Friends Do Not Always Equal Clients

You might think that when you have a super fancy party planning business, all of your family and friends would be knocking down your door, begging for your assistance. You might think that I surround myself with people who looooove over the top parties and want in on all that action. Turns out, I don't. Everyone I know does perfectly normal birthday parties, perhaps they're even a bit old school. You know, pizza/cake/presents/see you later. I'm not judgey, I love any kind of party. But these types of parties don't exactly need Aunt Shannon skipping around with her paper straws, etsy decorations and intricate cake pops, know what I mean? 

So when my pal Sarah asked for some help for her son's first birthday party through one of my Get Party Prepped email packages, I was for sure on-board. Sarah is a super busy mom of two dudes, she works full time and manages to get her shit done. She always has great ideas & intentions but admittedly lacks the follow-through to make it all happen. I knew, when designing her package, that it couldn't be insane with details because I knew she wouldn't have the time to get them done. 

After she gave me the thumbs up on the party package, I told her that I'd whip up a few decorations and arrive early to help her set up. So, with my two dudes in tow, we arrived early and got busy setting up everything Sarah hauled with her to the party location, a university gym. (Which is hands-down the best place for a toddler party EVER. I've never seen more tired children at the end.) Anyway, the staff had confused her date so nothing was set up the way she wanted. We made do. And even though things might not have exactly matched the ideas I had in my head, I think it turned out really cute. And since Sarah is my pal, I got permission to share the goods.

First up is a few ideas I put together for her...

Cute right? My favorite ideas were mimicking the gym floor with cheap laminate flooring and lots of black and white referee stripes. In my party packages, I always mock up food & drink displays exactly how I would do them myself.

A few of the ideas did come to life...

Guys, I need an Engineer Print 12 Step program. Obsessed I tell you.

Need a custom "chalkboard" sign? I can design it and email to you to print at Staples. Email me for deets! Bottlepopparty at gmail.com

 Here's the birthday crew!

Baby basketball team!

This thing was pretty legit.

Remember these things? (If you're elderly like myself?)

PVC tubes make for the best playthings.

So this just goes to show that 1) this party was fun for all ages 2) you don't need every Pinterest detail to make a party a bit extra cute, just a few ;) and 3) I appreciate when my friends want to support my business even though they may not be party insane like myself. That is all.