the party...

after months of planning and a saturday evening set up in the rain, sunday saw the community summer party executed in the glorious yorkshire sunshine.

after the last minute emails were exchanged earlier last week i was actually getting quite exciting about the weekend. but nervous. so nervous because actually was putting the new street- food court in a separate are of the park really good idea? will party goers find it? do people really just want burger and chips? but it gets to a certain point and you cant change your decisions you just have to run with them and hope for the best...

so first decision of sunday was what does one wear underneath a high- vis vest for a day? i opted for practical double denim with a splash of colour.

first job of the day. coffee. our local park has the cutest little cafe with a library  and serves the most delicious coffee and breakfast products. so after coffee i made my first realisation of the day. decorations.

i live for decorating stuff. i thrive on decorating projects of the home or any form of event. and id forgotten to make any decorations for my food area. the so- named food court was behind a hedge, away from the lake and the hustle and bustle of the main party area. so making it ideal for families to sit and relax but not so noticeable behind the flipping high hedge. so first note made for next year; make some form of pretty bunting/ banner for the high hedge...

i threw up the little bunting we had left round a tree and continued set up...

the party started at 1 but the crowds were building far sooner than that. the main area was buzzing with community stalls, charity stalls and all sorts of weird and wonderful activities to try. there was a climbing wall and blow up rugby game and the usual bouncy castle and spinning tea cups to keep the children entertained. a particular favourite of Seb's was the miniture railway.

i held off going back into the food area for a little while, nervous that it would be quiet as there were so many people everywhere else. but when i walked in it was fantastic. there were people milling around and queuing to try out the culinary delights. families has set up camp in the gardens on picnic rugs and were happily sampling what was on offer. 

the whole afternoon flew by in a whirl of talking and directing and eating. feedback on the day was majority positive for the party overall and i was delighted that from my street- food traders it was purely positive. we left buzzing about ideas for next year. for a first insight into event management it was great. i was fortunate to be able to concentrate on one area of the party so as not to get overwhelmed with admin and headaches. last week i was umming and ahring as to whether i wanted to commit to another 6 months of planning next year but i think these things are kind of addictive. if it goes well then you want to build on that success no matter what kind of work is involved.

when you wish upon a star...

so the 30th birthday bash was a resounding success and the disney theme went down a treat. the simple, classic Mickey decor worked for an adults birthday, as I had hoped. the only disney princesses to be found were on some of the cupcakes. not that there is anything wrong with a Disney princess but it isn't always befitting a 30 year old girl about town/ yummy mummy.

the briefing was low cost, stylish, disney decor to work in a rural village hall. two weeks to plan and make (by two weeks I mean a handful of evenings and one full day) and those to be made had to be with limited resources due to time and cost.

the results...

the centre pieces for the tables. these were my favourite bit and I wanted them to be simple but effective. and the main focal point. cleverly and lovingly constructed by my mum.

for the entrance hall I wanted a focal point for the reception desk to draw attention away for the local notices and village hall bits and bobs. we created a small twig tree (compliments the whole rural setting) with white twigs and little red bow ties and black mickey silhouettes hanging from it with ribbons. I also created a sign using mickey inspired font I found on my font bible dafont. this was to direct guests to leave cards and presents. always helpful.

also in the entrance hall were handmade Alice in wonderland style signs. a little bit roughly handmade but I was really pleased with the Alice style font. due to timing I stuck to just four signs: 'bar', 'party' and the classic Alice 'this way' and 'that way'. with more time there are more options and could be displayed on a false tree for example.

in addition to these main features there were shop bought Minnie Mouse polka dot table cloths, good old balloons in complimentary red, black and white and a big Micky cut out for the dj stage. on top of that we made red pom poms and strung them in lines across the ceiling. a simple but effective way to jazz up an otherwise basic room and give it a playful edge.

the end result wasn't a mega bucks, professional room but i hope and think it did the job. and maybe had the wow factor for the guests, many of them local people who used the hall weekly and maybe hasn't seen it done up that way before.

add 60+ people, many of them adults and many of them over 40, dressed up like a whose who of disney and you got a pretty magical night....