I love myself a good magazine to flip through – they provide me with party ideas, keep me inspired and I just simply ENJOY seeing so much fantastic content all in one place (rather than having to scroll through a newsfeed)!
Although I’ve had a lot of business owners in the event industry encouraging me to launch a party magazine – I had other projects I was focusing on. However THIS year I felt ready and passionate about launching an online magazine specifically focusing on children’s celebrations!
Hence I’ll be releasing “Celebrating little ones” FREE online magazine in May! Please make sure you subscribe to this website using the space on the sidebar so you are notified when the magazine is released.
*promo image – NOT the official cover*
Now the above is a SAMPLE cover only however the first issue WILL have interviews with Katherine Sabbath and Jordan Ferney which is truly exciting..along with never before seen parties, fantastic tips, tutorials, product ideas and more!
The free online “Celebrating little ones” magazine will be a place where you can
– get inspired by gorgeous kids parties
– find tips/advice for party planning
– enjoy interviews by talented creatives
– view products and businesses that you can click on and source directly from the magazine as you’re browsing
So watch this space – the new free ‘Celebrating – little ones’ online magazine is coming this May!
I can’t wait to share it with you! Subscribe to our website using the form on the sidebar to ensure you receive your copy!
You may have seen on my social media that we have a new little celebration who has joined our family 6 weeks ago!
Our 4th child, Leah Jacinta was born on the 25th February and she is just heavenly!
Our other children are just besotted with her….
and so am I!
There is something so precious about newborns! Perhaps it is how tiny they are…how much they need us…or the wonder and joy that comes from birthing and meeting them for the first time!
So life has been extra busy around here over the last 6 weeks as we settle into life with Leah.
Often people will ask how do I run a business with such young children? I started Life’s Little Celebrations when my first child was 6 months…she is now 6yrs old and I have a 4 yr old (nearly 5!) , 2 yr old and a newborn. So as the business has grown so has my family and I definitely do NOT have it all sorted out and still struggle with balancing it all. However here are my tips:
- Outsource when and where you can! Whether it is getting cleaners or extra help with babysitting or outsourcing social media – do it! When I was pregnant with Leah it pushed me to outsource more just to ensure I was sane and had enough sleep. It meant yes that I lost some of my income but I knew it was worth it for my own sake. So choose just one thing you can outsource – business or personal – to ease the pressure off yourself and free up some of your time for yourself and family.
- Don’t overdo it! I have many ideas and plans for Life’s Little Celebrations…but I know I cannot do it all right now when the kids are so little and are not all at school yet. So that means fulfilling the goals I can right now … and keeping those dreams and goals alive for the future!
- Accept your reality!! You will end up so frustrated and stressed if everyday you are expecting to get a million business items done and expect the kids will leave you alone to do some work during the day.
- It is better to just accept you will probably not get anything done at all with the kids around and then anything is a bonus! Work when they sleep or when they are at school, daycare or with the grandparents.
- Scheduling social media posts is also brilliant – it means that your social media is working for you even when you’re out and about at your daughters ballet class or son’s school assembly!
- Be wise with your time. When I finally do get some time to do some work – I can get a huge amount done in a short timeframe if I plan exactly what I need to do in that hour…and don’t get distracted by browsing on social media or doing online shopping!
At the end of the day – many of you (myself included) started your businesses so that you could be there for your children and have that freedom and flexibility. So don’t let your business rob you of that which it was meant to give you!
Let me say that again…don’t let your business rob you of that which it was meant to give you (eg time with the kids, freedom, flexible lifestyle)!
I hope those tips help those of you also in business and for now let me take the chance to wish you and your little one’s a joyful and special Easter!
Photos by : Priscilla Cork Photography
Oh what a year it has been at Life’s Little Celebrations!
The new website was launched which was hugely exciting to see come to fruition.
The ‘Celebrate’ conference day was hosted for the first time which was another leap of faith – and I’m so happy I took that leap after hearing the feedback about the positive impact the conference had.
Life’s Little Celebrations was grateful to be featured in various publications such as Donna Hay Magazine, Practical Parenting Magazine, Little One Magazine, the Babyology website, the LENZO blog, Sweet Magazine and Confetti Fair magazine – truly such an honour!
