Planning for the North East Baby and Toddler Show

Our studio is a hive of activity and I am excited! On 16th March I will be taking myself off to The North East Baby and Toddler show. This event starts the beginning of a new year for Life's A Celebration and I'm really looking forward to meeting all the parents, parents-to-be, grandparents and other exhibitors.

We will be offering loads of freebies and special discounts on the day!

I am busy putting together 100 party bags for the first 100 people that sign up to our mailing list, organising organza bags filled with mini eggs for those people that purchase or pre-book a party box on the day.

We've got a giant baby bottle filled with Jelly Babies and whoever gets the number of Jelly Babies correct will receive a special prize!

We're also going to be offering loads of special discounts for products bought on the day too.

All in all, loads of freebies up for grabs and loads of money off too!

 

It's also been a scurry of activity getting our new business address onto our flyers. My daughter has been roped into this task! Payment will be mini eggs!

The stand that I've taken is 1m x 3m and I've also been busy designing posters to put on the booth behind me.

Here are a few of the designs. What do you think?

 

They will be sent to the printers (hopefully) today.

There are going to be loads of exhibitors at the event including my friends The Cool Rule Company and Magic Mummies.

I will be there all day and will have plenty of baby shower party boxes and birthday party boxes for the little ones. I will also be taking orders for our other products so if anybody is getting married and needs something to entertain the children on the day or if anybody has a grown up birthday party coming up.

 

I will also be personalising party bags for the kids on the day!

If you have a special event coming up and needs some friendly hints and tips then pop across and have a chat. I'm always happy to give you party ideas and will help you wherever I can.
 

I really love events like this that give businesses a chance to get out and meet some lovely families.

 

Massive thanks to my friend Carrie Dennison from Press for Design. She has worked tirelessly with me designing the stand and will be there with me for setting up the booth.

 

So if you're in the North East on 16th March then pop along to the North East Baby and Toddler Show at Newcastle Falcons, NE13 8AF and say hi!

See you there.

 

Maxine

x

Memories

We're continuing to celebrate 'Baby Month' here at Life's A Celebration and todays guest blogger is Joanna from Inspirations. Take a look at what she has to say and there's even a discount at the bottom of the blog! Love it!


My name is Joanna and I’m the owner of Inspirations, a family owned and run online gift and card shop.   

 

 

With all the technology available today, it’s easy to take photos and videos and have a record of you and your baby that way.  My dad is constantly taking photos of my two girls; he said to me he wishes he had taken more photos of us as kids.  It’s also a good idea too to record when and where the photos were taken.  Photos and videos are hugely important, but what about other ways of remembering important times?  Memory boxes are a great way to keep special things like scan photos and particularly in the first few months quite handy too, when you’re up to your eyes in nappies, tired from lack of sleep and in the full throws of baby brain they are great for keeping everything safe in one place.

 

I am a convert, I love memory boxes.  I have one which I use to keep my special mementoes in.  I have my ticket to see Swan Lake ballet, my entry ticket to see the Pyramids and all sorts of other things – each with a little story.  I don’t keep everything, just little reminders!

Both my Daughters have a treasured memories box.  They have their first shoes, first drawings, a shell from their first visit to the beach.  My eldest Daughter is 3½ and she’s started bringing things home from nursery, my favourite so far is the Olympic medals they’ve made in clay!  You see I have a ’romantic’  vision of the future, sitting with the kids snuggled by a warm fire, with a lovely mug of hot chocolate, box of chocolates (chocolate always features!) going through their boxes, telling the tales of when they were little, showing them their ‘treasures’.  The reality may be a little different, but I hope they’ll appreciate it when they’re older.

 

 

 I love gorgeous gifts and creating special handmade products, I love it when people put thought in to the gifts and cards they send, especially when they are for a special occasion.   Births, christening / naming day, first birthday and first Christmas are all special milestones.   It’s with this in mind that we aim to create a gorgeous range of handmade memory boxes, birth and christening cards which can be personalised with names and dates.  All are made to order in house and dispatched within a few days.  To complement our range of handmade products, we also stock a range of gifts including money boxes, photo frames and ornaments.

 

 

To celebrate Baby Month we’re giving everyone 10% off their order, enter the code BABYMONTH at the checkout to receive your discount.   I hope you have fun filling your box and creating memories to share together in the years to come!



