A NEW FRONTIER FOR EVENT STYLING

I’ve known Ery, my client, since we were young kids. And every time I get to work with friends, I am always reminded of how lucky I am.

As I’ve always said, nothing is as fulfilling as providing top-notch quality service to the people you genuinely like and admire.

So when I suggested this particular theme to my friend, it was partly done on a whim, a sort of last-minute idea that flashed before my mind. It also helped that I wanted to do something totally new. In other words, I wanted this event to be extra special for Elise, Ery’s daughter. (we also did the party of Ery’s first, Kenzo!)

After saying it, I thought I may have bitten off more than I could chew.

You see, the theme I’m talking about was abstract, simple in concept, but deceptively hard to execute on a large scale. Add to that the fact that no other stylist (to my knowledge) had ever done a theme like this. This meant that it was all up to me to fill in the “meat”, breathe life into the concept.

In other words, I was all alone on this one.

Elise’s Gems Themed Party: Truly Unique. Photos by Delightful Little Darlings by DLD!

Good thing I had help from the Party Magic team.

Meet the family! Daddy Keef, Mommy Ery, and their kids Kenzo and Elise

RULE NUMBER 1: THERE ARE NO RULES

I mentioned before in this blog that it’s always better to pick a theme that is specific in nature, rather than general. For example, it’s not recommended to do a theme based on simply “clouds”, or “kites”. It’s better if you add more “flavour” or depth into it, by doing for example, Parisian Park, or Snoopy’s street fair.

Then I go ahead and throw my own rules out the window.

So this brings me to my new rule: in event styling, there are no rules. In a world controlled by creatives, rules only last long enough for you or someone else to break them.

What I am proud of from Elise’s Gems party was two new “innovations”: the holographic “shards”, and the felt balloon garland! [Read more…]

DEFINITELY NOT YOUR RUN-OF-THE-MILL PARTY

What do you do when you want to celebrate God and Jesus in your child’s birthday but at the same time don’t want it to be too serious, boring, or that dreaded term: typical?

At this point in the conversation, the usual suggestion would be made: do a theme based on Noah’s Ark.

My client, Merianne, wanted something different though.

Welcome to Samuel’s Bible Town Party, where we celebrate the miracle of Jesus in our lives.

PARTY MAGIC’S MOST UNIQUE PARTY YET

One particular request my clients, Merianne and Jason had, was to focus on Jesus and the children, something light and happy.

In order to do this, I had our graphics team customize some artwork:

I have to say. Pat, our graphics designer has done some really neat characterizations before, but this one is really something. I love how she drew Jesus with the lovable expression, cuddling sheep!

FOCUSING ON THE SETTING

A technique I love to use in event styling is to “focus on the setting”. What I mean by that is instead of becoming too “literal” in your interpretation of a theme or character, you should look at things from the perspective of the setting: the where and the when. In writing and storytelling, the setting sets the mood and the main backdrop for the story, so why won’t it be the same for styling as well!

What’s inside Joseph’s carpentry shop? Read on to find out!

Here’s what I mean: if you wanted to create a party about Jesus, would you fill your party with Bibles, Holy Crosses, and loaves of bread? Probably not. Instead, you would probably focus on Jerusalem, a vibrant city sprawling with synagogues, souqs (the Arab market or bazaar), and whitewashed stone houses.

In particular, I found the idea of the Arab souq very appealing, which is why the stage focused on this important element in any Middle Eastern city: [Read more…]

A PARTY CENTERED AROUND AN ACTIVITY

If you have a child that’s about 3-7 years old, I’m sure that you’ve had your fill of children birthday parties. You might even consider yourself a birthday party “expert”. The bad part about that is after going to parties week in and week out, things start to get pretty old.

But what if I told you that there’s a different way of structuring your party program, centered around an activity that:

1. Is interactive (not only for kids, but for parents as well)
2. Is fun, exciting, new
3. Involves shopping
4. Teaches children the value of money, budgeting, and trade-offs

Awesome video by Lemon Three Films!

via GIPHY

Just this month, Party Magic did a truly unique concept, this time for my client Joanne and her daughter Isabeli. And the big idea is this:

WEEKEND MARKET SHOPPING

At the beginning of the party, all kids will be provided with a “starter” pouch of play money. We designed the play money for Isabeli’s party like this:

Upon entering the party, guests will notice around 4 separate, well-decorated booths that contain various items. For Isabeli’s case, we arranged a:

1. Toys and Novelty Booth
2. Pastries and Cakes Booth
3. Fresh Flowers Booth, and
4. Fruits and Veggies Booth

During the 1st half of the party, the kids are encouraged to participate in the games, as the prizes that will be given out will be more play money. Yep, that’s right. More play money = more money to spend for toys, pastries, flowers, and fruits!

But let me stop yakking for a minute and show you instead with the sweet highlight reel below, done by no other than the great Lemon Three Films:

THE GOOD THINGS

I can’t tell you enough good things about this activity. For one, there is the anticipation factor. At the beginning, kids (and their mommies) often walk around the booths, taking note of the items they’d like to “purchase”, and doing general scouting and planning. Talk about family bonding time!

Secondly, this is a highly interactive activity that teaches children basic budgeting and math skills in the process. They have fun, and learn in the process!

And third: NO NEED FOR GIVEAWAYS. Because of the amount of goodies kids get to take home, the items they purchase double up as their giveaways already.

CAVEATS

Here’s the caveat: as you might have already guessed, pulling this off requires a LOT MORE work than your usual party. For starters, you have to prepare all the items in your booths beforehand, take note of their inventory. Coordinators / staffs to man each booth need to be hired. Booths need to be set up and prepared.

But if the goal is to create an unforgettable party, isn’t all this work worth it?

Perhaps the real secret is that this is actually not a new activity at all. I conceptualized this type of activity years ago, and have been implementing this to select clientele ever since.

More details / photos from Isabeli’s Sunday Market party soon!

Love,

Michelle