Party Recap...

This year we weren't going to have a party for Tahlin, as he had a big one for his 3rd Safari Party. But he was talking about his Birthday coming up and we thought we would do something small to celebrate for him. As he loves going to the park and playing on the equipment, we thought a Picnic in the Park would be perfect for him.

My friend Carol from Creatively Bespoke Weddings & Events was another reason why we decided to have a party. She had just recently organized a “Picnic” style wedding that had many red and white gingham items that was perfect for what we were trying to achieve for our party. Thanks to Carol we were able to keep this theme.

Another reason for the Picnic Party is that we wanted the guests to just have a nice relaxed time in the park, where they could fill a basket up with some food and sit on a blanket and enjoy themselves. The kids could enjoy themselves with playground equipment and also the activities and games provided in our old, vintage suitcase. The suitcase was filled with bubble wands, balls, skipping ropes, frisbees, hula hoops, beanbags in a bucket game and so on.

I decided with this party to have a really casual and relaxed atmosphere that wasn’t time consuming and have more of a practical spread of food and treats that was easy for the guests to put in their baskets. I wasn’t going for a huge desert table due to being at a park and time constraints.

I am lucky to have such a great friend in Linda from Bubble and Sweet in offering to make his cake and other little treats. In this case we trusted her in making a fantastic cake creation and all the kids were fascinated by what she made. The kids (and adults) loved the ant creation on top of the cake. We tend to help each other out with kids parties by swapping our services, which helps everybody.

My main focus in creating any party including this one that it shouldn’t have to be an expensive event. Use what you already have around the house first. For example I was able to use the hessian from Tahlin’s 3rd Birthday and all the gift bags that have been sitting around for a couple of years and other items from previous parties.

Recycling things before spending a lot of money at party stores. You can be amazed at what you can find and re-use over and over again. I even approached IKEA after noticing a friend carrying a free cardboard carry holder. As I needed 20 holders, I didn’t just want to walk out with them, so I asked them if I could purchase them. I was lucky to find out that I only needed to pay 20 cent for the whole lot!
Guests were able to take them home and I’m sure that they would be used again. I have kept a few for myself to make up gift picnic hampers for friends.

Overall the day was a great and enjoyable day. The weather was perfect and it was a perfect family day out for the parents and children. Tahlin enjoyed himself a lot, which is the main focus in creating this party.

Vendor’s Credits:

• Daneve from Ah-Tissue
• Darren from Kish Photography & Design
• Carol from Creatively Bespoke Weddings & Events
• Linda from Bubble and Sweet