Thanks Joanna - another brilliant guest blog! Don't forget that if you have got a Baby Shower coming up Life's A Celebration currently has a competition running to win a party box for 7 people. Just visit our website to enter. Good luck!

See you soon.

Maxine

It's All About The Wrapper!

We're continuing with 'Baby Month' here at Life's A Celebration and todays guest bloggers is Vicki Moore from It's All About The Wrapper. Whilst organising this blog post and being at opposite ends of the country, Vicki and I have enjoyed skype chats and I can confirm that she is a lovely, approachable lady!

Here's what she has to say about her business.

How many people do you know who love chocolate? Assuming it’s everyone, we have the perfect personalised party idea for you. Personalised chocolate bars!! With the theme of ‘baby month’ top of mind, your chocolate bars can be personalised for your baby shower, your baby’s birth announcement, baby’s christening, baby’s first birthday and every birthday party after that!

Here are some ideas for you ….. a personalised chocolate bar for each guest at your friend’s baby shower, to announce the details of your baby’s arrival, a special give-away at their christening and an idea for party bags for the next 18 years!

Once you have your idea in mind, you can choose from one of the pre-designed wrappers on our website www.itsallaboutthewrapper.co.uk, or you can send your favourite photo or image to add to a blank wrapper.

Our wrapper range includes designs in blue and pink, and more neutral ones too. And then fun ones for birthday parties – from trains, racing cars, pirates, balloons and football to horses, dinosaurs, dogs, cats, disco divas and ballerinas. You can put a message on the front and the back of the wrapper, and also have individual names on each one too.

The majority of our pre-designed wrappers are for the larger 35g bar, but we also do a smaller 10g bar which is perfect to pop a photo on.

The chocolate is delicious. It’s a Belgian recipe and is sourced within the UK. It

contains 20% milk solids and 30% cocoa solids, and is suitable for vegetarians but may contain traces of nuts.

The printing, cutting and wrapping is all done in house, so your wrapper can be as personalised as you like. At It’s All About The Wrapper we give each order the attention it deserves. Having a baby is the most precious thing in the world, and we would love to join you on your adventure.

Please take a look at our website or give us a call. We can take one of the stresses away from you, so put your feet up & have a cuppa!

If you place an order by 30th September and tell us how fabulous Life’s a Celebration is, you will get a 10% discount off your chocolates!

With love & yummy chocolate wishes

Vicki x

E: vicki@itsallaboutthewrapper.co.uk

W: www.itsallaboutthewrapper.co.uk

T: @AboutTheWrapper

P: 01483 208585

 

 

Thanks for the blog post Vicki and thanks for the 10% discount too! Don't forget that if you have a baby shower coming up that you need to organise we have a baby shower competition running until 30th September 2012. All you need to do is visit our website and join our mailing list. Good luck.

 

See you soon folks

 

Maxine

 

Baby shower elephant cupcake toppers and bunting

Hi there everybody,

 

Todays guest blogger is my good friend Poppy Lee from Papaver Designs. Papaver Designs creates luxury handmade wedding stationery and bespoke paper lanterns as well as other wedding accessories to make your big day special.

 

Every Wednesday Poppy also publishes a very popular 'Wednesday Wonder'  blog were she teaches you how to make various wonderful things. I can totally recommend you check it out.

 

I am so excited that Poppy has said she will share this weeks Wednesday Wonder on my blog. Today she's going to teach us all how to make Baby Shower elephant bunting and cupcake toppers.

Wednesday Wonder- No. 38 – Baby shower elephants, cupcake toppers and bunting

 

Hello, My name is Poppy I design bespoke Wedding Stationery and beautiful paper lanterns for all occasions. I am based here in the North East. Each week on my blog poppylee.blogspot.com I do a paper make, these can be anything from Origami cranes to tissue paper pom poms.

As a treat for featuring on the lovely Life’s a Celebration blog this week,  I am offering two Wednesday Wonders for one. Two little tutorials for you to enjoy both with free templates.

Wednesday Wonder part one – Bunting

What you will need:

 Print off template in draft mode

 Scissors

 Tissue paper

 Paper clips

Step One:

Print off the elephant template onto a4 paper in draft mode to save ink.

