Welcome to our new series, aptly named "bad looks" as this party was initially on my "banned because it will be bad" party list. You see, when we went to Hamely's this summer, I was totally gutted that out of all the thousands of toys in store, Zara picked Draculaura from Monster High. Fear set in as I realised that if I don't act quickly my winter plans of her having a "pretty pink princess (and knights) party" for her birthday might be taken over by these terror toys!
Luckily, I had a brainwave and unilaterally decided that this year our Halloween will be a Monster High themed one - and so cunningly salvaged "my" birthday plans for Zara. The only hiccup being I had to still actually had to plan a Monster High party!
Fortunately, I have began to realise that a "character" themed party can be "a classic" without being cheesy. Here are a few of top tips I learned when going down this "Disney" route...
CHOOSE THE CHARACTER
1. It is only natural for our kids to want to have a party featuring their favourite character. After all, they watch them on TV, read the books, play with the toys and yes! they have "got the t-shirt". This actually counts enormously in your favour as it means you most likely already have lots of "party supplies" you didn't even know you had. So first up, ask your child what character party they would like and gather everything you have in the house featuring it. In this case, it was Monster High, and so it was a matter of getting together "Draculaura", a sticker activity book and her pet dog thing...
DO SOME "WINDOW SHOPPING"
2. The next step is one that you must do with reservation and not be tempted to just buy. Visit the shops and see what character goodies are available (our local toy store had the toys, stickers, stationery, paper cups, plates, napkins, balloons etc.). Then, nearly all characters have websites, so check these out too: www.monsterhigh.com had free printable invitations, banners, favour tags, and lots of goodies that I used so will be sure to share... but do not buy anything just yet.
TWO-FOLD3. The best "character" themed parties I have seen are those where a slightly different take is pursued. This is where even though the theme is set you can still create something classic by adding a second or third "theme". So whilst the theme of my party is Monster High, I decided to play up the high school element and include lots of "back to school" party ideas, as well as I also searched for lots of typical Halloween party ideas.
COLOUR CHECK
4. As with all character parties, the colours are usually already there, but this is where you may want to bring in a more "classic" approach and limit the palette to only one or two colours - in this case I focused on black and orange, and only had a hit of the "Monster High" hot pink, and I ignored the blue. This allows your actual character to stand out and avoid colour and character overload. Another trick may be to change the colours completely: so for example I could have done everything all in white only or instead of playing down the pink and blues, I could have explored many different tons of pinks and blues and limited the black.
SWAP OUT THE STYLE
5. Many a character themed party can be altered by searching for a different style. Monster High is a modern and cool theme, so instead I went for something rustic and eclectic. It is fun to twist the traditional look and the reason why I like to do this, is it often shifts your "purchasing" focus from the character to the actual style - and so whilst you are unlikely to throw the same theme again, you may repeat the same style many times over.
With these tips in mind, I will be sharing each part of my party this week and show you how these were put into practice - starting with the invitation.
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