20 Rules For Hosting A Great Kids Party!

I LOVE to plan & host parties as most of you would know. I can get 100% engrossed into a party theme and have a ball finding things to match that theme that the party guests (big and small) will enjoy. I know by the lovely comments left here on my blog that allot of you wonderful readers love a good party too.
Do you, like me, follow 100's of party blogs and websites that help you find inspiration and give you ideas and DIY tutorials for your party planning? Do you have any 'rules' you personally stick to when planning a party? nothing major just a few little tips you may have picked up along the way that help you enjoy the party just as much as you would love the guests to enjoy them? Or maybe you stomach turns at the very thought of a party needing to be planned? How will you cope with all those kids? how will you find time to get everything done? how on earth will you manage to make your dessert table look even a little bit as amazing as Amy Atlas?


Never fear... I spotted a brilliant blog post over the weekend that you MUST read.
The very clever ladies over at Home Made Parties blog wrote THIS post that might seem a little long at first sight but trust me, it's worth a read. And although the title is Hosting a great children's party: The ultimate guide (great advice & your top 20 rules) I think most of the 20 rules can be applied to any party or event you are planning for children or adults.

Thanks Jane (& Lou) for a GREAT blog post and for your fabulous tips!!

Happy Friday Find

My younger brother proposed to his gorgeous girlfriend late last year (awwwww) but then before we knew it Christmas rolled around, New year celebrations, school holidays - somehow we ended up at the end of January before the hubby-and-wife-to-be had a chance to lock in any date for their wedding... until last weekend.

A date has been chosen for later this year and we are now all in a flutter of wedding planning - soooooo much fun! This has inspired todays Happy Friday Find.


FREE Bunting Wedding Invitations from The Wedding Chicks
Happy Friday xx

Fairytale Party Pics

Once upon a time (see HERE) Grandma Giggleberry was asked by a friend to plan a Fairytale 40th birthday party. Grandma Giggleberry was kind enough to let me play along and together we had a wonderful party planning adventure... this is how it went:

Invitations custom made by Cake Ink went out to all the guests to inform them of the party details for 'Princess Jelly' (her name is Janelle but all her friends lovingly call her Jelly).


The party was held in the garden of Grandma & Papa Giggleberry's home so to decorate fairy lights were hung EVERYWHERE. I made a ribbon wreath for the door of Grandma Giggleberry's 'shed' and with fabrics that matched the invites perfectly I made some bunting. Grandma Giggleberry made some cushions for the wagon that lives in her backyard which made it the perfect 'Princess Carriage' and also made a banner to hang above the castle door entry that matched the invitations and printables from Cake Ink.




Papa Giggleberry was even roped into the party plans and whipped up this 'Castle Doorway' that fit perfectly into the garage doorway. With a bit of a paint job from Grandma Giggleberry it was the perfect welcome for guests to arrive through and served as a backdrop for some party snaps too.



A light supper was supplied so with a bit of imagination we made up fairytale names for all the food. Guests enjoyed things like:
* Chicken wings - Henny Penny's Little Leggys
* Spring Rolls - Sleeping Beauty 's 'Spring to Life' Rolls
* Dip - Goldilocks 'not too hot, not too cold but just right' dip
* Licorice all sorts slice - Hansel & Gretel's Candy Cottage Slice
It was all served on one end of this food table:


As you can see the other end of the table was a blue and white candy buffet! A big thanks to Candy Soirees & Harry's Rocky Road for helping source some of the sweet goodness enjoyed on the night



The birthday cake was made by Grandma Giggleberry but the gorgeous cake topper was custom made to match the invitations by Hello Naomi and looked fantastic!


The drinks table also looked the part with custom bottle labels from Cake Ink that read 'PJ's Royal Refreshments'


We were asked to keep the party relaxed and fun so Grandma Giggleberry came up with a little treasure hunt game she called 'Featured Fairytales'. Before anyone arrived there were 20 fairytale themed items hidden throughout the party. As guests arrived they were given this sheet:



During the party guests were encouraged to go on a little hunt and see if they could find some or all of the fairytale items such as Beauty & The Beasts' rose, The Gingerbread Man, The Ugly Duckling. Grandma Giggleberry also bought this cardboard castle cubby house and supplied all the kids at the party with colouring pencils and stickers to decorate it with.



To keep the fairytale theme running into the 'house keeping' of the party Grandma Giggleberry made up these signs and hung them on the fence for guests to know where to park their 'carriages'. It read "A decree has been sent out to all of the land asking that all pumpkin coaches, carriages and fairytale conveyances be parked along the castle boundary. -Princess Jelly"


These very cute Fairytale Pumpkin Coach Soaps were also purchased from Enchanting Soap Favors and placed in the bathroom - CUTE!



The party was an absolute hit with all the guests getting into the theme by dressing up and taking part in all the games and actives. I'm told Princess Jelly had a lovely time - Happy belated birthday Janelle xxx

Happy Australia Day

A public holiday is always a great excuse to get together with family and friends so I thought I'd take it one step further. With today being Australia Day I took the excuse to have a blue, red & white Australian flag themed BBQ lunch.
It started when I spotted these Australian flag paper lanterns from Moonlight & Whimsy


So I made a few tissue paper pom poms to hang with it then found some Australia flag themed table decor like the plastic table cloths, serviettes, cups and the plastic pin wheels that I found on ebay for an absolute bargain!



