My eldest is six-years-old… my mommy heart cannot handle how fast this child has grown before my eyes!

This year we finally had the opportunity to throw her an in-person celebration after the past two years having cancelled her fourth birthday party days before the hard lockdown and last year, having had a drive-by party. So this year, was a BIG blessing to be able to host her closest friends and have her grandparents join in on the fun of celebrating her sixth birthday!

The theme request was MERMAID and I loved running with this theme!

The incredible Polka Dot Company jumped on board once again to help set up this INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL celebration and I knew having worked with them on Charlie’s first birthday last year, that it would not only surpass our wildest dreams but it would be effortless for us and run seamlessly! And that it was!

Here’s a peek at her special day along with the incredible service providers we worked with to make this party all that it was made to be…

THE VENUE
A venue that holds a special place in our hearts… a place where we’ve celebrated Maddie’s 3rd birthday, my 30th birthday and more recently Charlie’s dedication, De Charmoy Estate in Canelands (just a 10 minute drive from Umhlanga) is always our go-to for a beautiful open air, wide open spaces and secluded venue to host our special celebrations. We originally planned for Maddie’s party to be hosted on the wide open grassy lawns on the estate but on the morning of the party, the weather was threatening and spitting rain so the call was made to move the party under the Bedouin tent – a massive indoor venue option at De Charmoy Estate. I was grateful that we had an indoor option and it was such a lovely venue to have the party! It was covered, secluded and spacious. The nearby bathrooms were also great. A beautiful venue!

THE DRESSES

We’ve worked with the talented team ladies of Princess Gabi to create the girls custom made outfits. I shared my vision for Maddie’s mermaid inspired dress and they ran wild with this insanely stunning dress with a whole lot of tulle, the most beautiful purple lace, sequins and satin sleeves and a big purple bow at the back. She looked and felt absolutely beautiful and was so proud of her stunning dress! Princess Gabi truly blew us out of the water once again with their amazing talent for creating children’s party dresses! I also wanted something that would match her baby sister but in a more subtle way, so they created her a little romper with the same look and feel minus the stunning purple lace. Charlie looked super cute and the pair honestly took Brett and my breath away!

DECOR

We had the honour in working alongside boutique event design and styling company based here in Durban, Polka Dot Company once again on Maddie’s party. We worked with Nicky and her team last year October for Charlottle’s first birthday and they were such a pleasure to work with! Nicky takes care of everything from coming up with decor ideas to running with sourcing items and decor, setting up and breaking down. It honestly takes all the fuss out of party planning because Nicky thinks of EVERYTHING and plans according to your needs and desires. Setting up a party can be extremely exhausting and stressful. I have had incidences in the past where after setting up a party – I am hot, sweaty and totally feeling unpresentable with guests arriving to a smelly mom with smudged make up and frizzy hair – haha! I am sure you can relate?

Nicky ran with a beautiful pastel pink, blue and purple colour palate with accents of shimmering metallics. The amazing Taryn of Mad Hatters Party Shop who is an absolute wizard with balloons! She has previously done parties for Maddie, myself and Charlotte and is no stranger to my page. Taryn came through on the morning of the party to set up a beautiful assortment of balloons including a mermaid tail over the mail table.

Nicky set a long table for the kiddies to sit and enjoy the party at which included pretty tulle skirts, a bubblegum milkshake with stunning labels which she attached to the milkshakes. Each kid had their own place setting with a plate, napkin and cup.

We created a sweetie cart for the kiddies to dish up sweets out of an assortment of jars which is always a hit and the various sized plinths homed the cake, cupcakes, cookies and a stunning assortment of flowers which were also spread along the kiddies table with beautiful wooden mermaid tail cut outs.

TM Signs supplied the beautiful marquee lights for the party which spelt Maddie’s name as well as a number 6. They really stood out beautifully and gave some needed light under the marquee.

CAKE
Our go-to baker is Vanessa at Glenore Spar. I sent her an image as inspiration and she ran with the cake. A beautiful two tier mermaid themed cake in a bubblegum sponge… it tasted as good as it looked too! The attention to detail was impeccable and suited the theme so beautifully!

Vanessa also baked cupcakes which I added small ice-cream cones to with mermaid tails which I cut with my Cricut Maker 3.

COOKIES
Another local business that you would have seen regularly on my page having made cookies for Maddie’s 5th birthday and Charlie’s 1st birthday, Hustle & Heart Cookie Studio created an assortment of beautiful mermaid themed cookies for the party. Kirsty once again surpassed our expectations with incredible designs with so much detail and skill! She’s truly an incredible baker!