Life’s Little Celebrations also hit 55,000 followers on Instagram which was really a testimony to the LLC partners whose work and products I share daily on the @lifeslittlecelebrations Instagram account.
However the highlight each year is always the connections I make with the LLC partners throughout the year and the connections and networks I see evolve amongst them – I love seeing the Life’s Little Celebrations community grow and assisting business owners in this industry to flourish!
Personally falling pregnant with our 4th child was a huge highlight and one that will make 2017 another exciting year (with baby due in March). Due to the pregnancy I kept my own kids parties quite low key this year but I’ll be doing a blog post soon on how we did celebrate their birthdays soon.
Running a business and planning the Celebrate conference while also being pregnant definitely challenged me at times and so this was the year I took the step to finally outsource aspects of my business. For those of you running a small businesses reading this – I can only encourage you to do the same when you feel as though you are not getting enough sleep and you don’t have enough time anymore. Yes it means sacrificing some of your income – but the sanity and sleep you receive in return is worth it!
So what is to come in 2018..besides a new baby?
Life’s Little Celebrations is excited to be launching a new digital magazine – ready to inspire and equip those mums who love to party plan AND those business owners running a business in the event industry.
I also hope to host the Celebrate conference later in 2017 after the wonderful response it received this year.
There are a few other exciting involvements for LLC in the new year which I’ll announce in time.
However for now it is time to wish you all a wonderfully joyful Christmas with your family and friends
I hope 2017 is a fantastic year where you can reach the goals you may have and also overcome challenges which come your way
Thank to all the Life’s Little Celebration partners who are part of this wonderful network as well as all those who have partnered with LLC this year in various ways!
Life’s Little Celebrations will still be posting some inspiring and gorgeous parties & products on Facebook and Instagram and have a few blog posts over this wonderful season to share with you all.
However I’ll also be taking a break to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my family, celebrate my son’s 2nd Birthday and head off on a short family getaway – so we will be back in the full swing of things on Monday 16th January
Merry Christmas!
xx
I’m delighted to share with you the photos from the first ever “Celebrate” conference day on the 15th August!
This event came about from my vision to bring together business owners within the party, event and baking industry and provide them an opportunity to network and also learn some relevant business tools to flourish their business.
Held at The Deckhouse in Sydney the venue was styled in only 1.5hours that very morning! With such a limited time we kept things simple but beautiful and stylist Shelley Davis of Paper Face Party coordinated all the styling for the venue and as you can see – she made the venue even more beautiful and a truly gorgeous setting for everyone to enjoy. Beautiful balloon decor was used throughout the venue thanks to Party Splendour and Born To Party who did an amazing job at helping to bring a stylish party feel to the room with their balloons.
All the beautiful photos are thanks to Captured by Kirri.
We enjoyed daylong beautiful views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and water from the venue and thankfully Sydney put on a lovely sunny winters day!
From the initial planning of the event I knew I wanted it to be a day where I could showcase items from Life’s Little Celebration vendors and the beauty of the day really came together because of so many lovely contributions as well as the support of our lovely sponsors Ruby Rabbit Partyware, Custom Icing, Sugarlicious Parties, Sweet Heavenly Events, Merc & Jones, Foamtastic party decor, Sugared events and Fairy La La Land!
As soon as guests entered they were met with a welcoming lounge area which was created using furniture and props from The Original Silver Teapot and it was a beautiful space on the day for attendees to enjoy during the break times.
This balloon arch at the front of the venue by Born To Party was stunning and a real talking point
Gorgeous jumbo balloons by Party Splendour created another feature in the room with fun tassels by Paper Face party and giant foam letters from Foamtastic
Each attendee received a handbook and gold Life’s Little Celebrations pen and each of the centrepieces styled by Paper Face Party were unique – styled with flowers as well as custom timber toppers from A La Roch and mini pinatas from Party Pony Designer Pinatas!
I just love these unique timber toppers by A La Roch!
The stylish mini pinatas were also a hit!
Guests were greeted with bright and fun signage to lead them into the venue with the design by Pretty and Print and printing by Jo’s Signs by Design:
Each attendee received a handmade glittery name tag with gold foil printing and the cutest little tassel! These were created by the talented Eve & Co and added a bit of extra sparkle to the day!
