers including games, music, theme, interactive storytelling, dancing, singing, themes, a glitter make over, crafts, prizes, sweets and a gift for the Birthday Child!

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

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Once-Upon-A-Time-Parties/490443850995243

www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Best Party Venue?

Recently I have been getting asked by a lot of Parent's of the best venues to host a children's party.  The venue is an important part of the party and can play a big part in the theme of the party... Here are some of the most popular ideas and things to think about when considering the options!

Your House

Probably the most obvious and popular choice of venue as well as a very cost effective option!
A themed party is great to organise at your home and you can choose to hire an entertainer to keep the kids occupied for an hour or two! For older children why not try a film and popcorn party, sleepover or BBQ?!

Top tips: Lock away any valuable items!

Best for: Any age group depending on the activities you have planned.  For younger children try hiring an entertainer, and for older children try a treasure hunt party or sleepover!

Price: Free!

Organisation required: Lots... But get the children involved and check out my previous blog post about organising a birthday party at home and you can't go wrong!


Hall


A hall is a very popular choice for all kids parties as they can hold lots of children, they normally have a large and well equipped kitchen attached, are easy to find and take away the stress of having children and their parents filling every nook and cranny of your lovely home!

Top tips: Do your research! Some halls are incredibly reasonably priced and others do special deals on certain days of the week / month.  If you are hiring an entertainer or DJ they will bring their powerful music players but if you are going it alone bare in mind that the size of the room makes music much harder to hear!

Best for: Large groups of children!

Price: Can be expensive, especially when you take into account the decorations of the hall, food and entertainment.

Organisation required: You will need to do your research on local halls.  Some halls have fully equipped kitchens and include decorations but do double check when booking!



Local Park / Outdoor space

This can be a great option in Summer months for all sorts of parties but best for active events.  You could plan a Football, cycling or rambling party, treasure hunt or picnic / tea party! Be sure to check if there are any events going on in your local park before sending out the invitations.

Top tips: Have a back up! You can never predict the weather in England so have a plan in case the skies open on the big day!

Best for: Older children.  Being in an open space you will need to be responsible for all the children and older children are easier to manage and better suited to outdoor activities like a  football or cycling party.

Price: Free!

Organisation required: Food and activities to keep the children entertained but definitely the most laid back party venue!

I hope these tips will help you in deciding your party venue... Be sure to check on my blog in the next week where I will be posting lists of top venues in your local area!

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.

Top 5 Pirate Cakes

So, I'm hoping you have all read through my blog that revealed my top 5 fairy cakes! Today, I am going to share you with my top 5 Pirate Cakes- involving any thing from a huge showstopper or just miniature cupcakes, I want these cakes to give you some inspiration when planning your child's big day, or if you like the look of any of these cakes but your feeling a little lazy, you can contact Once Upon A Time parties to bring you along something similar. 

At number 5 we have this 'Arrrrrr'mazing Layered Cake

                                

To make this cake you need a little skill but why not give something similar a go. Decorating the cake is always the fun part so once you've baked the cake and put on the icing, try some pirate patterns such as the skull and crossbones. Like the decorations on this cake, the red and black balls reflect jewellery/treasure from a treasure chest- Try it!

Number 4

     This cake clearly represents the theme of the party! However it is very difficult to replicate- However once you've baked the cake and done the king, you simply need to cut out hard icing of different colours and make the pirate face! Along with that you want to add dots of icing for the stubble and of course chocolate gold coins to finish this masterpiece off.

Your little one would be more than happy to show this off to all of their friends.

Number 3- Cupcakes!

Cupcakes are a winner, this is because they are easy to just hand out to everyone! Theres no need of cutting through a magnificent looking cake that you don't want to ruin. Whats better than making individual showstoppers that look the part and taste delicious? Once baked, decorate with them with pirate themed toppings such as an anchor, a treasure chest, a pirate of skull and crossbones. These are very fun to look at and the children will absolutely love them.

Number 2- Wow!

Yes, this is a treasure Chest made out of ACTUAL chocolate. 

Filled with golden coins and other sweet treats, this looks incredible to eat! I'm not entirely sure how you would eat the actual chocolate chest covered in golden icing, but it is very impressive.

If you don't want to have a go at actually creating a chocolate chest, then simply buy or use an old box, and fill it with golden coins and anything else including chocolate dust to resemble sand.

At number 1 I had to give to give it to this pirate ship made out of chocolate. The detail given to this cake as well as the amount of work given to make the actual ship is amazing.

To add to the detail create an edible flag, however don't let the children eat the plastic pirates or the canyon. 

If you don't' feel like you could recreate this, try and make a smaller pirate ship cake and if it goes well, eventually make it bigger and bigger until you are happy!

