Perfect props: Take your seats

For the most part of your child's party, your little guests are running around excitedly, testing out sweets from the sweetie table or perhaps making a bracelet at the bead bar. But once they're done with all that, they need to rest their weary legs, even if it's not for very long! You wouldn't think that a simple chair and the way it is styled could make such a difference to the look of your party, but read on to see some of the things you can do...

At Les Enfants, we often jazz up chairs with aspects from the party theme and set them at tiny tables for the smaller guests. For example, we decorated some simple white chairs with records that said the birthday girl and boy's names for a Grease themed party.

Grease is the word on these chairs

And even tying something like simple turquoise ribbons on the backs of white chairs creates a whole new, elegant look. Meanwhile, tying balloons in your colour scheme can brighten up a table of chairs and looks magical like it did at this rainbow themed party. 

Sitting pretty

But recently, we've got some new chairs in and they are so cute, we have to admit we're in love! They have an adorable, almost vintage feel and come in white and a pretty pastel pink. And if you like them as much as we do, you can now hire them from Little Party Hire!

The new colours mean you could alternate the chairs to give a  more colourful look for your party. Whether you do alternate pink and white chairs, or have some white tables and some pink tables, or even just hire all white chairs, but with a pastel pink for the birthday girl! It's such a simple thing, but really effective and can help pull your theme together.

Sitting comfortably

                         Fancy seating some guests in style? Contact us here to plan a party. 

Party like a prince!

It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming Prince George to the world and suddenly, his first birthday has crept up on us. A feeling a lot of parents will know all to well! 

To commemorate his first birthday on 22nd July 2014, the Royal Mint have released a £5 coin in Prince George's honour. But we've gone one step further, and we've mocked up a whole party on behalf of the prince.
Like the rest of the nation, we often covet Kate Middleton's style and when she was in New Zealand recently, we ogled over her clothes, and Prince George's too. Kate tends to go for a simple and elegant style and Prince George follows suit. So, when we started to imagine Prince George's first birthday, we knew it would be an elegant and stylish affair... 

The Les Enfants take on the royal celebration*

To create an elegant look, we chose a soft colour palette of pastel blues, whites and milky yellows. The theme came to life with large balloons - a very popular option right now - complete with tassels and pom poms, to help create that party atmosphere.

We know kids love a sweetie table and they are great because the colours can be tailored to any theme. We chose white and pastel blue jelly beans, small pastel cupcakes and our personal favourite pieces, royal cake pops! The pale blue cake pops gave a nod to the prince as they were emblazoned with crowns, as were the macaroons - another party favourite right now. 

We had great fun styling the playful royal party, and even had a gorgeous Prince George look-a-like come along to enjoy the party with some friends. We only hope Prince George's real birthday party is as much fun.

Happy Birthday Prince George! 

*Photography by Danielle Owen, visit: www.danielleowenphotography.co.uk

Want to throw a party for your own little prince or princess? Contact us here. 

Fantastic themes: Red Fire Trucks

It's not just us who get excited by planning bespoke birthday parties. Over in the States, gorgeous parties are just as popular as they are here. We spoke to Samantha Spector, Event Planner and Designer from Milk and Honey party planning in the US, about how they recently themed a first birthday party. To say we're inspired is an understatement..

"Maybe it’s the whimsical themes and color schemes, the exciting milestone or the adorable guests of honor, but when it comes to planning first birthday parties, nothing really compares.

Christian’s first birthday was no exception. The party took place at one of San Francisco’s most gorgeous outdoor venues, Crissy Field. And in terms of the city’s unpredictable weather patterns, it turned out to be a lucky day!

The Golden Gate Bridge was a perfect backdrop, the reddish color of the bridge went perfectly with our red, light blue, light grey and white color scheme. The theme of the day was red trucks and we incorporated a chevron motif into the décor as well.

Iconic. Could you ask for a more suitable backdrop?

The dessert bar was the main focal point of the party, featuring a gorgeous chevron two-tier birthday cake with a big red truck on top. Sugar cookies in the form of red fire trucks and blue and grey number ones decorated the dessert bar and picnic tables, and finally, an assortment of red candy topped it off.

Treat yourself to a dessert

The light blue checkered linens were a perfect twist on the classic picnic design. We had red plates, light blue utensils and food labels that went with the theme. Cupcake toppers completed the cakes and even the focaccia sandwiches we served, too. We stuck with picnic friendly foods that were filling enough for a lunchtime party; sandwiches, salads, skewers and a large cheese and cracker spread. 

Decorations included custom made birthday banners, tissue pinwheels, oversized round balloons and white hydrangeas in tiny buckets.

Since the guests included many kids in a range of ages, we needed to have entertainment to suit everyone. Enzo, one of San Francisco’s favorite kids’ entertainers, came and played an array of instruments to accompany his songs. The kids played on grey chevron picnic blankets while he performed and played with an assortment of toys including a tent that looked like a red truck, a light blue inflatable pool filled with balls and plastic truck toys. The goodie bags (or favours as well call them) included “Red Truck” board books and white lamb rattles for the tiniest guests.

Judging from the exhausted kids at the end of the party (baby Christian climbed into another kid’s buggy to fall asleep), it was a success!

The gorgeous birthday boy 

How did we do it?
Planning & Design – Milk & Honey Special Events, http://www.milkandhoneyspecialevents.com
Photography – Katie Rain Photography, http://www.katierainphotography.com/
Cake – Baked Love, http://www.sfbakedlove.com/
Red truck cake topper – AfterHoursCakery,https://www.etsy.com/shop/AfterHoursCakery
Linens – La Tavola, xhttp://linens.latavolalinen.com
Rentals –SF Party Rentals, http://www.sfparty.com/
Custom made banners, food labels and sandwhich toppers – LolosBoutique, https://www.etsy.com/shop/LolosBoutique
Red candy – Sweet City Candy, http://www.sweetcitycandy.com/
Custom made sugar cookies – Decorated Desserts, https://www.etsy.com/shop/DecoratedDesserts?ref=l2-shopheader-name
Flower arrangements – Milk & Honey Special Events, http://www.milkandhoneyspecialevents.com/
Entertainment – Enzo Garcia, http://www.enzogarcia.com/
Food – BiRite Catering, http://www.biritemarket.com/catering/

Not living State side? Don't worry, we can help you out if you've been inspired.

Party time: Personalised perfection

Initials look cute on party products

Whether you're celebrating a birthday, baby shower, bar mitzvah or a Christening, it's always nice to put your own stamp on things. And nowadays, there are lots of ways to personalise your party. Not only can you choose your own theme or colour scheme, to suit your taste, you can also add initials and even names to plenty of party products to give them a unique twist. 


We love these party packs made for a Christening with the guest of honour's initial on. We also personalised sweet boxes and paper napkin rings for this particular celebration. Not only do they look stylish, they're the perfect way to make a party your own.
You might also be keen to use your child's name on some of the party products, whether it's chocolate wrappers, a back drop or the food boxes. We had these bespoke milk boxes made with the birthday girl and boy's names on. It's small touches like this, that really make a party unique. And when the guests found they were full of yummy sweets, they loved them too.

For this particular party, we didn't stop there, we also had bespoke food boxes made for our tiny guests to eat from. We think you'll agree they look gorgeous. And it's exciting for the birthday girl or boy to see their name on lots of the party products, as well as being a great keepsake to show them when they're older. 

Personalised and packed with yummy sweets

             

French fries anyone?

Want to personalise a party for your little ones? Let us show you what we can do.