Terrific Tips#3 - The guest list

Such a fun thing to plan a birthday for a little person.

There are many things to joyfully ponder in the dream-state of initial planning when your mind is dancing around in gleeful thoughts of fabulous frivolity, and extravagant birthday bliss.

We've already discussed considerations about the date and dipped our toe into the expansive party ocean that is the theme but something we think is really important to consider is the guest list.

It is appealing indeed to want to invite everyone you know, every extended member of the family, everyone who is a part of the child's life, and everyone who lives in your neighbourhood, after all, this is going to be a super-special event indeed right!?

But consider this... a huge guest list does not equal a huge success.  Just because a thousand people have turned out to fill your back yard on your child's party day, doesn't mean that everything is fab.

Yep, they look happy now, but what happens when there's only 15 slices of cake?   Source

Don't make the mistake of thinking that because Uncle Bert can chat to Pattie from next door and is thus entertained, and less likely to recreate the 'barbeque incident' of last years bash, everything is dandy.  Although Uncle Bert no doubt adores the little who's birthday it is, we're pretty sure spending his Saturday arvo at a 'Pretty Pink Fairy Party' complete with fairy wings, toddler tanties and glitter paint runs a luke-warm second to watching the races on the telly like he does every other Saturday.

And, on the note of toddler tanties, a hoard of kids equals a hoard of over-stimulation, equals a hoard more likelihood of toddler tanties!

source

Guests need to wait longer for (lower quality) food, they need to time their bathroom breaks so as to avoid congestion at the one pit-stop available, fight it out with a three-year old birthday guest diva who is intent on taking the last available seat just to admire her pretty pink toenails, etc, etc, you get the gist.


We would suggest a perfect number of guests as five, yep, just five. And here is why...

The food. 
Everyone has a budget that they can work to when planning a party, and personally, we would rather not spend it serving up burnt sausages with a slab of bread and t-sauce, when we could put together a great big candy buffet, ice-cream sundaes, fruit platters, cupcakes, fairy bread and pink lemonade.

Wowser! Tough Choice!  Source and Source

The entertainment.
When you only have five little birthday-aged fairies to entertain, chances are, they are gonna go for the fairy princess face-painter who comes along and sings a song and dances a little dance with them. Chances that cousin Harry, who is five years older, and ten times more macho than your little fairy princess is gonna dig this crazy paint-weilding fairy too? (slim to none)

Take that you crazy fairy-woman!   Source

And, if you're going to spend your time and effort on creating the most magical party ever, isn't it more important that the few guests who attend have a fabulous fun-filled time than that everyone gets to see little Harry dissing the fairy lady? Mmmmhmm!

On the note of fabulous and fun-filled, with only five little guests in tow, favor bags can be  something spectacular.  As one of our fabulous collaborators, who makes extra-special little treats to go into our favor bags put it so aptly "definitely better than the junk you usually get!!" 
Which would you prefer if you were a five year old birthday atendee's Mama?  A bag filled with junky rubbish, which has no purpose other than to fill the bag and ends up under the seat of the car, or wedged behind the clothes dryer, or a bag of beautiful little treasures that you can actually use and love and admire because they're good quality, unique and special? We think we know!

It really does make sense. With a small and special guest list, each child, including the guest of honour gets a more personal, special and memorable experience. They aren't overwhelmed by huge numbers of people, they get to really participate in all the action, events and festivities, and the whole thing can be a more unique, magical and spectacular event.  Not to mention the Mamas and Papas of the birthday child, who only get five requests for more sprinkles on the fairy bread, and can breathe whilst the fairy face-paint lady works her magic, instead of 15 toddler tantrums, 35 burnt sausages, 10 spilt cups of OJ, and a whole lot of headaches.

Terrific Tips#2 - The Theme!

Oh where to begin!?

This is the big decision that is going to spark off every other little decision in your future party-planning calendar, so it is an important one indeed!


Sometimes, it could be super simple.  Last year, as you were packing away decorations, you may have had a fantastic brain-spark. "Next year, we'll do....!" Hoorah!

Other times it might be like "Oh lordy! What on earth will I do!?"

Of course, you want something original, something unique, something magical and memorable right?

