What I wish I had known when I planned my first Fancy and Fabulous Kids Party.
While Pinterest and Instagram has really grown our market as Event Planners and Designers it has also vastly increased our expectations of what a Kids Birthday Party can be and should be. The days of streamers, party hats and a cake are only for the loyal few. The rest of us have Big Dreams when it comes to planning a Kids Party. We want the Gorgeous Balloon Arch and the Perfect Backdrop with Sequin Side Panels with a Gorgeous Dessert Table with flounces or sequins or Themed Pedestals and of course color coordinated Cake Stands and Dessert Trays and Themed Desserts and PrettyThemed Candy in Apothecary Jars along with the must have Themed Dessert Labels and Candy Labels. Then you have the amazing life sized props and Balloon Mosaic Numbers or Marquee Signs and sometimes we get so caught up in our Pinterest Boards and following our favorite planners on IG that we forget about the Party Activities and Games and Food Menu. Really - will it or will it not be a themed food menu? While fancy and fabulous Kids Parties are so much fun to plan and decorate what I wish I had known when I planned my first Kids Party was how much time it takes to create Gorgeous. I mean really how much time does it take to make those adorable themed Gift Bags and do I even know how to design a custom Party Sign for my child on Canva and 'oh my' I had no idea it took that long to blow up a 150+ balloons for that Organic Balloon Garland that looked so easy on YouTube. TWO MONTHS TO PLAN So yes if you are going for fancy and fabulous at your next Kids Party Give yourself a dedicated 2 months to planning your party and making all of the Props & Decor, Custom Treats, Personalized Gift Bags, Balloon Decor and more. ORDER PARTY LINENS FIRST And the very first thing is ORDER YOUR PARTY LINENS first. If you want that Payette sequin tablecloth for a Glam Look, or that Spandex red and white Stripe for you Circus Lover then find our Linen companies and order because there are major shortages due to COVID and many of your favorite items are out-of-stock or are on Pre-Order. PAY A PROFESSIONAL FOR CUSTOMIZED DECOR Another thing that I discovered after designing my own custom Themed Gable Boxes and Personalized Goodie bags and Party Props is that if is often just better to PAY A PROFESSIONAL for your customized party items and decor. Trust me when you spend 5 hours on makingThemed Gable boxes and the kids are hungry and your partner is looking at you side-eyed at the mess strewn all over the dining room table you will remember what I said. BACKDROP PRO TIPS Just one more thing. There is nothing worse than a super cool printed canvas backdrop with your child's favorite theme that is TOO SHORT. Make sure when you order your BACKDROP that it is at least 6 ft long if it is going behind a table and if you are doing a photo booth you want your backdrop to be the height of your backdrop stand which is usually 7ft or 8ft tall. And while I am on the subject of BACKDROP STAND invest in a 7- 8ft tall backdrop stand. The difference in height and impact between a 6ft stand and 7ft or 8 ft stand is significant. You will thank me me you have the look that you want. ELECTRIC BALLOON PUMP Last but not least I don’t care if you only do a party for your kids once every couple of years invest the $20 in an Electric Balloon Pump. Your jaws will thank you and “Pro Tip” if you hands start getting dry after tying your 100th balloon use a dab of lotion or if you figure out how to use one of those balloon tiers then please let me know. If after you get halfway through planning your fancy and fabulous Kids Party and realize that you are in way over your head and now understand why we Event Planners charge the big bucks and would rather let the Pros do all of the hard work while you get the chance to just show up and enjoy your child's birthday party then give us at Gorgeous by Design Events a call. Until Next Time, Happy Planning and as always, Yours in Gorgeousness, Arletta Event Planner | Balloon Stylist | Professional Big Kid