Introducing “Celebrating Little Ones” magazine!

I am delighted to share with you the first issue of ‘Celebrating little ones’ magazine!

Click the image below to be taken to where you can view this magazine in full screen for free:

 

This first issue showcases:

• – party features to inspire you
• – interviews with Katherine Sabbath and Jordan Ferney (Oh Happy Day)
• – Party planning tips and articles
• – Party shopping guides and vendor spotlights – helping you source some fab party finds and businesses!
• – cookie tutorial
• – A party planning checklist
• – Birthday gift guide

It really is a must read for anyone who loves to plan celebrations or who is in the event industry!

So make sure you pop over and browse it HERE

Thank you for all your support!

 

 

 

How to survive your child’s slumber party

 

 

 

“Mum? Can I have a slumber party for my birthday?”

At some point, your child is going to ask for a slumber party. This CAN be a source of stress for many mums but today we’re sharing some  must know tips from a sleepover specialist to ensure yours is a roaring (or snoring) success.

If anyone knows how to throw a great slumber party, it’s Mel Jacobs.  Her business, Sweet Dreams and Goodnight,  is putting a new spin on a birthday favourite and bringing delight to parents and kids alike. Whilst Mel is offering something new to the kids’ party scenes in Perth and Melbourne in terms of setup, here are her old style hints to ensure your party doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

 Be Prepared

We don’t mean stock the Tim Tams and the popcorn (although these are pre-requisites for any successful sleepover).  Before the party starts, it’s important that you, as the parent in charge, have some basic details for each child in your care.  You can either ask for this information before the party, or grab a notepad and speak to the person dropping them off.  As a minimum, you should have the following:

• Contact number of someone in case of emergency
• Any allergies the child might have
• Any medication they may need during their stay
• Any other relevant details (sleep walkers, fear of the dark etc.)

           

Set the Ground Rules

 No need to go all Sergeant-Major on the kids.  Ease them into the rules of the house with a quick tour to point out all the necessary areas – toilet, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom.

Show them where you will be throughout the night, so you can be found if needed.

Throughout the walk-around, make it clear what is and isn’t allowed, so boundaries are set early and everyone can have a great time.

Leave a Light On

Remember you are going to have kids sleeping in a house that is strange to them.

To a lot of little humans, being in the dark in unfamiliar surroundings is scary and a small nightlight can make it seem just that little bit safer.

Where possible, try to leave a light on that can direct the way to the bathroom/toilet.  There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night, in the dark, having to stumble and feel your way to the loo!

Keep an Ear Out

No need to helicopter parent, but stay close by so you can keep an ear and eye on what’s happening.

Sometimes unfortunate situations can occur (homesickness, bedwetting or even bullying).  It’s good for the kids to know that you are close by if needed.

Gain agreement about social media

Finally, and this isn’t an old hint, but certainly one that should be discussed in this day and age – gain consent to post pictures of the party-goers.  While you may be happy to have pictures of your children on your social media feed, not every parent feels the same.  As a matter of courtesy, check first with the parents/guardian of each child attending to see how they feel before posting pictures containing their image.

A little planning goes a long way

Sleepovers are almost a rite of passage in childhood – staying up all night, sharing secrets and tucking into a midnight feast (don’t forget those Tim Tams).  Sure you may not get any sleep until the wee small hours, continually telling them to “Turn it down!”.  Yep, you’ll probably have tired and grumpy little people for the rest of the day.  But with a few easy steps, you can pretty much guarantee you’ll help to make memories they won’t forget in a hurry.

Now of course slumber parties don’t have to always be kept for the young ones! Relive the fun from your childhood with a gorgeous slumber party setup to celebrate a special girls weekend away or hens party setup before heading out to town! The gorgeous teepees from Sweet Dreams and Goodnight can tailor for all sorts of celebrations!:

If you’re interested in having Sweet Dream and Goodnight help you with your next slumber party, contact Mel on0402 463 812 or visit www.sweetdreamsandgoodnight.com.au.  Franchises are now available.

 

Mel Jacobs is the founder of Sweet Dreams and Goodnight, Australia’s original and best slumber party specialist.  Originating in Perth and with franchises now available, visit the website to see why this great company is being nationally recognised as a leader in kids’ party entertainment.

 

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party Inspiration

 

For an 89 year old, Minnie Mouse still has everything going for her.

Not only is she lovely, stylish, great with kids and has a shoe wardrobe any female would be jealous of, she has the uncanny ability to just keep reinventing herself!

All jokes aside, the coveted Minnie Mouse has never gone out of fashion in my book, but is proving to be super popular with little girls lately. Of course when you’re as famous as Minnie you have your face branded on pretty much anything you can think of, so finding supplies shouldn’t be too hard for the die hard fans! But if you’re after something a little more boutique (or is that bowtique?) then I’ve found the perfect pieces to pull together a soiree even Minnie would happily attend!

This party can be styled with the traditional red/white/black or pink/white – or for something different go with a floral look or a unique colour scheme. Anything works as long as you work in the Minnie Mouse head silhouette!

Let’s get our polkadot on!

