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 600 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 750 parties.
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.
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 My son is turning 9 and my daughter 6 one week apart. We always do the parties together to save but I feel like I have run out of ideas. Please help!!
Answer Here's a very easy solution for you, and with summer fast approaching, this one happens to be a great backyard party idea, too.
Turn your back yard into a tropical island with mermaids and pirates, and stage an elaborate treasure hunt as the main activity at your party. Although the 9-year-old boys are the perfect age for a more involved treasure hunt, with fun clues and maps, this would not be an age-appropriate activity for your daughter and her friends. Your best bet would be to visit your local party supply store and pick up several bags of gold coins. Hide these just like Easter eggs in your back yard and let the children hunt them. Have prizes available for the one who finds the most coins. To make the treasure hunt more fun (and to give the little girls more of a chance against the older boys) use colored markers to make dots or an X on some of the coins. Award prizes to those who find the coins with the purple dot, the green dot, etc., and to children who find the most coins with a purple X, etc.
Here's another hilarious Mermaid and Pirate game idea. Divide the pirates and mermaids into two teams. Give each team a couple of rolls of plastic wrap -- the same wrap you use in the kitchen. It is often able to find it in blue or green, which makes this game even more fun. The two teams compete to see which team can turn all of its girls into mermaids first. To turn a girl into a mermaid, simply wind and wrap those long plastic sheets around her legs, binding them with the sheeting. She will be unable to walk well and will know just what it feels like to be a mermaid!
Next, have a Mermaid and Pirate Race. Pair each mermaid with a pirate. Give the pirate a "peg leg" by making him hop on one foot, attempting to help the mermaid beside him wobble along toward a finish line. This is hilarious to watch.
That's really all the activities you will need, and these are not expensive. Your costs really are only for the gold coins (generally priced around $5 for 144) and the plastic wrap.
To create party favors, however, you might consider having children decorate treasure chests.
Party stores are filled with luau supplies right now, and almost any of these will work very well for your Tropical Island Adventure party.:)
Other fun ideas include inviting children to wear their own pirate or mermaid attire to the party. It's very easy to create pirate outfits by shredding sleeves of old clothes. A rope belt, a bandanna on the head, a few gold necklaces, and you're a pirate!
If you'd like to serve a meal, be sure to check out the Mermaid menu suggestions on my blog at www.askthepartyfairy.com. Kids generally love it when hot dog weiners are cut and boiled to curl up into "squid." It's very easy to do -- and can be served with spaghetti noodles colored with food coloring to create "Squid and Eels."
