I am really enjoying work at the moment. My daughters playgroup are organising their 30th birthday celebrations and I have been called upon to supply bunting, balloons and all sorts of party bag fillers – just the sort of thing I thrive on! I will be in need of some mighty lung power on the day though with 100 mini foil balloons to inflate ready to sell on their behalf. It has been lovely to help them make this event happen, and I hope for all involved it proves to be a huge success!
I don’t know about you, but when money is a bit tight I find myself planning ahead and budgeting. With Father’s Day the next big money expense (apart from the usual bills of course!) I knew I needed to come up with something soon. My dad has everything he wants, has few hobbies, wears his clothes/footwear until they are falling apart etc so any present buying is a nightmare that usually results in sweets and something he will never use.
Then I had an invitation from The Star Almanac – I had previously ‘bought a star’ for my husbands 30th birthday and when they mentioned they wanted a representative in the UK and would I be interested I jumped at the chance. They were offering a more affordable way of naming a star than the one I had splashed out on all those years ago and I knew other dads would be as thrilled as my husband was when he received his gift.
Now as the official deputy registrar in the UK I am happy to be able to offer the same amazing gift at a fantastic price to my customers, and the best bit is there are so many stars up their without a name that we will never run out!
Please take a look at our example star certificate – your star name will have a place in history, making this a truly unique and thoughtful gift.
While everyone is wondering how their loved ones/colleagues/neighbours are going to get home from their Easter break, I am wondering how to keep my customers happy. This erupting volcano in Iceland has caused disruption up and down the country (and abroad too) yet the news seems to have not noticed how small businesses are also being impacted.
To be honest it hadn’t occurred to me that there would be any problem at first, I don’t know why really as I get a large percentage of orders from the USA. It wasn’t until I needed to send an urgent parcel to Cumbria (a journey of around two hours) that I found out how the postal services had been disrupted. Royal Mail were no longer guaranteeing their special delivery service and this could mean my urgent parcel wouldn’t arrive on time. Well sure enough despite the fact that I honestly couldn’t see how my parcel would require the services of an aeroplane to make that trip, when I checked the tracking online it had been held over until Monday.
So how do you keep customers happy when a Volcano erupting in Iceland disrupts the daily running of your business? I immediately posted a note on our website and I can certainly see the impact of it – orders from outside of the UK have ceased and as a large proportion of our orders are time sensitive even those have dwindled.
Frustrated and a little bit angry I responded to a post on facebook about the extension of the no fly period. I felt a little better and carried on with other things. Then earlier today the phone rang. The local radio station wanted to interview me as everyone had been focussing on stranded holiday makers and they thought I had a different angle which was newsworthy. I duly gave my business focussed answers and it will hopefully be aired tomorrow on the breakfast show. I will try to post the link if it is available online so you can have a listen.
Perhaps this is the silver lining to my great big cloud (of ash!)
We have finally got our Christmas tree up – it is so hard to find time around all the christmas parties, events and school runs. It is a bit sad to see my work things being banished to my stock room, but at least the house finally looks reasonably tidy and ready for the chaos that is Christmas Day.
the easy way to hang your party balloons
I finally tried out the balloon hangers- we were looking for a way to fix a garland in swags to our wall and didn’t think drawing pins would hold it so I suggested using the corner balloon hangers. We put the garland through the centre balloon holder and then added two of our Christmas latex balloons to the other two and it looks pretty good. Was really easy to do as well – will definately be using them next time!
We have also put up one of the Christmas ceiling decorations – the santa and snowmen one. These are a fun way to decorate any room and the kids love it (grab them while they are reduced- only £5.56 in our sale).
Thursday and Friday sees me messing about with balloons for the school and playgroup Christmas parties. I love to help the school in any way I can and I think the idea of a party for each class is lovely. Helium filled balloons all round!
We don’t have a New Year party but if we did I would definately have one of these banners up – I have had them out on display at recent events and they are fantastic! Team them up with the giant blowouts and this kiss me at midnight badge and your party will go with a bang!
