A Perfectly Piggy Party!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting a party for a 3yr old girl who loves Peppa Pig.  As requested by L's mother, and also taking into account the young age of the children attending, the party became more craft and activity focussed.

As those who follow my blog may know, I tend to follow themes loosely rather than going for an all out theme.  This is due to costs, availability of resources and an understanding that not all guests like the same thing.  Many parents choose to use decorations to emphasise a theme, which is great as it brightens up the venue and gives the party child their focus. 

Obviously this is done in consultation with the client, who can request certain activities or games to their child or their vision of the party.  My role is to facilitate this, keep the children entertained and make sure the children enjoy themselves.  I also hope to take the pressure away from the parents.  This was reflected at the party yesterday when the client told me she had never been so relaxed before hosting a party. (Her sister also told me she'd never seen her this relaxed before a party too!)

The activities:

1) Welcome activity.  The children decorated the tablecloth with the crayons and stickers I supplied.

2) Make pig face biscuits.



3) Make pig masks using paper plates.

4) Decorate their party bags.










5) A box of Rainbow Rice (with hidden pigs) to play with.

The Games:

1) Music Muddy Puddles (like Musical Islands)

2) Peppa Pig Treasure Hunt

3) Pass the Parcel

The Story:

10 Green Bottles by Abigail Voss.  (Available here on Amazon.)  (This is a great story by a Portishead Author, and is fab for joining in and learning numbers.)


The 14 children were kept happily occupied, with supportive parents who enjoyed joining in. 

Their party tea was packed in individual coloured paper lunch bags with Peppa Pig detail on them.  I particularly liked the idea of putting individual jellies into plastic shot glasses.  (I'm going to borrow that one for my children's next party!)  

We sang Happy Birthday to L, and she blew out the candles on her beautiful chocolate Peppa Pig cake. 

Packing up was quick and efficient.  (I bring my own bin bags, and was massively helped by the other adults.)

This was a fun party to do.  Craft parties can provide a calm but busy atmosphere, and make sure that everyone has something extra to take home too.

It was a fun afternoon for all.


(Craft Parties are priced the same as regular parties, see my website for package prices.)

A few questions and a few answers

It's been a few months since I set up PartyEase Portishead. I've been so touched by the support I've received from friends, and also from those who think it's important to support new businesses.  My brand is now becoming more known around the area, and I am getting increased traffic to my website, facebook page and to my email account. However, there are a few questions/statements I'd like to answer.

Why don't you include food and cakes in your package?

There are two reasons for this.  

Firstly, I am a mum of a 3 yr old and 5 yr old.  Our house is busy, fun and our home.  If I were to supply party food, I would need to have my premises inspected, and hygiene rated.  Now, my house is clean (most of the time) and hygienic, but we all have moments, and I don't want that responsibility.  

Secondly, party food is quite a personal choice.  I prefer a traditional type tea - sandwiches, crisps, cakes, carrot/cucumber sticks, sausage rolls, cakes, biscuits etc.  That's my choice. (and  my children's - last year, my son sat me down to write a list of what food he wanted at his party, and basically chose all of the above.)
At recent parties we've attended, party food has included a pizza delivery, fishfingers and chips, chicken nuggets and chips, a selection of nibbles including fruit and tubes of fromage frais, bowls of sweets...  People like different things.  I am happy to advise, recommend caterers, etc, but the food is your choice.

Children's parties aren't difficult...

They don't need to be difficult.  Children just want to be entertained, active and able to join in - sometimes with adult support, sometimes independently. 
But you know what?  Some people do find it difficult to be with 30 young children.  I don't find it difficult, but that's because I trained as a teacher, and have spent so much time working in child-based settings.  Put me in a hospital as a nurse, or in a garage as a mechanic - I wouldn't have a clue!  We all have our talents, and they are diverse.  It makes life interesting.
Also, we're all busy people.  I'm very fortunate in that I could choose to be at home with my children, and build my business around them.  Others make the decision to work, or do not have a choice in the matter.  All choices are valid and should be respected.  Planning a party does take time and effort.  Sourcing fun gifts, wrapping the pass the parcel, compiling the gift bags, putting together playlists... I'm here to provide a service to those who want me to.
Lastly, some parents would like to be able to take a step back, join in with their children and enjoy their day with them.  With my entertaining the children, that is possible.  You can join in, but you will be able to take time to savour the party with your child.  That's important.

Children over 8 aren't interested in large parties or party games.

Really?  I run a brownie pack, with girls aged between 7-10yrs old.  We do have the odd party night.  They love the games.  I adapt them for older children - make them a little more grown up, challenging, silly, maybe a touch more responsibility for them...  They always go home with big smiles on their faces.  
Traditional parties don't have to be large.  I can't remember having more than 10 guests at my parties (though my mother may beg to differ...) and we played plenty of games.  Although my packages start with prices for 20 children, I am happy to discuss how I can accommodate smaller parties, and will develop games suited to them, in discussion with you.

What about your prices?

I cover that in another blog post here. However, I suggest you search other entertainers, and see what they include in their packages.  You will find that my prices are very competitive.  You may also find a party package that you prefer.  That's ok.  Again, the world is diverse, what I offer suits many, but not all.  Enjoy your party! :)

I am passionate about providing quality children's parties, with transparent pricing, and a service which children and parents alike will enjoy.  I love parties, and all the reviews I've received are 5* reviews.  You can find them on my FACEBOOK page.

