Welcome To Liam’s Hundred Acre Wood

THE MOST VALUABLE THING IN THE WORLD

On some occasion, I overhear parents (dads mostly) grumbling about, asking:

“Why do we have to spend so much for our child’s birthday? He won’t even remember it anyway.”

This point, upon further introspection, has some truth into it. And because it literally goes against everything I stand / work for in Party Magic (if everyone believed the dad, I would have no job!), I thought about it some more. And the answer goes something like this:

Because of the Internet and the great technological advances we’ve experienced lately, we now live in a world of digital abundance. And whatever is abundant, approaches free (or close to it). We can download songs for free, download free e-books, and even watch great quality shows for a fraction of its price 5 years ago (Netflix).

So in a world of abundance, what is valuable?

The answer is: human attention and time.

This is an incontrovertible fact, because no matter what we do or invent, there will always be 24 hours in a day.

One can also argue that an enlightened form of human attention is experience. And you can expect (in fact, I would bet my name on this), that as we move on to the future, the price of experience will continue to increase (weddings, anyone?).

Now here’s a question I’d like to throw back to you:

How would you value this experience?

Welcome to Liam’s Hundred Acre Wood.

THAT ENGLISH GARDEN LOOK

What makes a great party?

I say that a great party makes people forget that they are in a function room, a hall, or a tent, and makes them feel as if they are transported to a different place.

One of the guests remarked during the party that it felt like she was having brunch in England.

This is exactly when the magic happens!

Another reason why I find this event magical is because it has that perfect combination of being elegant, classy, or “adult-y”, and fun, whimsical, or “kiddie”. In my opinion, this is where most stylists can get things wrong: either their parties are too loud, colorful and kiddie, or it’s too serious, minimalist, or too elegant (in other words, it looks more like a wedding than a children’s party).

The best parties are the ones that are stylish to the eyes but doesn’t make you forget that you are still in a child’s party.

THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD CONCEPT

Some of you might find the characters in these photos familiar. That is because we are celebrating the birthday of Liam, the little brother of dear Rafa, who I blogged about it in Rafa’s Day In The Park.

Not all of the credit for this party belongs to me, as the concept of “Hundred Acre Wood” was the idea of my client, mommy Lorce. Being an architect and designer, Lorce has always had her own ideas of how her party would look like. And intuitively she knew that a classic Winnie the Pooh theme would meld perfectly well with an outdoor garden venue. Knowing this, we’ve already won half the battle.

To be young and carefree: Winnie and friends greet Christopher Robin as he arrives in Hundred Acre Wood

As a party concept, a classic Pooh is a wonderful theme to work with. If you study the artwork, the drawings and color are soft and romantic, almost impressionistic. In a world of high-production computer graphics and 3D images, I think that 2D sketches and artwork like these will remain freshly appealing to everyone.

Two best friends walk in the forest

THE 2ND PART OF A GREAT PARTY

Creating a great experience, as valuable as it may be, is only the 1st part. The 2nd part is capturing that experience. And this is why hiring a great photographer is important.

I might sound like a broken record at this point, but it bears repeating: thank you to Den Llanos Dee of Delightful Little Darlings for capturing these fleeting moments.

I not only love how she captured the decor and details of Liam’s party, but also the people. Her candid shots (see all the photos I posted above, and also below) are priceless!

Mommy Lorce and Rafa

The adorable birthday boy Liam with those inflatable cheeks!

NEW DESIGN IDEA: THE DONUT WALL

One idea I was dying to try out was the donut wall, which I came across while researching Western weddings abroad. I thought that this would be a fun variation on the dessert table for a change. The end result looks so nice that it seemed like the donuts were fake!

GAMES, DETAILS, AND OTHER DETAILS

The concept of the Hundred Acre Wood party is to make people feel like they are in a “fair” or a “park”. Thus it made sense to offer games like the Hunny Pot Toss:

In Rabbit’s garden, kids can design their own potted plant:

Kids can also amble on to Mr. Sander’s fishing hole where they can snag a goldfish:

These activities were placed in a small little “nook” in the garden, with this nice open-book background:

MEMORIES TO LAST

Amanda Boyarshinov said it best:

The best gifts in the world are not the material objects one can buy from the store, but in the memories we make with the people we love.

Happy birthday to our dear Liam! We had a heck of a time planning your party!

Love,

Michelle