We are closing for the holidays soon, last posting day is Monday 21st December and with the winter sale in full swing now is the best time to place your last minute orders. Whatever you are doing this festive season, everyone at Party Sprite would like to wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.
Do you look forward to the school nativity, or are you filled with dread at how to create the perfect costume for your little sheep or angel? I had my first experience of pre nativity stress last year when my eldest was chosen to be a star. I had ideas of card and glitter/tinsel combinations, but Christmas is the start of my really busy season workwise so I had no time to create anything amazing. Fortunately a fellow mum mentioned a shop that had some basic costumes in. We hot footed it down and bought one which I customised later.
Cow Costume from While Shepherds Watched
I wish I could have had something a bit more special for her though, they only do nativity for three years at our school and it would have been nice to have made the most of her first time on stage. Well for this year I have the perfect website up my sleeve and am happy to share it with all the other busy mums out there. This lady produces the most amazing nativity costumes – so much so that she gets very busy very quickly which is why I am sharing this with you now. With first class delivery being included in the price it is certainly well worth a look! My particular fave is this funky cow costume, available in sizes 3 to 5 years and 4 to 7 years. The fabric is soft making it a hit with the wearer, and the outfit is finished off with ears, horns and a long tail.
I am just waiting to hear what role my daughter has and then I will be hotfooting it to While Shepherds Watched!
With the postal workers continuing with their strike action we have been looking closely at ways of offering a reliable and quick delivery service that is still affordable for our customers. When you are planning a party you need to make sure your tableware and decorations arrive in time, don’t you? This is why we have decided to send all orders over £5 via our courier service at no extra cost to our customers. If your order is below £5 and you need it urgently we would advise you to select special delivery at checkout as this is the only service with Royal Mail that seems to be arriving on time through the strikes.
So, what else is new at Party Sprite? Well we have been getting ready for the party season with some fantastic Christmas and New Year party decorations. With everything from balloons to banners and bubbles we really have everything you need for a party, whether it is a family gathering or an office party! Our favourite is this cute penguin supershape balloon which kids will love. We are looking at more stock now so keep checking back.
Hands up if you find hanging balloons for a party a bit of a nightmare?
Wouldn’t it be easier if there was something that you could use instead of fiddling with cotton and drawing pins whilst balancing on a chair to reach the ceiling?
This is the answer, these amazing balloon hangers allow you to form clusters of either three (for a corner) or up to eight balloons (for a ceiling centrepiece) with ease, and then attach them with either a drawing pin or mounting putty.
Normal price is £1.75 but for a limited time each pack (containing four corner hangers and two ceiling hangers) is only 99p
Has it really been over a month since I last blogged on here? That shows how much Coochie Cou is taking over my time. That doesn’t mean however that I haven’t been thinking of Party Sprite and my customers, in fact we attended the Home and Gift Fair in Harrogate recently looking for new lines and actually came back with lots of ideas for party bag fillers as well as some new lines we are hoping to bring in before Christmas.
So exciting things are happening in the Party Sprite camp, and with all the events we have booked in for the run up to Christmas (yes I said that word) we hope to have them all in place in time for you to treat yourself.
In the meantime, all your old favourites are still available from our new domain http://www.partysprite.co.uk – don’t forget if you don’t see what you want just get in touch. We will have a new competition running soon too, posted first on here of course!
Have fun with your parties
Cari xxx
Have you visited the website recently? Well, you may be a little thrown – we have recently moved the retail site to it’s proper domain, creating a lot of headaches along the way. So Party Sprite is now officially on http://www.partysprite.co.uk (I know, makes sense doesn’t it!)
This means our old website on http://www.thedalespartycompany.co.uk is still there but is being transformed into our wholesale site. We will also be adding a corporate website as soon as time allows – last few weeks of term means less work time, more mummy time!
