Little Birthdays...

Bea Parry-Jones is a late thirty something mother of two. She’s author of hugely successful blog Dulwichmum, in which she documents her efforts to avoid absolute lunacy and remain on the right side of conscientious parenting. She and her husband spend a small fortune on private education, Baby Boden, Babybels and the au pairs gym membership.

Bea’s first novel “Sex Lies and Sellotape – confessions of a Dulwich mum” will be published in 2008.

In my neck of the woods, children's birthday parties are all about months of planning and serious oneupmanship (amongst the mothers that is - the little darlings would be just as happy with iced gems as they would be organic veggie sticks).

The truth is, it couldn't be easier; the web provides instant access to an abundance of top notch sites that are primed to provide for our every need and ensure that we're leading the way in the perfect party stakes. The theme du jour for little girls is cupcakes and for little boys, pirates (of course).

The endless round of parties in OTT restaurants and play centres has become incredibly tiresome, so the idea of having a Yurt erected in the garden appeals. (It IS possible to entertain the poppets at home without a single sticky finger making contact with cream upholstery!)

Gecko Yurts specialise in parties and sleepovers (note to self - au pair on mid-night bathroom duty) and The Sleep Over Company will provide for their every whim.

Cricket bat birthday cakes lovingly slaved over by yours truly are so last year and won’t earn you any brownie points from the other mothers so save everyone the trouble and order in. Children adore cupcakes so a giant creation from SweetThings is bound to go down a treat.

Personalised gift wish lists can be created on gogoblin.co.uk Simply register the munchkins, and let them choose away to their hearts content. When the list is complete, email it to all guests including forgetful god parents!

(This year my darling Freya insisted on creating her wish list on SheerLuxe just like mummy! She’s developing a taste for the finer things in life from such an early age!)

Hush a Bye Pie supply canapés for the grownups (top of priorities) and party food for the children - stress free or what! Sadly they're only SW London I'm afraid but you can try Scrumdingers who go a bit further afield and have great menus and an easy to use online order form.

Life is simply far too short to do the party bags yourself, especially when there are companies out there to do the hard work and keep up with the latest party bag trends for you!

Frog in the Field offer a new bespoke service where you can have (almost) any image you like printed onto a 100% cotton bag. They can even be personalised for each guest if you wish. And BumbleBags offers gorgeous luxury filled party bags that both parents and children will love.

The ultimate children’s parties (where you really won’t have to lift a finger) are organised by Kasimira. If the budget allows then do it – rabbits in hats, trapeze artists, the works - it simply doesn't get better than this...

But if the credit crunch is starting to pinch then you’ll find everything you need to organise a party to be remembered (by the grownups at least) at PartyBox.

So you see organising parties for little ones needn’t be stressful, just ensure there’s enough Pink LP or Prosecco (credit crunch) in the fridge for the mummies and the entire event should go off with a pop!

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