here's the low down.
1. between custom decorations, tracking the guest list, and organizing the organic toddler menu, not to mention playing party photographer + mingling with the parents while gracefully monitoring the kid action ... i have enough on my plate that day.
2. you can budget for it. get creative. think of a place that has 'built-in' entertainment i.e.: construction party at a park with a big sand pit that you can sink a ton of tonkas into .... forfeit the cost of an overpriced-per-hour party room with bad pizza, and bring an exotic animal show into your living room for an intimate and interactive [not to mention absolutely educational] live animal show complete with a crocodile and boa. been. there. done. that. make your own cupcakes so you can bring a real live fairy to the party who will TOTALLY give the girls more incredible memories while simultaneously making YOU the hero who brought in a REAL.LIVE.FAIRY. [omg.] with even the smallest budget, give + take + make it happen.
3. where to find the best prices and best services? again. get creative. last year we opted out of a party room rental and opted into the live animal show. this year, with me really working on my soccer-mom-mad-skillz ... i wanted to give the kids a wicked rad soccer party with a real.live.expert. kids love experts. they LOVE it. so do adults, but our idea of an expert soccer player might be less young rep player in an official uni, and more david beckham in his h+m underwear. ask mom-friends for referrals. check the reviews on local sites. google galore. or just contact SO entertainment.
SO entertainment boasts a variety of theme parties on the site - fairy, juggling, dance [even hip hop for little dudes!], superhero [hello cool.] and diva. all unreal party themes that suit a wide age range. they cover the entire party duration and fill it with kid-appro goodness. create a fairy wand? totes. learn new dance moves? on it. even learn how to juggle? tall order, but they'll totally teach you. but the site didn't offer soccer parties straight up. luckily, i do know the owner of the business, and reached out to her with my idea for a soccer party.
seriously? within MINUTES she had replied with a full party agenda. how much time do you want with the expert? here's the proposed party agenda - oh and send us your son's fave party music and we'll bring the custom playlist. did i mention they offered to bring all of the equipment too, including toddler sized trophies for the toddler sized guests?
you never know if you don't ask. this small biz owner clearly knows where customer service is at. she built an entirely custom party package around my theme. and the delivery? was as sweet as that over the head backwards goal that rooney scored two seasons ago for man u. youtube that shot. unreal.
a young competitive rep soccer player showed up EARLY in full uniform. she was outgoing, friendly, warm, and open to helping in any freaking way. she wanted to go over exactly what our expectations were, the order of activities, and the variety of 'drills' she was going to run with the 2-3 year olds [yes really]. this girl was EARLY [points with this mama]. she was organized and she was on it.
and she was unreal with the kids. with 15 toddlers at the park, i told her, i don't expect all 15 to participate in the warm-up, drills and mini scrimmage... we want it to be relaxed and just an awesome fun time for the ones who were feeling it.
it was literally perfection:
the soccer mom secret to party success? SO entertainment people. check them out and if you don't see your dream theme, drop them a line - they'll bring your kid's fiesta to a new level that will leave you chasing them down in the parking lot to give THEM the toddler sized trophy ;)
party on people.
-kare
xo
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