I hope you take some inspiration from my top 5 pirate cakes- they may look difficult to make, but give it a go! Remember, you can always contact me and we can organise one to come to your little one's party.

Thankyou

                                                                                                                             

The Pirate Party - Fun Craft Ideas!

If you are hosting a Pirate Party for your little ones big day, a great activity to keep the guests entertained is crafts!  Not only does it let everyone get involved, children of all ages, boys and girls, get to take home something they are proud of, and add a competition for the 'most sparkling treasure chest', or for the 'ugliest pirate mask' are fun and light hearted.  Read on for some fab ideas:

Homemade Treasure Chest

• You will need: paint, craft glue, egg cartons, beads, sequins, coloured feathers, novelty jewellery,  gold chocolate coins
• Give each child an egg carton and tell them to paint their pirate treasure chest! You could try doing this at the beginning of the party while guests are still arriving as an ice breaker, and to allow time for the cartons to dry while you run other activities.
• After the egg cartons are dry, tell the children to decorate and fill up their treasure chest! Stick gold coins, novelty necklaces and rings, feathers, sequins and sparkles to make it as tantalising as possible!
• Put the finished treasure chests on display for the children to proudly show off their creativity!

Pirate Mask 

• You will need: paper plates, craft paint, stick on goggley eyes, felt tip pens, material for a bandana, craft glue, stick on eyebrows, glitter pens, sequins, thick cardboard cut into rectangles (to make into handles)
• Give each child a paper plate and tell them they are going to make a pirate face! They can opt for ugly, scary, funny, silly or even a pretty pirate and they can use the items supplied.  This will keep them well amused but parents will have to be on stand by to help with the tricky bits such as sticking on material bandanas and cutting things out.
• Once all the children have finished their masks, award the best (or worst!) ones with a prize!
• Get the children all together to take some hilarious snaps of them holding their masks in front of their faces.

** If you are planning a Pirate Party for your child's next Birthday Party and live in London, Hampshire or Surrey, contact www.onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk and we will do are best to get one of our Pirate friends to sail to your venue and teach some new Pirates how to have fun!!

info@onceuponatimeparties-london.co.uk

Or call Emma on 07969 841770

The Pirate Party- Food

The food at the party is always looked forward to by the children! The time in which they can stuff their faces with their favourite treats and snacks. However to make your little one's party even more special and memorable, be creative and change the food to make it fit in with the pirate theme! Even if its something simple such as putting little flag skewers into the party sausages, everyone is sure to love it- these are pictured to the right..

The Hot Seadogs!

Secondly, similarly to the sausages and the flag picks, why not re-create a pirate ship from a hot dog and the same sort of idea. Simply use straws to poke through the sausages and cut out 10-15 black cards and stick a pirate sign onto it. As you can see from the picture to the left, it resembles a pirate ship- the kids will certainly be drawn to this tasty treat during the party food! 

The Treasure Chest 
Another idea, to not only add a easy treat to the party, but also a relatively healthy one is this little creative masterpiece! The wooden chest really does fit in with the theme of pirates, and simply fill it with either sweets to resemble treasure or fruit such as strawberries and raspberries! Furthermore decorate marshmallows by drawing pirate faces onto them and decorate with sugar icing to make them look even more spectacular!


If your not feeling too creative, why not buy some salty snacks- Ahoy!

• ‘Pizzas’ of Eight: let the rascals have fun making or decorating their own pizzas
• Fish fingers/chicken ‘gold’ nuggets with little buckets of dip
• Hula hoop gold rings
• Cherry tomato cannonballs (warning: these may be launched at passing enemy ships…)
• Sandwiches cut into shark fins, palm trees
• Crossbones: bake a batch of sticky-glazed ribs in the oven (and provide PLENTY of kitchen paper)

And for the sweet snacks

• Orange segment ‘boats’ with pirate flags in. Or set jelly in hollow orange halves and slice into segments when set.
• Skewers of fruit and veg
• Chocolate coins
• Chocolate wafer scrolls
• A hollowed-out watermelon galleon filled with a fruit salad
• Buried treasure jellies: set little pirate tubs of jelly with fruit goodies or a chocolate coin at the bottom for kids to find

I hope this has given you some inspiration on foods to have at your little'uns pirate party! Be sure to check out more blogs giving you tips about this particular theme

Thankyou

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 :)

Theme 2: The Pirate Party - Invitations

Carrying on from my recent blogs, I want to introduce my 
second theme which is distinctively different to the Fairy Party. This party theme is perfect for your child's party (mainly the boys!) , of course it can only be the Pirate Party.
From walking the plank, (not literally) to pinning the patch on the pirate, the children are sure to have a fun packed and unforgettable time- so get planning!