(to print off the template above right click on the template and open link in new tab)

Step Two:

Fold several sheets of tissue paper so that it is the same height as the elephant, you will then need to concertina fold the tissue (like a paper fan) making sure it is the same width at the elephant.

Put two paperclips on each side of the template.

 

Step Three:

Cut around the elephant template. Keep adding paperclips to the template as you’re going to keep things secure. Make sure you don’t cut at the join points, the tail and the trunk or you won’t get a paper chain.

Step Four:

Unclip the template and unfold, I got 4 elephants from 1 sheet of tissue paper. Add a little tape to the back of each chain at the trunk and tail to make a longer paper chain.

Wednesday wonder part 2 – Elephant cupcakes

 

What you will need:

v  Print off template in full colour

v  Cocktail sticks

v  Masking tape

v  Pritt stick

v  Scissors

Step One:

 

Print off the elephant template that you need from the images below

 (to print these templates off right click on the image and then click on Open Link in New Tab)

 

 

Step Two:

Cut a strip of 3 elephants and fold along the line, cut the semi-circle between the legs.

 

 

Masking tape down a cocktail stick on the inside, do this to all three.

 

Step Three:

Glue down all the of elephant strip.

Once dry, cut out each of the elephants

If you have any problems printing off the templates then get in touch with Poppy and she will email them across to you directly!

 

Thank you so much to Poppy for a fantastic Wednesday Wonder Blog. If you have a baby shower coming up then have a go at Poppy's ideas. Don't forget about Life's A Celebration's baby shower party boxes either. Everything you need to celebrate. In fact if you visit the website at the moment we're running a competition to win a Baby Shower Party Box for 7 people.

 

Maxine

x

Music for your baby!

Todays 'Baby Month' guest blogger is Neil Bankhurst from The Music Pod. Neil is a very good friend of mine and loves his music! His company The Music Pod is a recording studio in the North East of England that offers fantastic recording parties for all different kinds of occasions. Todays he's talking about music ideas for pregnant ladies and babies!

Here's what he has to say!


Music is a good thing! Here at The Music Pod our strapline is “Where Making Music is All That Matters”.

So here are some suggestions for how music can play the part in the pregnancy days and also the baby’s life too. We all know that when our kids come along it changes everything and rock stars are no different. If you’re hosting a baby shower for your friend or you’re pregnant yourself then these songs have all been written to celebrate the rock stars’ children – ideal songs to play in the background of your shower.

1) Stevie Wonder – Isn’t She Lovely? Taken from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life it celebrates the birth of his daughter, Aisha.
2) Paul Simon – St Judy’ Comet. A song written about trying to get his little baby boy to sleep.
3) John Lennon – Beautiful Boy. The song was written for Lennon's son Sean, his only child with Yoko Ono.
4) Bill Withers – Just the Two of Us. Just a nice song with a lovely sentiment!
5) Thin Lizzy – Sarah. The song was written by the band's frontman Phil Lynott and guitarist Gary Moore about Lynott's newborn daughter.
6) The Beatles – Hey Jude. Widely accepted that Paul McCartney wrote this for John Lennon’s son Julian.
7) Amy Grant – Baby Baby. Dedicated to her 6 week old daughter Millie.
8) Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle. Written for his son A.J.
9) Minnie Riperton – Lovin You. Apparently written as a distraction for her daughter Maya so she would sleep.
10) Rod Stewart – Forever Young. Written in 1988 about his children.

Here at The Music Pod we love music. Isn’t it great how a music track can take you back to a particular moment in your life?  We think that music should play an important part in any baby’s development and it is widely recognised that music and dancing can help your infant. So we say put some music on, doesn’t matter what it is, turn it up, and get everybody singing and dancing!

The Music Pod is a recording studio and rehearsal room. We can offer recording parties which are ideal for a baby shower with a difference. Get yourself together and sing a couple of tracks, have some food and a really great time. Everybody will get a CD to take home and if you choose a couple of tracks listed above it will make a great keepsake especially for the mum to be.

You can get in touch with us at info@themusicpod.co.uk or 01207 588958. Or visit our website at www.themusicpod.co.uk. You can also find us on twitter at @themusicpod or facebook at The Music Pod or Party at the Pod.

