10 years and growing: happy birthday to us!

Bedhead Hats is TEN! And we did what every other proud parent would do for such a huge milestone - we threw a party!

Not just ANY party, mind you! We decided to combine our celebrations in business with a group of women who wanted to celebrate their supportive, nurturing mother's group: the winners of our #mummyhoodheroes event.

How wonderful and full-circle this clash of female power felt: a woman-led business that began in a mother's group and has a huge customer base thanks to mother's group recommendations, celebrated all the incredible support and love of another mother's group. It was all kinds of great.

We have 16 children between us at Bedhead - many of them teens - so we have a few kids birthday parties under our belt. We did have the challenge of thinking back to little kid birthday parties, but we think we pulled it off.  We thought we'd show a little of how it went down - and check back through the month for some great party ideas and DIY like pull-string pinatas, party hats and more!

The key, of course, is one wow item - this was without a doubt the beautiful white jumping castle from Events with S decorated beautifully with balloons in Bedhead's colours by Babe Instant Party Hire. These guys went one step further and surprised us with printed transfers to dress up the jumping castle with our logo and "10 years strong" stickers - some of the partygoers were so impressed with our "personalised" jumping castle! We wish it were ours! We were a little concerned about it turning brown seeing as it started to sprinkle as everyone arrived, but it was still dazzling white by the end of the day! The little jumpers put on concerts, jumped to their heart's content, literally bounced off the walls and had an absolute ball!

We also had to give it a go and tried a team shot on the castle - some falling, sinking, face-planting and lots of giggles later we did get a couple. Here is a giggle shot, above! Here's what else we got up to on our party day!

Pass the parcel

The classic party game with a twist! We didn't use wrapping paper or newspaper - we used our reusable wet bags for a no-wrap version. We popped in a teeny tiny book from the Hairy Maclary and Friends series we found at Aldi and a little pot of scented playdough into one of our wet bags and then popped that into another bag with a book and playdought and repeat until we couldn't fit them anymore! Then we started again to ensure each child got to take home a bag of goodies! 
Top tip: Use the same prizes but in different colours so there is less fighting about who got what!

Delicious cupcakes!

We are lucky enough to have a cupcake connoisseur on our team. Melissa (far right in pic) used to own a cupcake store, Kiss My Cupcake, so we put her in charge of the cake. And did she deliver! FOUR different types - vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, and brownie. Big for the big people; little for the little people. Buttercream icing, cream-cheese frosting and sunflower decorations - she went all out and we were all happier (and probably slightly fatter!) for it!
Top tip: Cupcakes are a much easier little-kid birthday cake option: no messy cutting, no plates required! Win win!

Pinata fun!

Pinatas are so much fun. But smaller kids require a little less smacking-in-the-head-with-sticks! So we made a pinata that could go either way - you could hit it or pull the string. We opted for the latter and the kiddos all pulled a string and scrambled for the goods. We'll show you how to make one yourself a little later in the month.
Top tip: Use wrapped choccies and lollies rather than loose ones. And mix it up - we added small bottles of bubbles and confetti poppers to the lollies and chocolates. 
Bonus tip: Get bags with handles to make it easier for the little kids to hold them. And write names on so there are no arguments when they all get mixed up (and they usually do!) 

 Foooooooood!

When you're hosting adults AND kids, it's hard to strike the right balance, but simple is key - you don't want to be cooking too much or fussing too much. We organised a beautiful grazing table to be delivered, cooked some pasties and quiches, and made up our yummy salad for the mums to enjoy. Meanwhile, we wrangled the smaller party people at a nearby kids table where they were free to come and go and enjoy their finger food: lots of fruit, fairy bread, nuggets, veggie sticks, cocktail frankfurts and crackers.
Top tip: Forgo fruit skewers for the very small - as great as they look, they also make great daggers! Make everything finger food to make it easy for them to help themselves. Poppers are great too as no cups and mess!
Our go-to salad recipe: Start with a bed of baby spinach and top with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potato, walnuts, and Danish fetta. Drizzle on some balsamic glaze and enjoy! We often mix up with this base salad with some avocado and/or capsicum. 

Kids zones

Kids are not built equally! And neither are their personalities. So while your kid might enjoy rought and tumble play, some of their little friends might not, so it helps to try and cater for a range of personalities. Try to have something they can burn energy off at (jumping castle! Trampoline! Cubby house!) and then also put aside a quieter zone (teepee with cushions! Play mat with toys!) and something inbetween they all might like (Duplo or block building area). 
Top tip: Create a space they can all be creative at - a kids table with butcher's paper and a tub of pencils or textas to colour in on. We created this table runner for our party for the kids to colour in, play naughts and crosses on, or design their own hat! . 
Bonus tip: Bunting and party hats are two easy-peasy ways you can carry through a party theme. Ours was our branding colours: yellow, black and white, so we used some of our old, current and new prints to create bunting and party hats! We'll show you how a little later in the month, complete with beautiful prints you can use yourself.

We had a great day, the kids had a great day and most importantly, our lovely mummies had a wonderful day! Amanda (below in yellow with her cutie Evelyn) was the winner of our #mummyhoodheroes and she was thrilled to be able to enjoy a day out with her mother's group.

"I was so shocked to get the phone call (to say I'd won). I entered the competition imagining that Bedhead would be inundated with lots of amazing women entering. But I really just wanted to be able to share how amazing our group was so thought, 'what the heck let's try!' 

They say it takes a village to raise a child and that's definitely what we have formed with the old-school values and principles that we all hold. Checking in on each other, bringing over food and coffee when we know the other has had a rough night or we have had our second babies. I know, as I would for any of them, that if I picked up the phone and needed any of them they would be on my door step in an instant. And that we all love each other's kids as our own.  

The event was amazing. I am honestly taken back by how amazing you all were on the day. Everyone was so lovely and the kids were so comfortable with you all. The atmosphere was so calm and warm you could really settle in. I don't have enough words for how amazing the day was." Amanda Seward