Memories, my mum and Malory Towers

Hi there everyone,

If you read my previous blog you will know that my daughter has just turned 8 (with a massive party to boot!). For Christmas she got the full set of Enid Blyton's Malory Towers books. We have started to read these books.

I have to say that reading these books to her has brought back so many memories for me. I remember my mum reading these books to me as an 8 year old and then I remember reading them myself again and again. I thought I had forgotten all the story lines but it's amazing how they're all flooding back to me as I read them to my little girl. The characters are great and the story lines engaging. There is even additional books now written by Pamela Cox in 2009. These follow the adventures of Darryl's sister Felicity at Malory Towers. Having never read these I am looking forward to getting to this part of the series and judging by the way we are whipping through the books it won't be long before we get there.

The front cover illustration has changed from when I was a girl but the stories are just the same! If you have a little girl then I can totally recommend these books.

Reading Malory Towers got me thinking about how history does really repeat itself. My mum read them to me and now I'm reading them to my daughter. I wonder if when my little girl becomes a mum herself she will read them to her children. I really hope she does.

If, like mine, your mum deserves a special treat this Mothers Day then coming soon Life's A Celebration will have some gorgeous Mothers Day bags.

Maxine
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Obstacles!

Well my daughter turned 8 the other day and she's having a big disco party tomorrow. There's going to be 23 kids at the party and I'll be doing the entertainment (obviously!). I have new and improved disco moves (oh yes embarassing mum here I come) and I can Gangnam Style with the best of  'em!

It has been decided that rather then do the usual party tea we would just order take away pizzas instead.

My face painter friend is also coming along to face paint!

 

All seems reasonably straightforward and stress free wouldn't you think?

As a parent I think one of the most stressful things in our lives is children's parties. The organisation and planning that goes into them is military. Even for me! I mean I run my own party business, I have an office stacked with party supplies, I entertain at lots of children's parties and even I have been getting a bit stressed about the whole thing!

Let me explain! Until today nothing and I mean nothing has gone right with this party planning. I have bought a new PA system and thought that my own child's party would be the perfect opportunity to learn how to use. Better then having technical glitches at a paying customer's party. However the kit arrived from Germany so I needed an adaptor to run it through the UK electricity sytem. Then the cable that arrived to link the system to my laptop was the wrong one so a new one had to be ordered.

I bought new disco lights which duly arrived with no power cable! Aarrrgghhh!

You would think that all of these issues would be easily resolved. Just jump in the car and get to the shops! Well think again because the snow arrived!! My daughter's school was closed for a few days. I couldn't get the car off my driveway and everything in the town in which we live ground to a halt.

I'd only cleared this the night before. But forget the snow - look how filthy my car is!

I couldn't get into my office because even though all the roads were cleared, the car parks in the town centre weren't, which meant I couldn't get into the office to collect my back-up PA system, my back up disco lights and all the goodies for party bags. Nightmare! In a panic I had to buy party bag goodies, balloons, plates, cups etc from a shop!! I know - pay full price for things that I have in ready supply in my own office!! What was even more worrying was if I couldn't get into the office then I couldn't get Fergal the Sharkey my party mascot!

 

All the kids love Fergal

 

 

Anyway today at the 11th hour everything seems to have come together nicely. I have a PA system, I have a microphone (I was fearful I was going to have to shout out all the dance moves!), I have filled party bags and I have disco lights. I even made it into the office and have picked up Fergal - phew. We are now all systems go.

The only thing that has gone right with the entire ordeal is the cake. This has been made by the fabulous Sara's Kitchen. Take a look at the awesome disco fever cake on Sara's Kitchen's Facebook page! I am so grateful to Sara for making this the one stress free thing in this whole experience.

So if this whole experience has taught me one thing. It's how resourceful I actually am! So if you want a stress free children's party why not get in touch with Life's A Celebration and we will get it organised for you.

 

I'll report back and let you know how the party goes!

 

Maxine

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We've moved

Hello everybody,

I am happy to report that Life's A Celebration has moved into swanky new premises. We needed more space and so on 1st December we moved into 2-4 Wesley Street, Consett.

We've moved into the new premises with 3 fabulous other businesses. So I am now proud to announce that we now share our wonderful new offices with Silver Birch Designs, KittyBeth and Sara's Kitchen. These businesses all work tirelessly within the weddings and events industry and are run by 3 fabulous ladies.

We have a great range of wedding and party products and have links to many other wedding related businesses. So if you're local then why not pop in and see us or book a skype call with me and I'll give you a virtual tour.
 
To celebrate the office move we've slashed the prices of our Princess party boxes. So if you have a little princess that will be celebrating a birthday very soon then all you need is a Princess Party Box. Everything you need to celebrate, from plates to party bags, is sent out to your door - perfectly simple! Although the adverse weather at the moment is delaying things slightly!

Princess party boxes with plates, cups, napkins, tablecovers, table confetti, banners, balloons and filled party bags. Phew!

Life's A Celebration will have some MASSIVE developments throughout 2013. We have very exciting new products that will be announced soon and we will also be launching a shiny new website too. New products will include a bigger range of children's party boxes with a new Moshi Monsters party box and Peppa Pig party box, a bigger range of milestone parties including an 80s party box, a bigger range of wedding activity bags and loads more! If you want to know more about any of these products then get in touch! You know me - always happy to chat parties with you!

So if you have a celebration coming up in 2013 then get in touch! We all know that organising an event can be stressful - we're here to help!
 
See you soon
 
Maxine
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