Party Planning Possessed!

By Natalie Anderson

The Party Planner heroine has been in vogue for some time and I totally know why. It’s a most fun way to spend a day!

Yeah, I was going to write about the creative power of H2O today, but I find my life has been consumed by planning my 7 year old's party which is on Saturday...

This is basically a major form of avoidance – we’re moving towns next week and I’m supposed to be decluttering the house so when the packers arrive on Wednesday I’ve gotten rid of all the unnecessary and all the rubbish. It’s an awful, overwhelming job – because we have too much STUFF. And it is so much more fun surfing the Internet and coming up with groovy games and tricky clues for a Scooby Doo mystery…

I was once crazy enough to make all the kids
 mini construction worker jackets 
with their initials on the back - even though I can't sew! 
I had to take the borrowed machine to 
the shop to get them to thread it for me...

Scooby is a perennial favourite – all my kids and their mates love him, so do most the adults I talk to. There’s something about the lovable, perennially hungry hound who’s a big chicken and a hero all at the same time.
So we’ve got ourselves a mystery to solve with a Birthday Phantom trying to steal the presents, a giant Scooby poster in which to ‘pin the tag on Scooby’, balloon Monsters to Mash, a Witch to wash away with water bombs and so on… Yes, it’s all totally over the top and I’m probably having more fun planning than the kids actually will at the party, but hey, I need the fun right now!

My biggest remaining concern is the cake – I think I’m going to try and create a Scooby face using fondant icing… yes, definitely tipping into mad territory. But then I am the woman who stayed up all night in my hospital room down the corridor from my newborn twins’ ICU unit, icing a cake into a penguin for my eldest who was turning four the next day. The nurses thought I was crackers. I think I probably was – but that’s hormones for you and the maternal drive to do whatever for their child – I didn’t want Miss 4 to miss out on her fun cake and party just because her newborn twin sisters had just upstaged (and pretty much upended) her life!

The made-in-hospital penguin cake...

But after the penguin, I ‘outsourced’ the kids’ parties for a while – gym parties, museum parties, yes – McDonald’s parties… so all I had to provide was the cake. It was just easier when I had so many young kids. So Scooby is the first party the boy has had a home for a few years and he specially requested a party at home, with some kind of a treasure hunt and for it to all be a surprise for him. No pressure then! ;)

And I have to admit, after the running around today finding masks and making spooky decorations, I’m not sure I’d want party planning as a full-time job – the pressure to come up with something new/bigger/better/bolder every time and being able to meet the party-goers expectations every time… oh wait a minute, that sounds a tad like writing romance novels! – Getting more creative, coming up with new while meeting the expectations??? Hmmm!!! No wonder we writers can identify with that career!!! What about you readers - is party planning a fun career choice to read about?

The mad things mothers do...
colouring in the giant Scooby for
'pin the tag'

And have you ever gone crazy over the top planning a party?!
 What’s the best birthday party you remember from your childhood or that you've organised? (I’m on the prowl for ideas for the next round you see!!!)

To prompt your recollections, I’ll giveaway a copy of my own party planning heroine Lissa from RUTHLESS BOSS, ROYAL MISTRESS – to a commenter with the most fab party story, together with a copy of my latest release THE END OF FAKING IT. Now, the Australian version comes as a duo with THE MAN SHE LOVES TO HATE by the most fabulous, triple RITA nominated Kelly Hunter – so there you go, the best ever reason to share your most awesome party moments!!!