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 QUESTION: I am planning an adoption celebration party for my daughter. she wanted a pool party and we want to invite her entire class, plus some friends outside of school, which will make it a pretty large party. How can I tactfully state that the party is from 11 am until 4 pm and people can come and go as they please. They are welcome to spend an hour or spend the day, because I am limited to the amount of people at the pool at one time. I am hoping that people will come at different times throughout the day. Is there a way to write that tactfully?? Thanks!! :)
ANSWER: The pool party sounds like a wonderful celebration.
I am not clear whether the pool is at your home or another location. If it's at your home, simply calling the event an Open House will take care of the problem since this is the term most commonly used for a party at which guests come and go on their own schedules -- even if it's actually an Open Pool!!
But if you are having the party at a club or other location where there is a pool, we'll have to think of a different solution. :)
One good way to limit the number of people in the pool at any given time is to offer other activities outside the pool.
Please tell me a little more about the pool and where it is and I'll help you with your problem.
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QUESTION: Thank you. It is a community olympic sized pool and I am reserving the covered picnic table area from 11 am until 2 pm. There is a playground just off the pool deck so there is something else for the children to do besides swim, but community doesn't want more than 25 children at the party, and it looks like there would be ~50 children invited. At my daughters school, you have to invite the whole class, and we also have friends outside of school that she would like to invite. Thanks in advance for your advice!! :)
ANSWER:
Hmmmm....Just thinking....Sounds like the commnity regulations are pretty strict and you don't want to violate them -- but by inviting twice the number of people allowed in the pool, you will really be tempting fate. The probabability is pretty strong that there will be more than 25 people in the pool at any given time during your party.
So, I'm wondering if we couldn't tweak things a little bit. Since you are planning to be at the pool pretty much all day anyway, why not send out two different sets of invitations?
The first set of invitations would invite guests to join you from 11 until 1 for your daughter's party. You might invite her class to this "early" part of the party, for example. State clearly on the invitations that "We'll play in the pool for an hour before enjoying pizza and cake from Noon until 1."
Other guests would be invited to join you for the party from Noon until 2. These invitations would need to state clearly, "We'll start off with a fun pizza lunch and cake, and wind down with a little splash time in the pool afterward!"
I can give you a few more details but wanted to see what you thought first...
Will the dining area accommodate all the children at one time? Will the community have a problem with 50 people at the party as long as they are not in the pool?
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QUESTION: yes, this is a huge olympic size pool, very large pool deck with seating for over 100 with lounges, chairs, etc, plus there are bathrooms, tables with umbrellas...it is the pool for a very large community with several housing developments within the community. Because it is the community pool, we can's hog the entire place and I believe that is why they don't want a huge party taking over. There will be people there not with our party from the community, especially if it is a nice sunny day. Do you think that if we split the party that the kids will actually leave once there? I am worried that they will be having fun swimming and playing on the playground that once there, they won't want to leave. I was hoping that normally when you have a party, only about half actually come. But, I have to be prepared if they all come.
Answer Hi! Sorry I had to leave you hanging this morning while I ran off to work!! :)
To answer your question, you are right that the children will never even consider leaving this great pool and playground once they are there and having fun! :) So you'll need to set things up so that it is crystal clear to parents that it's time to take them home.
At first I was thinking that you might have one group in for early pool time, serve lunch and cake to everyone in the middle of the party, and then have another group have pool time after cake, etc.
But the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking it could be difficult for you to do this. I'm such a bossy old thing when it comes to running parties, shepherding children moving them in and out without letting them realize that they're being moved! I tend to forget what it's like to be a mom and a hostess who doesn't do this six times every weekend!
So I'm thinking it might work better for you to extend the length of the party to 2:30, which gives you an additional half hour to play with. This way you might actually invite half your crowd to a party from 11 a.m. until 12:30 and the other half to a party from 1 until 2:30.
You'd need to serve cake or cupcakes twice -- but I've never yet met a child who complained about having to blow out the candles twice! :)I'm sure your daughter would be happy to go along with this plan! And every mom knows that when the cake is served and the party favors are handed out to guests, that's the signal to pack it up and go home. So this is the best signal you could possibly give to your guests that it's time to go home. :)
If you give the children an hour in the pool, and then serve cake at Noon or even 12:15, you'd have a full 45 minutes or longer to serve the cake, open presents, and give guests their party favors.
If you can keep your daughter out of the pool, the moms of your guests will know that the party is over, and most of them will have left before your other guests ever arrive!
If you can't add 30 minutes onto the party due to cost or pool restrictions, an alternative is to make this clear is (just as you originally thought!) by carefully wording the invitations. If you do this, I would use the term Open House and add a personal note explaining when you'd like the guests to arrive and depart.
Here's an example:
Please join us for an Open House
at the Such and Such Community Pool
on Saturday, May 1
as we celebrate Katie's adoption
with family and friends
Note that there's no time on this invitation, which could go out to all guests. Then, you would need to add a handwritten note specifying time. For your daughter's classmates, for example, it might say:
We're hoping you and Katie's other School Name classmates can join us from 11 a.m. until 12:30 for some splash time in the pool followed by pizza and cake!
or
We're hoping you and all the other Daisy Scouts in Katie's troop can join us for pizza and cake at Noon, with some splash time in the pool afterward!
I hope this is helpful to you and that your event works out well!!!