After grabbing a hot drink and mingling, attendees were invited to get comfortable and settle in for the day. It was honestly so wonderful to meet many business owners – some of whom I have known “online” but never met in person. It was also an honour to have attendees from Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra all make the trip to Sydney for Celebrate. The atmosphere was so warm, friendly and easy going as attendees made new contacts or met those in person who they deal with frequently online!
Here I am welcoming everyone and getting ready to introduce our first speakers!
The day included 5 amazing speakers who each brought their own experience, knowledge and personality to providing attendees with tips for their own business. Wendy El-Khoury of Wedded Wonderland was brilliant in providing a huge amount of insight into social media and particularly instagram tips for our industry!
At the last minute due to illness Nikki Clarke was unable to be at Celebrate. However we were lucky to have Lama Perin of well known brand Paper Eskimo be able to speak on branding and also sharing her tips and experiences from their own business history !
Tessa White of Down That Little Lane was honest, insightful and humorous as she shared PR tips and general advice on social media, building your community and getting your brand out there on a limited budget!
Leanne of Sweet Style shared her advice on how to create gorgeous photos for your social media and your website, as well as camera and lighting tips and styling advice:
The day ended with the fabulous Julia Bickerstaff of The Business Bakery who provided such valuable pricing advice and was straight to the point with tips on pricing for profit as a small business owner!
Speakers were around after their session during the breaks to chat to attendees while everyone mingled and enjoyed the sunshine!
It was beautiful Sydney weather so attendees could enjoy the balcony during their breaktimes and it was wonderful to see everyone mingle and enjoy the conversation with their business peers!
Another special feature on the day was a flower bar setup by Weekly Blooms for attendees to create and take home their own little posy of flowers as a reminder to flourish their business!
The beautiful tags on each of the bottles were all handmade and painted by Elk Prints
They added a truly extra special touch to the take home posy’s and something guests could keep on their bottles as a reminder to flourish their business!
A snapshot of a few more details which really helped style a beautiful venue
Each attendee received a swag bag to take home FILLED with goodies from Life’s Little Celebration vendors and more! There was everything from handmade cake toppers and garlands to partyware, from magazines to candles and of course delicious edible treats such as fairy floss, macarons and cookies! Many commented it was the best swag bag ever…and I have to say I agree with them!
It truly was such a delightful day and I thank everyone who came along or supported the event and again special thanks to stylist Shelley from Paper Face party who contributed so much to the look and feel of the day!
Many have requested that Celebrate be held again next year – and it is something I had considered but was hesitant about committing to prior to the event.
However the day went so well and with such positive feedback..it just may be back in 2017. Watch this space!
After a particularly long term, school holidays are nearly here for the kids to enjoy some down time. I always find that after a few days rest though, the novelty of staying at home in pyjamas all day wears off, and the requests for play dates, trips to the aquarium and movies start flowing in.
So like many parents, I’m always on the look out for new and exciting things to do during this time (that aren’t weather dependent) and particularly love it when our LLC vendors are involved!
I generally do a quick mental check list when qualifying an activity:
- Is it age appropriate?
- Will the kids enjoy it?
- Is there coffee?
If it’s a quick ‘yes’ to these and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, we’re in.
One event you may love to add to the calendar this school holidays is the Kids Day Out on July 14 in Sydney. Presented by LLC vendor and Celebrate sponsor Fairy La La Land, this sounds like a great day out for us all with something for everyone – even us mums.
The talented Fairy La La Land entertainers will be keeping kids busy for a huge 5 hours on the day (if they have the energy to last that long that is!) with live shows, circus performances, Justice Crew dancers, face painting and balloon twisting. Tick, tick, tick!
For mums, there will be plenty of stalls to roam whilst the kids are happily kept busy – and yes, coffee! Held at the Pittwater RSL Club, it’s even worth inviting a group of friends to make a day of it and book a table for lunch too.
The Justice Crews style dancers are always a hit – but be warned, you might see a few moves tried out at home!
Tickets are just $15 each (children under 12 months are free) which is amazing value, and can be booked through Eventbrite. For any show details you can also contact Fairy La La Land.
Have a great school holiday break everyone.
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