So we put together some ideas on how to decide on the best theme for your birthday party, and some things to consider before you choose, but because there are heaps of them, we are gonna break it down into a lot of posts, so your eyes don't dry out, and your brain doesn't fry trying to take it all in.

Here's the first idea - Think seasonal.

Original Image found here

Don't blame the weatherman, make the weatherman your friend. 
Yes, yes, we know that there is no way you can possibly predict what on earth the weather will be doing five months from now (if you read our choose the date post, you'll be on it this far ahead)
But, you will know what season it will be when your extravaganza birthday bash is going to take place.

Yes, a Tropical Pool party may be uber-cool, but  not if it is the middle of winter, and you end up with a bunch of frost-bitten Luau revellers in wearing coconut bras and goosebumps.
So, consider the season when considering your theme, as this is a great place to begin brainstorming ideas. 

For example, if your party is going to be in the colder months, you could do something based on this, and go with a winter wonderland theme. Then you get to create something AWESOME like this....

Winter Wonderland Dessert Buffet by Inspired Bride and Bake it Pretty. Original image found here

Or this etherial delight....

Original Image found here

Or how about this orange explosion for Autumn....

Original Image from here

And how cute is this!?

Original image from here

Summer time party? How about something like this?....

Original Image found here

And this mish-mash is the ultimate in Summer Party fun!

Original image from Yvestown blog, found here

And lets not forget about Spring! The colours of Spring are a party thing!


Like this.....

Original image found here

Or this..... (yes Martha, you're right on!)

Original Image found here

A fantabulous starting point, as everything you need to decorate and accessorise your perfect party will be readily available and in season (snicker) You won't be hunting out fresh Spring flowers in the middle of winter, or looking for snowflake decorations in Spring, it will be so much easier, which means so much more fun to plan, execute and enjoy!

So, if this is an idea that you love, get a big piece of paper and a pen, and write down everything that you can think of that relates to your chosen season.  Even if it has absolutely nothing to do with birthday parties, you never know when it might just be relevant.

Ideas we love - Pink and Green

When it comes to designing and styling a party, there are some ideas that we just can't get enough of.

Perhaps, our favourite idea of all time would be the colour combo of pink and green.

Colour story 2 by 'Happy Place, Original image found here

We just love how these two colours together 'pop' so bright, so fresh, so beautiful.

Party design by Amy Atlas, original image found here

These two magical colours together allow for so much scope when deciding exactly how to decorate.


You could do anything
From modern and funky...

Grace's Candy Shop by 'Glorious Treats' Original image found here

To classic, elegant and beautiful...

 

Party Design by Eddie Ross, Original image found here

And almost anything gorgeous in between....

Cake Pops by 'Cammi Lee Events' Original image found here

Party Design by On to Baby, Original Image found here

Amazing Cake by 'Natty Cakes' Original image found here

Oh, we could go on all day! We just adore these colours together!

For more inspiration ideas and eye candy, check out our 'Pink and Green Parties' style board on Pinterest.


Much love
Pizzie ..xx

Terrific Tips#1 - The Date!

It's inevitable, each and every single year, your child is going to celebrate a birthday. Nothing can be surer!

But, as we most certainly know, that is sometimes the only thing you are certain of.
"Where on earth do I begin!?' you might be asking yourself
"How will I possibly find the time to plan a party?!" We hear you cry.

Well, friends, that is what we Pizzie Pop Party Planners do best! It is what we love to do, and because we love you too, we thought that we should let you know!

So, here begins our first in the series of Terrific Tips posts, where we give you all the hints and tips you will need, along with some awesome ideas and pics we love, so that you can plan the best ever birthday party, without freaking and flailing and a little bit of wailing.

In the words of a very wise woman, (and we're sure, a terrific party planner to boot!)
Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start....

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the first place that you should start when planning a party is with
THE DATE!

Of course, you know when your child's birthday is (we hope!) but the date of the grande event is what date we are talking about here, and believe us when we say that this is something you should consider long before any other birthday related dates arrive!

We reckon, if you want to have the. best. party. that the date of this said party should be decided upon at least three months, ideally five months in advance.