Stock wise we are pleased to have a new range of fantastic party boxes in both plain and patterned options. These are great as an alternative to traditional party bags or you could use them as little lunch boxes for your guests. We will be looking to expand the range soon.
Sling Your Baby – The Benefits of Babywearing
When I talked to a friend the other day about “babywearing” she was completely confused as to what I meant – she thought perhaps I was suggesting she use her little darling as a hat.
However, when renowned paediatrician, Dr William Sears invented the term babywearing in the 1980s, I’m fairly sure he meant it to mean “all the methods of carrying a baby”, and not “wearing babies as a fashion accessory” (at least we hope so!)
In all fairness to the human race, Dr Sears only came up with the name for something that had been going on since… well, since the first human mummy stood up, looked around and said, “Now, where did I put Baby?” Even before that, our simian ancestors did (and still do) carry their offspring in a variety of ways attached to the fur of different parts of their bodies.
Humans around the world have been carrying their offspring for several millennia BPT (before Phil and Ted) and anything that has been going that long is subject to local diversity, so it’s not surprising to find a variety of methods.
Of course, in less developed countries it is still regarded as the best way of getting your kids around before they can keep up, so you will find African, Asian and South American varieties. It even used to be popular in the “developed” west before the Georgian and Victorian aristocracy persuaded everyone that children should be kept as far away from their parents as possible, handing them to nannies to be genteelly wheeled around in their wonderful little perambulators.
As well as the name, Dr Sears came up with some other interesting facts, for instance, did you know that carrying your baby upright can reduce the effects of colic and reflux – definitely worth considering if you have a colicky baby (and if you do, you will try anything…I did!). Babies who are carried learn more quickly, as they spend their time being involved in your world, not just watching, but participating; developing a brain that is learning to learn.
Some people suggest that having your baby in a sling will make him clingy. Doesn’t it? Exactly the opposite, actually. Your baby will become more emotionally secure and independent as he knows you are around as a safe base from which to explore.
Need I go on? Well, if us mums are permitted a bit of selfishness, there are always the extra calories you burn by carrying your baby, and the way you can breastfeed discreetly, and the general snugly cuddles you both get to enjoy, which stimulate your new-mum hormones, and can help to reduce the likelihood and severity of post-natal depression. What do you do to get your baby off to sleep in a pram? You rock him and talk to him to simulate the motion and closeness of your own body.
Now who’s starting to look more “developed”?
There are a huge variety of baby carriers around, and every “Babywearer” has their own personal favourite, although some people switch between different styles.
My own favourite is the Mei Tai baby carrier, which is basically a square of fabric with straps at each corner. Because of its simple design it can be used in a variety of different positions. Simply put though, the bottom straps are tied around your waist, and the top straps go over your shoulders and wrap around you, and are then knotted, securely strapping your baby to your body.
So, are they easy to use? Surely they can’t be as convenient as a pushchair?
Yes, they are very easy – you can go up stairs, through narrow doorways or for a pleasant summer walk. And you don’t have to push an empty one round town when junior decides he would rather walk. Not only that, but they’re light and fold up small – can you get a pushchair in your handbag? More importantly, can you afford a pushchair to go with every outfit!?
But, your husband wouldn’t be seen dead in one? Well, men with babies are very attractive – remember that Athena poster; and Brad Pitt has carried baby Shiloh in one, so how can he possibly object?
Having said all that, the main benefit for me, at least to start with, was that I regained the use of my hands after months of trying to make lunch, hoover, iron and just about anything else you care to think of, all whilst holding on to my dear son. So, slings, carriers, mei tais, call them whatever you like, are starting to sound like a good idea, aren’t they? I have to admit, I got in to babywearing through necessity rather than choice, but I do love it, and so does my now rather chunky 26 month old son. The only difficulty now is choosing which fabric for the next one…
Claire Willis, is mum to two children, and the owner of SnugBaby. After the birth of her second son, she discovered babywearing and, decided to design and make her own brand of baby slings, which she now sells through her website, www.snugbaby.co.uk.
Name a Star Gift
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