I am going to start from the beginning and my upcoming blogs will help you plan the perfect pirate party, but today I am going to talk you through the all important invitations. 


Pirate Invitation

1) My idea fits very well with the theme but also contains a rather fun element to it too- when I think of Pirates I often think of treasure and treasure maps which is I believe can be fitted in to the invitation.

2)To make the map, just use a blank marker to draw some white copy paper. Have some fun and keep it loose and graphic. Make a big island with jagged shores. 

3) Put a giant 'X' to mark the spot of the party whilst adding to it the address of where the party is going to be held. 

4) Make a bold, curving, dashed line for a path around the island and put several obstacles or landmarks along the way, each one giving a clue to the party ( time, date, whether its fancy dress or not, etc)

What to include in the invitation

• The Date
• The Venue
• The times of the party 
• Dress Code
• Theme ( You could introduce the party as  Pirates of the Carribean themed)
• RSVP

Similarly to my tips posted in the Fairy Invitations Post, I always think that adding a sentence that will go along with the theme adds a little fun to the invite! Some examples are below...

- You could use Pirate language such as 'Ahoy Mates' 

- 'aarrrrggghh you ready to have a good time mateys?'

- Call your guest lists 'ship mates'

To be more creative, how about some rhymes...

-'You are invited to an afternoon of fun, for this little pirate is turning one!'

-'Aidan is turning five years old!  And in his backyard there is a treasure I’m told, so on (June 14^th,) he wants you to come round…and no one can leave until the treasure is found.' 

I hope this has inspired you to start planning a Pirate party for your little'un- Check out my upcoming blogs that will give you some more tips on how to create a party for your child to remember. 

You can of course contact us, (Once Upon A Time Parties) if your feeling a little lazy- we are more than happy to come entertain your child bringing along this theme! 

Thank you 

The Fairy Party - Cupcake Competition

After all the initial excitement of arriving to the party, why not let the children have some calm time (and some time for the parents to sit back and relax) by allowing them to bring out their creative sides! Decorating already baked cupcakes is not only fun for the children but they also get the pleasure of tucking into their masterpieces after making them! 

Furthermore, you can make this little party activity a fun and friendly competition by offering a prize to the best cake decorator! 

Getting prepared...

*Pop down to a nearby shop (Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys) and find your way to the cake and bakery aisle! 

*Buy decorative icing that the children can easily squirt onto the firm cupcakes

*To keep in with the Fairy theme, look for all things sparkly, such as edible glitter, hundreds and thousands, and of course, everyones favourite, silver balls! 

Allow the children to get messy and have some fun with this activity- it is a chance for them to explore their creative side!

Give the children some ideas when decorating such as making pictures such as the letter of their first name (E for Emma) or a love heart, flower and any other simple patterns. 

Maybe even provide them with little aprons so they don't ruin their fairy outfits. You never know this may inspire them to become little chefs when they grow up! 

The Fairy Party - Take Home Gift

After all the carefully worded invites, the tastefully decorated party venue, the (hopefully) tastier food and the entertainment itself there is just one more hurdle to cross - the take home gift!

Now it is very very easy to go to a local party or pound store and stock up on plastic yoyo's, toys and other 5 minute wonders, but why not finish off the party in style with some of my top fairy party take home gifts:

1) Pop to your local Claire's accessories and pick out some child friendly pretty pastel nail polishes for each of the children.  Add to this a homemade glitter dust vial and this is a fantastically fairy way to polish off the party!  (Tip: See my earlier blog post on how to make a glitter dust pouch!)

2) For a magical way to end the party, give each child some fairy wings and a wand to take home!

3) For a really personalised memory of the day, take a picture of each guest with the birthday child when they arrive at the party (or a big group one!) and get them developed whilst the party is taking place.  Put each one in a pink or sparkly photo frame and send them home with a lasting memory.

4) Another personalised present, as well as a great way to get the birthday child involved prior to the party, is to make homemade jewellery.

• You will need the following: ribbon or thread, beads with letters, colourful beads.
• Simply pierce the beads through the ribbon or thread to spell the name of each guest. Be sure to add pretty coloured and shaped beads and gems to the bracelet and tie a know at each end to secure the beads.  Ensure that there is enough ribbon / thread left over to tie the bracelet into a bow on the child's wrist.

5) Send home each child with a fairy book (Flower Fairies, Tinkerbell, Peter Pan etc). You can find many great deals on websites such as amazon, and the parents will be grateful that you are not sending them home with a bag of 'E' numbers but a good excuse for a lovely bed time story.

I hope you will find these take home gift ideas useful and I would love to hear some of your ideas to!

Please keep reading my blog as the next theme I am going to cover is Pirate and Mermaid Parties! 

Once Upon A Time Parties x

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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!