Minnie Mouse  Invitations & Stationery

Pink or red, black and white makes a great colour palette for a Minnie Mouse party, and don’t forget the polkadots! Just add the instantly recognisable Minnie Mouse outline with bow and you have yourself a theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Decorations

We’ve seen a really big trend in backdrops playing more of a role in room decoration instead of  just for photo backdrops, so why not give one a go and use in conjunction with  coordinated balloons, tassels and other accessories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love these sweet Minnie Mouse pom poms!:

 

 

 

The perfect props to add to a Minnie Mouse party!

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Tableware

Continue your theme of colour choice and polkadots to the table, set perfectly for afternoon tea! How cute are these labels to coordinate back with the invitations from Edgehouse Designs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Cakes & Desserts

A Minnie Mouse party wouldn’t be complete without some delicious treats, all with her face on them of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect finishing touches for any Minnie Mouse cakes or desserts!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Party Favours

What better way to say farewell and thank you to your guests than with a little slice of Minnie herself! Headbands with ears, bows and oh so sweet treats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can have a lot of fun with this theme, and your Minnie Mouse fan will no doubt have a few ideas of her own! I hope our finds have inspired you and we see the Minnie Mouse appeal alive and well for generations to come.

 

Pokemon Party Supplies

I’m not often lost for creativity – how can I when I’m surrounded by so many inspiring creatives! But every now and then a theme is put in front of me and I’m thrown.

Today, that theme is Pokemon.

What is Pokemon anyway? All I know is that it’s yellow and millions of people are wandering around the world trying to find him on their phones. Period. The fact that my kids aren’t personally into it doesn’t help, but a quick whip around social media and asking other mums tells me it’s super popular and something I better brush up on ASAP!

So whilst I brush up on my Pokemon knowledge, I put the call out to our talented LLC vendors for some inspiration on what is clearly a popular party theme, just in case you’re like me and wondering what all the fuss is about and where to start (other than yellow)! Hopefully by the end of it both you and I will not only be able to pull together an awesome Pokemon party, but may even know a little more about the game too!

 

 

 

So let’s get this party started!

 

Pokemon Party Decorations

Apparently Pinkachu is the name of the yellow character (who I thought was Pokemon) that we so often see, and there’s a gazillion other characters with strange names like Nidoking, Clefairy, Jigglypuff and Diglett. There is no way I can learn them all, but the best part is there is lots of colour to choose from for decorating your party! Use bold primary colours as your base, and build on it with any Pokemon themed finds like balloons to help distinguish it as a Pokemon party and not a super hero party!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pokemon Party Tableware

So far so good! Now comes the easy part, setting the table! Stick with the bold colours of the characters and simply introduce a little interest with patterns on plates and other coordinated tableware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pokemon Party Cakes and Desserts

This really wasn’t as hard as I thought! We all know the main attraction of the party is always the cake too, so if you haven’t done too much in the way of theming up until now, let your cake maker bring it to life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few finishing touches for any homemade desserts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pokemon Party Favours

Send your Pokemon crazed fans home with some personalised treats, ready to keep searching for more characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst I’m officially still in the dark on how to play the game, I must admit it looks like a lot of fun and definitely makes a great party theme! Thanks so much to our vendors for making this so much easier than I originally thought – this is definitely achievable, even for a Pokemon novice like me!

 

Trend to watch: Rustic Baby Shower

Gone are the days of boring baby showers that no one wanted to attend! These days they are quite the social event social and fill our social feeds with gorgeous images that can make even this mother of 4 want to do it all over again!

One trend we’ve been paying close attention to is the rustic baby shower theme. So, so divine and works well as a gender neutral theme, or can be adapted to a slightly more masculine or feminine feel with colour if required.

Key features to include in a rustic baby shower are natural, earthy tones, natural elements such as wood, florals and even fauna, and a few vintage elements like lace and mason jars. You can also work in some metallics for a special pop of colour!

To get your inspiration flowing, we’ve found some great items you can easily source from our LLC Vendors to get a head start.

 

 

Rustic Baby Shower Invitations

Set the tone of your event with beautiful invitations that the mum-to-be can add to her keepsake box. We love these ones printed on wood by Eve & Co which could be customised to suit a baby shower theme:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rustic Baby Shower Decorations and Tableware

Sometimes starting with a blank canvas can be a little daunting and sometimes end in a creative block! But in this case, you can’t go wrong by starting with a neutral colour palette of woods, kraft paper, hessian, florals and adding muted, pastel colour for a gorgeous layered rustic theme or throwing in some metallics for some extra wow factor!

A gorgeous authentic chalkboard sign such as this suits the rustic feel perfectly and is a special way to welcome guests and personalise the baby shower decor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rustic Baby Shower Finishing Touches

Favour bags, themed props and cake toppers add those final touches to any event, and you’ll find plenty available in your neutral theme colour palette.

 

 

 

These cookie mix bottles (which can have customised labels) are a gorgeous favour for guests to take home and enjoy and they also suit the rustic decor!:

 

 

 

To add some rustic flare to your cakes and baked treats, try these items!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few more rustic props to help theme your event!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This theme is a real classic and easy to pull together, assuring a timeless event the mum-to-be and guests will look back on fondly and want to do all over again!