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!

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

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 

Glittery Take Home Gift

A child's Birthday Party is never complete without a take home gift or party bag and is something that finishes the party off wonderfully and can be a lovely reminder of the party.

However, all to often these party bags are full of expensive tat that serve as a 5 minute wonder to the children and an extra expense to the mum and dad.  A lovely idea which is particularly effective at fairy and princess party themes is take home fairy dust.

All you need for this is: 

• Vials with a lid, jar or a drawstring bag (small sizes - think Tinkerbell sized!)
• Different coloured glitters. Craft stores will stock these in abundance and they are cheap!
• Sequins
• Dried flowers
• Ribbon
• Labels or tags

Step one: Fill the vial with different coloured glitters, sequins and dried flowers such as little roses.

Step two: After putting the lid on securely, tie a ribbon around the neck of the vial. Again, craft shops will stock pretty ribbons of all colours.

Step 3: Put a label, or cut out some fancy shaped tags using card and write the party and the name of the child who will take home this particular gift.

Et voilà! A simple, cheap but pretty and sweet take home gift.

Another idea that works really well with slightly older children (6+\) is to set out a fairy dust making station at the beginning of the party and get them to fill their own vial with glitters and sequins, much like a coloured sand activity.  To get the glitter into the vial with the least amount of mess, use a long thin spoon (latte) and put the different coloured glitters into separate containers.

                                    

Rules to Planning a Fabulous Children's Party

So you have decided to be brave and run the party yourself - congratulations! But before you get carried away and finding yourself running to the nearest party store to stock up on face paint, glitter, fairy wings and sparkly trinkets, ask your child what THEY want.  More often than not, you'll be surprised at the theme or activities they suggest.

Take my friend Sam for example, who decided he knew what was best in terms of pleasing his 5 year old daughter Daisy and her friends instead of listening to Daisy's pleas of playing teachers and having a school themed party (strange, I know!) and instead opted to book a puppet show for the group of youngsters.  On arrival Daisy desperately tried to take a 'registrar' while the puppet show was overshadowed by the cries of frightened children confronted with those creepy dolls and the Birthday Girl trying to 'teach' them a lesson by locking them in the bathroom until they had done their homework.  But fear not as this kind of disaster is an exception if you follow these rules:

Rule Number 1:  Plan ahead with the birthday child

Firstly, sit down with the Birthday Child and find out what he or she wants.  As a general rule, children up to the age of 8 are happy with traditional parties and games where as the older they get, the more niche they become.  

Not only will the Birthday Child be super excited about their upcoming party, they will very important to have picked the theme and activities.

That is another thing: theme. Pick one and stick to it relentlessly. Common themes are fairy and princess parties, pirate, football, and super hero themes. 

Rule Number 2: Get organised with the help of a check-list

I LOVE lists. Actually, more accurately I LOVE ticking things off my list, even though it does seems like I tick off one action and two more crop up... regardless I hope this check-list helps:

• Date. 
• Ideally it is best to arrange the party on the day of the child's Birthday or the weekend before or after.  If the child's birthday falls in school holidays there is a good chance that some of the children will be away, so make sure you plan it on a day where the best friends can make it.
• Length
• Decide on the length for the party as well as thinking about the general structure.  Two hours is a great length, and works well when the first hour is taken up by party games, followed by a birthday tea and for the remaining half an hour arranging crafts and colouring in competitions.
• Start and finish time
• Location
• Guest List
• Invitations (stick to the theme)
• Essential supplies 
• Tablewear - plates, cutlery, cups, serviettes, table decorations, table covers
• Party banners, balloons, birthday candles, music, music player, party bags, prizes, sweets
• Party games such as pass the parcel, treasure hunts, piñata, pin the tail, craft game
• Food and drink
• As a rule I tend to find less is more.  Children don't tend to eat a huge amount at parties so stick with a few varieties of sandwiches, crisps, chopped vegetables, sausage rolls, cheese sticks and some sweets such as party rings, cupcakes and fruit.
• AVOID fizzy drinks! Opt for water and squash.
• Games
• This is probably the most daunting part of the party for the majority of mums and dads.  After working out the structure of the party, plan 4 - 5 games.  An ice breaker game at the beginning to warm everyone up is a great idea, followed by musical games (bump, statues), a treasure hunt, pass the parcel, and my personal favourite - sleeping lions! Try and match the games to the theme and use role play to really get the children involved and enjoying the party.
• Birthday Cake 
• Volunteers - get all the adult help you can get! You cannot be in ten places at once so don't be shy asking for a hand throughout the party.
• Thank you notes

Rule Number 3: Relax and Enjoy the Day

Make sure you have your camera ready, your nerves steady and a well earned bottle glass of wine!

TIP: At the beginning of the party, thank the parents for the present and swiftly take it out of sight. You do not want a pile of presents becoming a huge distraction throughout the party!

Thank you for reading and stay posted as I am going to be sharing a lot more tips about games, themes, cheap party ideas and venues.

Emma x