If you would like to find out more, then please visit my website  or feel free to contact me at rachieparties@gmail.com.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

A Frozen Pajama Party

Take 2 children celebrating their 5th birthdays.  One loves Frozen, the other would like a Pajama party.  Can a joint party be possible?

With PartyEase, it is!


So, with the brief in mind, I developed a party for 30 children, based on on the PLATINUM plan which includes a Pass the Parcel and Party Bags.
As well as generic games that all the children knew, I had the challenge of fitting a few games into the theme(s) and keeping the attention of a large number of children aged 5 or below.

Happily, this is where my experience as an infant teacher is really helpful.

The children were greeted by the door, and directed to the table, where they were given named party bags to decorate.  (These were filled later on)  I am a great believer that children need a calming activity when they arrive, as younger ones can feel intimidated by others running around waiting for activities to start.  Decorating the party bags also gives them a personal reminder of the party to take home.

The first games was one to get the party started, and one that all children were familiar with.

It was then time to for a themed game.  This one was aptly called "Do you wanna build a snowman?"  They did!  The following photos show how young children with a little adult support can work together.

Wrapping up the Birthday boy, to build a snowman

Birthday Girl becomes a beautiful Olaf

.

Our next games was also Frozen based, using music and pictures of the main characters placed around the room. It gave the opportunity for the children to move around and use up some of their excited energy.

This was followed with Pass the Parcel.  It's a great way to calm the children down before their party food, and it also gives the adults a chance to put the food out on the tables without being disturbed by hungry children.  My Pass the Parcels have a prize in every layer, and for this number of children, I supplied 2 parcels.  (Many thanks to Catherine, who collected the wrapping into the bin bags, which I also supply.)

We then had a quick game where children had to match pajamas into pairs, which led them to their party tea.  

As some children finished off their tea, I engaged those who had left the table with a story, where they could join in the actions. The children joined in with the story, and it avoided that void which often happens after they eat, where they run around.

We played a couple of games that the children are familiar with from school, and finished off with Musical Bumps.  

I am sure that our Birthday children had a great time, and here are a few comments from the parents, which can be found on my FACEBOOK page.

Our son age 7 had a great time at one of Rachael's parties, he thoroughly enjoyed all the games and different activities she had planned. The music was great and she worked very hard trying to keep all the children happy and involved.
The party bags and prizes were age appropriate, good value and very popular.
If you want a stress free party with someone to run it, entertain the children, and think of little extras then you need to book Rachael.
I would highly recommend PartyEase Portishead. Thank you Rachael for a fantastic party and one happy 7 year old.

Great party today! Can't believe how well you kept so many kids entertained. My daughter said 'I wish every party could be like this!'

If you're looking for a traditional Childrens party but don't want to run the party yourself and get bogged down with all the prep beforehand with pass the parcel wrapping and party bags, I strongly recommend Rachael from PartyEase. She seamlessly ran a joint 5th birthday party for my daughter and her friend. It was a Frozen Pyjama party as both wanted different themes. Rachael specifically tailored some fantastic party games to fit with the themes and the childrens ages. She also managed to keep control of all 32 children throughout the 2 hours, all of who seemed to throughly enjoy themselves! Thank you Rachael!

Should you pass on Pass the Parcel?

It's a game that children love to play, but adults hate to prepare... 

Every party I've been to, when Pass the Parcel is announced, there is a cheer from the children.  Is it the anticipation of the prize in the middle?  Is the thought that all you need to do to win a prize is rip of a layer of paper?  Is the attempt to guess when the last layer will appear?  
For the adults, this is a stressful game.  Should you put a prize in every layer?  I asked this on my facebook page a while ago and there were some interesting answers.  

Some, including my sister, though that prizes should be random.  Children need to learn that they can't always win.  It's a life lesson.  Others said that a lollipop kept the children interested and occupied while others were having their turn.  Another suggested stickers.  

In the past I have used sweets and I have also used little party blowers - makes for a noisy 5 minutes, but you can avoid that sugar high...

Another interesting aspect was that of having to wrap up the parcel.  Not many people enjoy doing it... When I wrapped the parcel for our launch party, there were 25 layers.  It took over 8 metres of wrapping paper and nearly an hour to do.  (My helpful husband, who normally has to wrap the Pass the Parcels in our family, took great pleasure in laughing at me.)  
For one parent who attended the Launch party, she said that it was something she HATED, and one of the reasons she would consider booking PartyEase Portishead for her child's party.

A friend talked about a party she had attended with her 4 year old party, where the Pass the Parcel was a wrapped up box.  When the music stopped, the child holding the parcel was given a sweet, and the music started again without any paper being taken off.  Now forgive me if you like this version, but surely half the fun of a Pass the Parcel is to rip the paper off?  I expect it saves on time and mess.

Another suggested that actually, a main prize in the middle isn't needed.  Again, I would consider this part of the anticipation, and find it hard to imagine a child excitedly removing the last layer of paper to find... just another sweet - but we're all different, and that's what makes each party diverse and fun.

For older children, I have another version of Pass the Parcel - no music or wrapping paper is involved, but it's great fun, and keeps the children involved and excited.  I'm not going to share it here... book me for a party and find out! 

If you would like a couple of child-free hours on December 20th, please check out my Facebook event.  2 hours of fun for them, 2 hours of freedom for you to do as you please.  Perfect.  


I would love to hear what you think about Pass the Parcel.  Feel free to leave me a comment.