Thanks Neil - another great guest blogger as part of 'Baby Month'. If you would like to book a baby shower recording party with Neil and have all the baby shower supplies from Life's A Celebration then get in touch and together we'll get you a baby shower to remember!
Don't forget about our baby shower competition too!


Maxine

Gender reveal parties



We're still celebrating 'Baby Month' here at Life's A Celebration!
Todays guest blogger is Melissa Woodland; owner of bespoke cakery The Cake Boutique, based in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Melissa's talking about the latest craze to hit the UK - Gender Reveal Parties! There's even a cupcake recipe in here! Here's what Melissa had to say!


"When you’re expecting a baby, there are a fair few big decisions you need make. One of the most exciting is whether or not you’re going to find out the sex, and if you do, how are you going to announce it to your friends and family?
Well, there’s a new trend headed our way from across the pond that goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly popular Baby Shower phonomenon.
American parents-to-be are taking these pre-birth celebrations to a whole new level, incorporating the gender reveal into the party in a very innovative way!
Take one baby shower cake...

Credit:sweetgrace.net

Add a bit of mystery...

Credit:ebredhawk via Cake Central.com

And when the moment arrives for you to announce the sex of your unborn child, simply slice into your cake and voila! Pink for a girl and blue for a boy.

Credit: looklovesend.com

Your cake maker will have coloured either the sponge or the buttercream with pink or blue food colouring to reveal the sex!
Want to surprise yourself too? Well, if you’d like to really raise the stakes, why not find out at the same time as your guests? Simply ask your sonographer to write ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope for you to give to your caker. Then you’ll be as surprised as everyone else.
It’s a fun idea that’s guaranteed to get your guests talking.
We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite gender reveal cakes and cupcakes for you to feast your eyes upon.

Credit: Pretty Paws via CakeCentral.com

Credit: LadyinaRedApron via CakeCentral.com

Credit: Jessiccakesblog.blogspot.com

If you’d like to make your own gender reveal cupcakes, we have a quick and easy recipe for you.
Vanilla cupcakes (makes 12)
12 dark coloured or metallic cupcake cases (to ensure the colour of the sponge doesn’t show through the cases)
110g/4oz butter at room temperature
110g/4oz caster sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g/4oz self-raising flour, sieved
1-2 tbsp milk
Liquid or gel food colouring in pink or blue

Cream your butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
Add a little egg at a time and mix thoroughly.
Stir the vanilla extract in with the food colouring (a few drops at a time) until you achieve a decent shade. The colour may soften during baking.
Fold in the flour gently to avoid knocking too much air out of the mixture.
Spoon the mix into the cupcake cases as evenly as you can. They will be about half full.
Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180F for 10-15 minutes.
They won’t rise to the very top of the case – and that’s exactly what you want. You need to be able to completely envelope the sponge in buttercream so no-one gets a sneak peak!
While the cakes are cooling, beat 125g butter and 250g of sieved icing sugar together with an electric mixer until they are light in colour and creamy in texture. Add any flavour you like, then pipe a swirl on the top of each cake, ensuring all the sponge is hidden.
Add some gender neutral sprinkles, tiny question marks or rubber ducks to the top of each cake – whatever decoration suits your party theme.

And there you have it – DIY gender reveal cupcakes to wow your guests with. Enjoy."

You can find The Cake Boutique on face book and on twitter

Hope you've enjoyed Melissa's blog post and let us know if you try the recipe! If you want a chat about baby showers then get in touch. I'm always happy to discuss your requirements with you and put together a fabulous party box just for you!

Don't forget we also have our baby shower competition running until the end of September 2012. You could win a baby shower party box for 7 people - just visit our website, join our mailing list and you'll be entered. It's that simple!

Keep watching for our next baby related blog! See you soon folks.

Maxine

Baby Showers Hints and Tips

Baby Shower Hints & Tips

 

Baby Showers have joined the UK after being very popular in the US for many years.  This blog is the beginning of Baby Month here at Life’s A Celebration. We’re going to spend this month bringing you lots of lovely guest blogs posts from lots of different businesses up and down the country giving lots of advice, hints and tips on lots of different baby related matters. We hope you enjoy and look forward to getting the chance to chat with lots of you out there that have got a small person on the way or you know somebody that has and you want advice on presents, baby showers and all things in between.