I couldn't believe my luck when I also found this Australia ribbon on ebay - I bought it not knowing exactly what I would do with it but am pretty pleased with the straw flags and lollie jar ties I used it for in the end.



Then with a pair of good old Aussie flip flops with a bit of flair hanging on the front door to welcome guests our house was ready.


And no Aussie Day is complete without a pavlova (the cake pops might not be too 'typically Aussie' but they were a hit with the kids)


Hope you all had a lovely day and were able to stay out of the heat!

Valentine's Day with Giggleberry

The day of all things red, white, pink, heart shaped and lovely is sneaking up fast! Valentine's Day!!

Do you and your sweetheart exchange gifts? do your kiddies take little love note to school for their friends? Do you, like me, make a deal with your hubby to not buy gifts then break the rule and send him a helium balloon or single rose to his work and make him blush in front of all his mates?

How about telling your special valentine how you feel with some Giggleberry bunting this year... and in fact you could then use it EVERY year!
something like a simple I heart U like this one:


I could make bunting with any message or wording.... "Be Mine", "I'm Yours", "Valentine".... even "Marry Me"
or what about a personalised couple set like this one?


I'd love to make your Valentine's Day even more special with some bunting - just email me gigleberrycreations@gmail.com and we can chat.

Customer Feedback Photos

Before xmas last year I was asked by the lovely Renee of The Inspired Occasion to make some custom bunting and ribbon garlands for an upcoming 1st birthday party she was working on. I was told the party would be vintage feel with soft pinks, teals and purples.

Renee just last week posted the details and photos from the party on The Inspired Occasion blog and they are soooo super sweet I had to share them.


Look at that gorgeous dessert table!! (The bunting hanging on the front was personalised with the birthday girls name but it was edited out of the photo for privacy).


And the idea of hanging the ribbon garland on the birthday girls high chair is just too cute!

Bunting you can eat!

Two words: edible bunting!!


Yup, you can eat it once the party is over! This creative and fun invention (& the tutorial on how to make your own) can be found on paper, plate and plane blog HERE.

Fairytale Party Plans

Hi my name is Amy and I have an addiction to party planning.
Seriously - I have it BAD!! It's just too much fun finding the gorgeous, unique, fun and fabulous things that pull an event together!! I seriously wake up in the middle of the night with an idea or thought for a party favour or decoration and find any excuse to make a family BBQ an 'event'. LOL, I told you I had it bad!!
Now that you know this, you can imagine my delight when I have a 'real' excuse to go nuts planning details for a soiree so when my mum rang me a few weeks ago & told me she was asked to plan a 40th birthday party for a good friend and would I help her I was thrilled!!


The party brief from the birthday girl was: A Fairytale party. Family friendly (kids invited). Fun but romantic. Supper/cocktail food.
Colour Palette: Blues, white and silver with a bit of sparkle.


For weeks we have been making things, buying things, finding things and organising things including the above custom invitations (with matching printables) from Cake Ink - these gorgeous invites set the tone for the rest of the party! Other fabulous goodies we have ready to go are cake decorations from Hello Naomi, candy from Candy Soirees, accessories from Sweet Little Birdy, some custom bunting from Giggleberry Creations of course and a whole lot more!!


The party has finally rolled around and is on this Saturday evening! Although I won't actually be there I can't wait for the day!! Above is a little sneak peak at some of the details we have pulled together - I can't wait to share every little detail as soon as we get photos back but most importantly I hope the birthday girl LOVES what we have planned.

Guest blog post DIY tutorial

Remember my little girls Rainbow of Ribbons party from HERE? After the fun day I shared the details of the party on the fabulous party website Catch My Party.


Jillian, who runs Catch My Party, recently asked if I would write and share a tutorial for making the Ribbon Wreath that I made and hung on our front door for the rainbow party and of course I jumped in- FUN!


Anyway it's up on the Catch My Party blog today HERE. Have fun making ribbon wreaths galore and please share with me your finished product if you do :)

QLD Flood Appeal Auction

The amazing girls at Handmade Kids and Rudy & the Dodo have joined forces to conduct an auction to raise much needed funds for those affected by the recent floods in Queensland.
The auction is being run through this specifically set up Facebook page HERE and so far there are 2 albums of gorgeous goodies up for grabs!!

The auction will start on Friday Jan 14th at 11am (EST) and will run all weekend so you can be sure to get your bids in before it closes on Monday 17th Jan at Midnight (EST)

All funds raised from the auction will be donated to The Premiers Flood Appeal

There are HEAPS of fabulous products I have my eye on and you can also bid on 2 bunting banners from Giggleberry Creations!
Let's dig deep and help out those in need even if it's just passing this info on to others so they may donate or bid - Thank you.

Auction facebook page: www.facebook.com/HMKRudydodofloodappeal