Our Little Ollie’s Woodland Garden Party
I still cant believe my baby boy is three…THREE!!!
He was sooooo excited about his birthday this year. We went to his little friends Super Hero Party back in spring and it blew his mind. He was still chatting about every little detail months later.
If you’ve followed my blog for a little while, you’ll know I never need an excuse to throw a party. In fact, I think it’s one the things I’ve enjoyed most since becoming a Mum. My mum always made such a fuss of my birthday when I was growing up. I can still remember all the cool themes, the cakes and party bags. I love that it’s my turn to be the party planner now. And no matter how big or small the party, there’s nothing quite like the look on their face when they realise its all for them.
Ollie’s birthday is in July, he’s the only one in our family to be born in the summer. When I was pregnant I vowed that every year I would make the most of it by celebrating his birthday outside. A lifetime of garden parties, BBQ’s and outdoor adventures!
When I stumbled upon Pretty Little Tents on Instagram, I knew I’d hit the kids party jackpot! A stunningly beautiful Bell Tent (I’ve always wanted one) that can be hired with all of the decorations and set up for parties, glamping and more! Not only would this provide major WOW factor for little Ollie, but also the perfect back up plan should it be a little drizzly on the day.
I later found out that Pretty Little Tents is, in fact, owned and run by two of the most gorgeous ladies you will ever meet. Abi and Becky, both Mum’s themselves. Pretty Little Tents is their passion project, and exciting growing business. Not only are you able to hire the tent, but they can also have the option of hosted children’s parties too.
There are lots of themes to choose from, and they supply games, prizes and activities and entertainment for two hours on your little ones special day.
I met them for a coffee at Verzon House ahead of the party, and we connected instantly. They are so warm, bubbly and fizzing with excitement and passion for what they do….EXACTLY the kind of people you want to host your children’s party! I love them.
LOVELY ABI AND BECKY READY TO PARTY
We chatted Motherhood, Instagram and Herefordshire over coffee and Abi and Becky asked what kind of theme we would like for Ollie’s party.
…”What does he love?”…they asked?
Ollie loves Tractors, Diggers, Buses and Trains. He loves Batman and Dinosaurs, cars and bricks….But more than ANYTHING he loves an adventure.
His favourite place is the local woods, where he takes his very own picnic basket and rucksack. Always with a magnifying glass in hand, he hunts for animals and bugs. He would have you read The Gruffalo on repeat and his treasure box is full of pinecones, stones and dried up leaves he’s deemed irreplaceable.
We knew a “Woodland Theme” would make him a very happy little boy, so off we went to start planning the Woodland Party of his (and our) dreams.
I was in charge of location, invitations, cake and food. Abi and Becky went to work on everything else, including party games, activities and prizes, all woodland themed too.
Our garden is much too steep for a Bell Tent, so we held the party at beautiful Verzon House. It’s been the venue for so many special occasions like Rory’s Welcome To The World Party last year, the The Instameet, and a few precious date nights. The hotel is really beautiful, owned and run by the Chasefamily. The service is always exceptional and they go out of their way to make sure the whole event runs smoothly. The food and drink is consistently amazing and most of all, we feel really relaxed there.
Truly, it was one of my favourite days of all time. Ollie was a little overwhelmed at first, bless him, but he soon warmed up and the look on his face all day was one of pure JOY!!!
Before I go into the details of the party, where we found everything and all those important bits, you’re here for, I wanted to say a BIG BIG Thank you to my lovely friend Trisha who is responsible for the brilliant photography in this post. I had my camera, but really wanted to capture some memories on film. I knew Trisha would do a better job, brilliant talented lady that she is! I love them! You can find Trisha on Instagram HERE and her website is HERE.
We had full use of the beautiful Verzon House garden for the party. An enclosed space with views over the Malvern Hills. It’s the perfect space for children to play safely, while adults watch from the sun-drenched decked terrace.
Becky and Abi did the most wonderful job of decorating their tent in our woodland theme. It looked straight out of Pinterest with ivy, garlands, a personalised chalkboard and even Ollie’s very own thrown!!
Inside were low level tables surrounded by blankets and cushions ready for an afternoon of crafting and playing.
The activities were brilliant! Every child got to make their own woodland warrior cape, wear it and take it home. There was an obstacle course, scavenger hunt, lady bird pit….What an amazing experience for all these lucky little people!
The morning of the party, while the girls worked hard on the tent, I set up the picnic area. I used Crates (from the farm next door) as low level tables. Surrounded by picnic blankets and cushions that we had at home. Old jam jars filled with eucalyptus and babies breath (of course no water, as undoubtably a thirsty toddler would attempt to drink it). The little wooden coasters down the centre of the table are also old, from TK Max, I think. I found similar HERE..
I find Ollie eats much better when he has his own little box of food, so I filled these little boxes with a packed lunch. Each was stamped with his name and tied with leaf ribbon.
I used the same Stamp to decorate the party bags and tied with the leaf string.
All our mini guests got a woodland bracelet Kit and a lady bird treasure hunt kit from a brilliant online store called Cotton Twist, as well as a bag of popcorn and some other goodies.
I know a guestbook is a little over the top for a kids party, but I wanted something to keep after the party, to remember all of the important people who were there to make it special. A very talented local Illustrator Rain Bird Roots created this gorgeous woodland theme print for him.
Laura uses water colour but the detail is so sharp…clever lady! Everyone at the party wrote him a message of love…including my grandparents, his family in Scotland and his nursery friends, we’ll really treasure it.
Before we knew it, it was 2pm and guests started to arrive. We popped the fizz and Verzon House served platters of delicious afternoon tea for the adults.
The look on the children’s faces as they saw their party set up…Gahhhh I wish we could do it all over again!!
After all of the excitement of the crafting, scavenger hunt, pass the parcel, it was time to sing happy birthday…something Ollie was soooo excited about!!
His cake was made by Jades Humble Bakes. I didn’t trust my baking skills for that many people, and Jade has quite the reputation for deliciously gooey cakes, and my goodness it was delicious!! I decorated it with a personalised wooden cake Topper and these adorable little woodland Animals.
Ollie sat on his thrown, and soaked up every second we sang to him before letting out an almighty scream and leaping into my arms…heart breaker!!!
Then it was time to feed these hungry little bellies so we gathered around the picnic. The cheese sandwiches, crisps, fruit and cartons of juice all went down a treat!
We sat out and played until the sun went down. Ollie gradually opened all of his gifts throughout the day and the children enjoyed playing with the balloons as we packed up.
We were hot and sticky, with full bellies and even fuller hearts. It really was the most special of days for all of us…exactly what our super special little three year old deserved!