FOOD
Since the party was Mermaid themed – we went with sushi for the adults to enjoy.

SLIME MAKING
The craze that every kid can’t get enough of at the moment… slime! Our friends over at Dream Jelly set up an incredible slime station for the kids to enjoy! Lana, the passionate and talented mom boss behind the brand based in Durban, came through to the party herself to talk through the activity with the kids which included an ‘ice-cream’ like station where the kids were scooped six different themed slimes into their six part containers. Each slime a different colour and consistency allowed the kids to get creative with decorating their slime with bits and bobs like glitter, beads and sequins. Needless to say the kids had the best time lining up with their containers to be dished their slime! It was incredibly exciting for them all and they loved the sensory aspect of playing with the slime in their hands and stretching it to make long strings of slime. Each kid went home with their box of slime which they got to decorate with under the sea themed stickers and were given strict instructions on how to ‘safely’ play with their slime at home and were given a bottle of activator. Such fun and highly recommended as a super fun and interactive activity for a party!

COOKIE DECORATING

Something Maddie absolutely loves to do and has been a part of her party (and her sister’s last year) is Hustle & Heart Cookie Studio‘s DIY cookie decorating kits for the kids. Included in each kid’s box was four cookies as well as four icing bags to ice and decorate their own cookies and further dress up with sprinkles. Always a hit with the kids as they get creative decorating with messy hands, tasting the icing and of course, eating their final products. The boxes also serve as a takeaway which I personalised with each child’s name with vinyl stickers which I cut using my Cricut Maker 3.

PARTY FAVOURS

I was fortunate enough to come across Chalkies side walk chalk’s brand new addition of sea shell themed chalk the week before Maddie’s party and they were able to create a box for each child who attended Maddie’s party. I have featured Chalkies before on my Instagram page (see post here) and I love how these non-toxic pieces of beautifully handmade chalk pieces allow kids to be creative on their driveways. After the party I had so many of the moms WhatsApp me to tell me how much their kids loved the chalk and spent the afternoon drawing on the driveway!

I also used my Cricut to add thank you labels to the party favours. My Cricut cut the circular tag out of card stock and the machine wrote on the card, I also used vinyl to add a seashell to the tag. I think they came out beautifully and were so easy to make!

SLIP & SLIDE

To end off the party’s festivities, the kids put on their costumes and enjoyed a slip and slide. A great highlight for the kids! I can still hear their laughter and excitement as they came sliding down with foam all over their faces! Even Charlie mouse enjoyed the fun!

Happiest heart celebrating our Maddie! All her sixth birthday party dreams came true and she ended the party saying ‘BEST PARTY EVER!’

Service providers:

DRESS & ROMPER: Princess Gabi | princessgabi.co.za/ | https://www.facebook.com/princessgabiclothing/ | @princess_gabi_clothing

VENUE: De Charmoy Estate | www.decharmoy.co.za/ |www.instagram.com/decharmoyestate/

DECOR & SET UP: The Polka Dot Company | @thepolkadotcompany | nicky@thepolkadotcompany.co.za

BALLOONS: Mad Hatters Party Shop | madhattersballito.co.za/| http://www.facebook.com/Mad-Hatters-Party-Shop-Ballito | @madhatterspartyshopballito |

LIGHTBOX: TM Signs | https://www.tmsigns.co.za/ | http://www.facebook.com/tmsigns.co.za/ | @tmsignskzn

CAKE: Vanessa of Kalamaty Jane Cakes | @kalamatyjanecakes | kalamatyjane@gmail.com

BISCUITS: Hustle & Heart Cookie Studio | https://www.facebook.com/hustleandheart.cookiestudio | @hustleandheart.cookiestudio

SUSHI: Glenore SPAR | https://www.glenorekwikspar.co.za/

SLIME PARTY: Dream Jelly | @dreamjelly_sa | https://dreamjelly.co.za/

SLIP & SLIDE: Tony Miller | https://www.tonymiller.co.za/

PARTY FAVOURS: Chalkies | https://chalkies.co.za/ | https://www.instagram.com/chalkiesza/

STATIONERY: Cricut | https://cricut.africa/ | https://www.instagram.com/cricutsouthafrica/

PHOTOGRAPHS: Karen Mackridge Photography | http://www.karenmackridgephotography.co.za/ & Polka Dot Company | @thepolkadotcompany | nicky@thepolkadotcompany.co.za

You can watch a video of her special day on my IG page…