Don't forget that we have a competition running at the moment - visit our website and join our mailing list for the chance to win a Baby Shower PartyBox for 7 people! We have also taken 20% off the price of our Baby Shower Party Boxes!

As you may or may not know Life’s A Celebration has added a Baby Shower Party Box to our range as we got asked by so many people for them. So here’s my thoughts on Baby Shower Hints and Tips.

 

 

1) Who organises a Baby Shower?
In my opinion anybody can organise a shower. Ideally the mum-to-bes mother or her best mate should be involved.
The shower doesn’t necessarily have to be kept a secret from the Mum to be but if it is then make sure that you liaise with everybody to ensure everybody knows it’s going to be a secret. Also if it is you that’s organising the shower make sure you speak to everyone to ensure that everybody gets invited. We all have different circles of friends and the mum to be will be no different.

 

2) When should the Baby Shower be held?
Ideally this should be in the final few months of pregnancy. Don’t leave it too late as, in my case, the baby may arrive early. Then you’ll be hosting a ‘Welcome to the World’ party instead!

 

3) Where should you host a Baby Shower?
As you may or may not know in the latter stages of pregnancy being comfortable is key. So the mum to bes own home is probably your best bet. Then she’ll have everything she needs to hand. Don’t forget that if you do this there is a clear up operation after the party as she probably won’t have the energy to do this (and you won’t be very popular!).

If the shower is to be a secret then what about the grandma to bes home. Or you could hire a room in a hotel or other kind of function room.

 

4) Present Ideas

There are loads of ideas out there of things to buy for the mum to be. Through my research and chatting to my baby shower party box customers it would seem that Gift Lists are a popular thing to do in the US but not so much here in the UK. Baby clothes are a good idea but remember that the baby doesn’t stay tiny for too long so if you decide to buy clothes for 3-9 months old bear in mind the season it will be at that point and buy clothes to reflect that. For example if the baby will be 6 months old in the winter time there’s little point buying a t-shirt and shorts set.

We have got lots of baby related blogs coming up to celebrate this being our Baby Month including some guest blogs from Baby gift providers so you might get some inspiration there too.

5) Decorations
I love decorations at a party! I gets everybody in the party mood and if you’re decorations are different then they can always provide a bit of a talking point. As part of our party boxes you’ll get all the decoration you need in fact some customers have been in touch after their showers and told me that the mum to bes have taken the decorations home and used them in the nursery.

 

 

 

6) How long should a baby shower last?
Typically baby showers last 2-3 hours. This gives you chance to enjoy the games that you’ve organised, have a bit of chat, opened all the presents and enjoyed some food and cups of tea. Obviously you can make the shower as long as you like. For smaller showers with very close friends you might want to make it longer but the time and format of a baby shower really is up to. Don’t forget though the mum to be will probably get tired easily and so don’t make the shower too long. If you would like me to send you some baby shower games ideas then just get in touch and I’ll happily send you some.

 

7) What sort of food should you serve up?
Again, this is totally up to you. Personally I would keep it light. Also as you know organising a party is stressful enough so don’t over complicate things. If you would like me to send you some light finger food recipe ideas get in touch and I’ll happily send you some. When organising the food be mindful of dietary habits, allergies and anything that pregnant women shouldn’t really be eating. Guidance has probably changed since I had my daughter nearly 8 years ago so make sure you have a look at the current guidelines on anything that pregnant ladies should be avoiding.

 

 

 

 

 

8) Should men and children be invited?
The debate on this continues to rumble on. Personally I don’t think it matters if you have men and children there but I know it is sometimes a bit of a bone of contention. You might want to check with what the general consensus is with this one when you start planning the shower just so that everybody’s on the same page as you!

 

I hope these hints and tips have really helped you. If there’s anything you think I’ve forgotten or disagree with then please add a comment below.

 

Don't forget that here at Life's A Celebration we can provide you with an entire Baby Shower in a box. Everything you need all boxed up and sent to your door and at the moment we have 20% off! It couldn't be easier! Or if you want to discuss a specific party idea you can always drop me a line!

Enter our competition and you might just win a Baby Shower Party Box!

As part of Baby Month tomorrow we have guest blogger Sarah Loveland. Sarah is a children's photographer and she's going to be offering some invaluable hints and tips on how to Capture the Perfect Photograph of your Newborn Baby.
 

Speak to you soon my friends!

 

Maxine