So, here's a great tip, when you head off to Officeworks in January or Auntie Flo once again gifts you another 'funny cats calendar' at Christmas time, and then you sit down and write out everyone's birthdays, pick a date somewhere in arms reach from the first, and 'lock it in!'

Then, you can say 'dang it all, let's get this party started!'  Because then, you have a time-frame. You know exactly how long you have to get your party planner butt into gear, and you can get yourself a schmick little timeline of events, a pretty (long) list of to-do's, and a big fat red marker to do a whole lot of crossing these things off! (But this is all something that we will get into during later episodes of Terrific Tips!)


A few things you should probably consider before you go willy nilly, eyes closed and point style.

Pick a date that falls on a weekend.  Don't feel like because your little cherub's birthday falls on Wednesday this year that their party must be on their actual birthday. Kids don't care, it means they get to have two celebrations all for them.
Parents do care. They work, they have to get their kids from school, to ballet, to dinner, to bed, and trying to fit in a birthday party just aint cool.
A weekend means that all day is up for grabs, you can choose a time of day that suits (later on this too, there's lots to consider) people are less likely to be working, its all better, believe us!

If the date your finger falls on happens to also mention some other important celebration (though never as important as yours, we know) change your mind.  People make plans on days the calendar, and normally the Government inform them are important, so choose another.

There we go!


Aaand, don't forget that it is the simplest and most instantly gratifying bit. Once you start you're finished.  You can write that bad-boy on the to-do list, and instantly put a big red line through. Hah! Done! I sure showed you date, you've already been picked and there aint nothing you can do about it! (Or something along those smug and self-indulgent lines - ahem!)


We hope (oh we know!) that this will help, as will the multitude of terrific tid-bits we intend to share that will rock your party planning world, so be sure to come back, and wonder how you ever survived a birthday before without our marvelous words and wonderful advice.

We love all of you Pizzie Pop-Stars!

Peace and Pizz ..xx

Welcome Treats

Hello there!

Well here we are in the world wide web, and delighted to be so, we must say.

If you don't already know, we are Pizzie Pop Party Planners ( a Letter P extravaganza right!)

We are located on the sunny Gold Coast, in Queensland Australia, and we specialise in spectacular kiddies Birthday Parties, and small-scale unique and wonderful events.

We offer a range of super stuff, from invites and cupcake toppers, through to all out Party Planning packages, so whether you just need that last little thing to top off your perfect celebration, or haven't even begun to consider the details of your event, we can help you to make it spectacular.

What better way to welcome everybody to the Pizzie Pop family than with a giveaway? None right?!
So, as a huge thank you for coming and joining the celebrations, we are opening the show with a whopping big, grand old prize pack.

Once our Facebook page (which you can find HERE) reaches 'Fifty Fabulous Fans' we have a treat in store!  A 'Party in a Box' package for one lucky follower!

This Magic Box will contain the following items:

- 5 Invitiations
- 5 Thank you cards
- 1 fabric bunting
- 5 tissue paper pom-poms
- 1 cake bunting
- 5 cupcake toppers
- 1 birthday crown
- 5 gift bags with tags, each one containing 5 favours
- 5 drink labels
- 5 placeholders

A lot right!?
How awesome is that? And do you know what is even more awesome!? YOU, get to choose the theme, colour scheme and design ideas! YAHOO! 

Entries into this super-dee-dooper competition require you to do one thing, using the products provided in the Party Box, design your perfect birthday.  Use your imagination, and describe just how you want it to be.  You can draw it, write it, sing a song about it, anything and everything will be considered.
When our Facebook Page reaches the big 5-0, entries will open,  we will notify everyone via Facebook,  and then you can go ahead and email your dream birthday idea to us at pizziepopparties@gmail.com

The winner will be decided based on the most spectacular entry, so be sure to create something spectacular.

So, be sure to head on over and give us a LIKE to ensure you don't miss out on this AWESOME comp.
The more you spread the word, the sooner you can get your dream birthday party plans happening.

Good luck to all of you wonderful people, thanks so much for your support!

Much love
Pizzie Pop

Well hello there!

Here we are, in blog land!

We are so very excited and delighted about the launch of Pizzie Pop Parties, and everything that the future holds for us, and of course you, you lucky devils!

Cheers to celebrating life!

Much love
Pizzie ..xx