AboutGeorgia Blair Expertise Are you planning a child's birthday party at home? Want to make it more exciting than exhausting? A little expert advice can help make it a more memorable event. The Party Fairy's strategies for successful parties can help parents turn down the chaos level and turn up the fun. We specialize in fantasy tea parties - but whether you're planning a sweet and nostalgic tea party or a rough-and-rowdy treasure hunt for boisterous little pirates, we have plenty of tips, tools and techniques to share. Need an idea for a centerpiece? A party game? Wondering whether the activities you have selected are age-appropriate for your guests? Not sure what to do with the two little boy cousins invited to a very girlie-girlie tea party? We can answer a variety of questions on many topics. Chances are good that we've heard your question before - but if not, we've created an entire business from the ability to create and imagine workable programs for children!
Experience As the owner of The Party Fairy, I have personally conducted more than 500 birthday parties for children on a paid basis - and did this free of charge for years before I decided to trun it into a business. All told, I have probably conducted more than 650 parties. My parties feature original storytelling, games and crafts - and offer parents the complete package of party decorations as well. I travel to preschools to perform storytelling programs which combine improvisational drama and interactive role-playing with children, and conduct a variety of imaginative programs for children as part of the special events offerings at The Party Fairy Store. I also host themed summer day camps for children.
Organizations None are relevant.:) And don't worry; nothing odd. Just church and school organizations.
Publications New York Times regional newspapers chain (I was an employee for several years and worked at various newspapers during my 20-year journalism career) I also worked at many smaller newspapers throughout Alabama
Education/Credentials I was a journalism major many, many years ago - shortly after the world was created. :) Although a journalistic background is not particularly relevant to the business of children's party planning, a communications background could prove useful in answering questions from the public. Other Party Fairy employees whose opinions may be sought for particularly challenging questions include a former elementary school music teacher, a newly-graduated marketing major and a new MBA grad. :) What a mixed lot we are!
Awards and Honors Hmmm....
The only ones possibly relevant here are several Associated Press newswriting awards
Past/Present Clients No one of national note or significance (yet!) because my clients are all pretty much under 9 years old! But to their parents, of course, my little clients are all shining stars! :)
Question Hi, I am having a sweet sixteen in late October-November. I am very interested into theater and Broadway. But my problem is that I need to keep the party under 200 dollars(excluding food and drinks). So I will be having it at my house. Could you help?
Answer The best way to contain a party budget is to rely on your guests to provide much of the entertainment and atmosphere themselves. Ask them to come in costume and viola! Goal accomplished.
You may want to broaden the scope beyond Boadway just a bit to incoporate film stars as well as stage stars so that you'll give your guests more choices. You might consider calling the event Celebrity Night, and issue invitations that invite your guests to come as the celebrity of their choice. With a roomful of Marilyn Monroes, Paris Hiltons, Johnny Depps and Justin Timberlakes, you can count on lots of laughter and fun.
As incentive, you may want to consider offering a great prize for the best costume.
Only one very dramatic decoration is needed to set the stage - literally - for this event. You'll need the stage. The creation of your stage is where you need to put the largest chunk of your $200 budget.
Clear furniture or rearrange an area of your home to create some nice wall space and you can create a fantastic stage simply by draping fabric. Start with some white Christmas lights....I like icicle strands. These can easily be looped back and forth to fill a wall space of roughly 9 x 9 feet. Cover the lights with some sort of sheer fabric. You can purchase regular 84-inch window panels of sheer fabric for $5 each at Big Lots stores -- or you can rummage in the discounted fabric bin of your local Wal-mart store to find fabric for as little as $1 per yard. Once you have covered the lights with sheer fabric for a dreamy, magical effect, you will need to "frame" your stage with other, heavier fabric. Just run the fabric up the sides of the sheer, lighted square, and swag it across the top. I have done this before for as little as $10 using two window scarves purchased from Big Lots.
Depending on how much money you have left over, you may also want to use some fun tassels to help create the curtained stage look.
As each guest arrives, position him/her in front of this "stage" to get some great pictures. Be sure to get lots of fun group pictures, too.
You might plan to serve "cocktails" during the first hour of the event as your guests arrive. Visit a dollar store or a Wal-mart and pick up some inexpensive plastic wine glasses. Crank up your blender to create the smoothie of your choice and fill plastic glasses with this drink. A dollop of whipped cream and/or a piece of fruit speared with a toothpick will finish off the look and create great eye appeal. Fill other glasses with apple juice or water so that your guests have choices. Cocktails can be set out on a table within easy reach of your guests -- or you can have a little fun and have "waiters" circulate through the crowd holding silver trays filled with the cocktail offerings. Faux silver trays are available for $1 at dollar stores.
Waiters are easy to recruit if you have a younger brother or sister who wants to be party of your party. Recruit the younger silbing and a best buddy to perform this role. No waiter costumes? Dress them in white and black or in all black. Drape a folded white dishtowel (even a hankerchief will do in a pinch) over one arm. When you add the silver tray full of cocktails, the effect is just right.
Other ideas: Check a local carpet store for remnants of any sort of red carpet to create a runway in front of your "stage." This is likely to be too expensive for your budget, but worth checking....But, remember that red fabric can be used for the same purpose, and you may find some for as little as $1 per yard in the Wal-mart discount bin. Line each side with rope-style white Christmas lights for a fun look.
You are likely to find black and gold partyware with stars on it at your local party goods store. This is a very popular pattern right now. It would work very well with your Celebrity Night theme.
As an additional activity, you might consider creating a Stars Walk of Fame. Have "stars" ready for each of your guests to autograph, and display their handiwork on a "walk" you create. The "walk" can be on the floor, or on a wall, or you can even hang stars from fishing line from the ceiling. Guests can apply lipstick and kiss the stars to leave lip prints, or dip their hands or feet onto inexpensive ink pads to create hand or footprints....It's all about imagination. If space is limited, you might consider having a scrapbook handy and have guests affix their stars on pages in the scrapbook. This way you'll have a nice memory album from your party. Later you can add some of the fun pictures from the evening.
I could go on and on but hopefully this will get you thinking about possibilities....
