Welcome back to the Real Parties series here on Frog, Goose and Bear where we’ll be taking the ‘daunting’ out of DIY parties by interviewing fellow everyday Mums for their party planning tips and tricks. Today I am interviewing one of my all time favourite bloggers, Bron who blogs over at Maxabella Loves. Bron has 3 cute kids aged 5, 8 & 10. I first came across Bron about four years ago when we both started blogging and immediately warmed to her honest and humorous look at life and more importantly I knew I’d found a kindred spirit and like minded soul who shared my love of going just a little OTT for parties!
Bron – Maxabella Loves
How far in advance do you start planning a party?
I’d like to say “months in advance”, because that’s how long I should start planning, but generally it’s just a week or two. I do set the theme about 6 weeks ahead so we can make the invitations and I half-heartedly pin a few things around this time, but otherwise I’m motivated by the deadline! For example, my son has a “Minecraft” party on in 1 ½ weeks and I’ve done absolutely nothing so far.
What are your top 5 party planning tips?
1. Divide the party into food, games and decorations and keep a list for each.
2. Keep a ‘running schedule’ of party day – both for set up and the actual party – so you know what’s coming up next and approximately how long activities will take.
3. Select party food that you can make as far in advance as possible.
4. Remember, the activities are the most important thing – the kids are happy with a cheezel and a balloon. Oh, and a cake. You’ve gotta have a cake.
5. If you’re feeling daunted, focus on just ‘one big thing’. Every party needs something with total ‘wow’ factor and the rest can be so-so.
Out of all of the parties you’ve planned, which one was your favourite and why?
Lottie’s carnival party. It was THE MOST FUN on the day and we loved making all the decorations and food. Adding a special party dress for Lottie made her feel so special. Let’s face it, Carnival is an awesome theme.
(NB: the pics in this post are from this party)
Where do you draw your party inspiration from?
Mostly my head, but Pinterest coming along has been very helpful! I have a ‘general’ party board, but also about 10 others from various parties I’ve done over the past couple of years.
What is the next party that you are planning at your house?
As above, Max’s Minecraft party. It’s going to kill me (which is why I am procrastinating).
Thanks for having me, Em! x
Thanks so much for being a part of this series Bron!
You might be pleased to know that Bron managed to pull off an awesome minecraft party for Max. Here are the pics & details. You’ll note while you are there that it is probably the best minecraft themed birthday party that you have ever seen!
Bron has lots of other great party tips on her blog. You can find all of the wonderful parties that she has put on for her own kids here and her full of great ideas - ‘Party on Down’ series here. Bron is currently doing a series sharing other people’s parties if you’d like to check it out or share your own! As well as her blog, you can also find Bron on facebook, twitter & pinterest.
———————————————————————————–
Every fortnight on a Friday morning here at Frog Goose and Bear, I’ll be asking a different party loving Mum the same five questions and sharing their party pics. In between that I’ll be sharing photos and details from parties that I’ve been involved in recently. If you’d like to share your party tips & tricks and be interviewed as part of this series, I’d love to hear from you too!
I also know that lots of you out there have some awesome diy party ideas yourselves so, as a way of continuing to inspire each other, we’ve started posting DIY party pics on instagram under the hashtag #diypartyfun. You are welcome to re-tag older party pics on instagram or to post pics to my facebook wall and if you are not on either of those platforms and you’d still like to be involved, you can email me your diy party pics if you like. Every Monday morning, here on the blog, I’ll be posting my favourite pics that you (my lovely readers) have shared!
P.S. Did you notice that I have moved. My new blog address is now froggooseandbear.com. If you get regular updates from a feedreader such as bloglovin or feedly, you might like to go and update those now so that you don’t miss any posts! Or of course, if you’ve never done so, you are most welcome to join up and start following now!!