Interview – Meg, The Fairy Queen (Mystical Fairies)

HI MEG. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY? 

My name is Meg Gordon Sussman -I married my husband in 1996 and moved from Belsize Park to Hampstead in 1998 when our first daughter was born – we have 2 girls, one at uni and the other doing A Levels – and I totally know I don’t look old enough!!!

We also have 2 dogs, a labradoodle, Daisy and a poodle, Tilly who have an Instagram account set up by my girls called Poodle and Doodle who have over 5,000 followers – if only my children would take over the fairy social media…we also have a ton of fish and a turtle as you do!  

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE HAMPSTEAD AREA FOR? 

We have been in Hampstead for almost 20 years and seen a lot of changes! It is lovely though to go into the coffee cup and get the same table you used to bring the children to for hot chocolate and raisin toast after school, or be buying our fruit and vegetables from Paul and his father seeing everyone’s children grow up! Lots of friendly faces, even if we are no longer the school gate mums or even on the PTA!

The Fairy Shop opened in 2003 by my partner Veronica whose face was the one you would see when you came into the shop in Flask Walk! Over time we have added parties with entertainers trained up by us, holiday clubs and different activities and events from book launches to our local activities at Fenton House and Keats Library to our annual Father Christmas visits at Liberty’s in London! 

WHAT DO YOU OFFER FOR THE BOYS?  

We are more than just fairies and princesses, we have our pesky pirates side which hosts more robust parties like Lego themed parties, ninja’s, superheroes, pirates, Pokemon trainers and so many more to our older themes from Sherlock Holmes and mystery parties to Jedi Training! 

We have also grown up along with our children, so to that end we started our Pampered Princesses side which hosts so many things from Rock Star Parties to Mocktails and Jewellery making and Kidchella festival themes amongst them! We have had so many parents loving these that we are now hosting their parties too! 

WHAT IS A GOOD OPTION FOR A VERY UNISEX PARTY? 

That totally depends on what your child is into – unicorns are very on trend as are jungle explorers, knights and princesses, fairies and elves or even pirates! Pirates are pretty unisex as we have girl pirates too! The only advice I would give if you have a very girly girl who wants pink everything is to offset it with a boy assistant or vice versa if you are worried about it being “too girly” or “too boys only” – we have hosted some great Elsa and Superman parties as well as Scooby themed with Fred and Daphne! 

WHAT IS THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS PARTY YOU HAVE ORGANISED? 

The most outrageous party we have done to date is a party at the Ritz for a 3 year old with 12 guests. It was absolutely bonkers and we organised every detail from invitations, styling, face painting, glitter, entertainers (one for each child), bespoke food and cakes, a candy table, a pink chocolate fountain, a photographer, a unicorn visit (at The Ritz), party bags and more things I probably have not mentioned! That was outrageous, so much so visitors at the Ritz kept coming in to take photos when we were setting up as it was so over the top fabulous! 

WHAT IS THE MOST FUN PARTY YOU HAVE ORGANISED? 

I love all our parties, they are all fun for us! Something I do love and find fun about what we do, is that when you book with us, we ask so many questions to get a feel for the birthday child and their likes and interests, that we tend to get to know you as parents too, so when we host your parties year after year we see everyone grow up and we hear all the news and literally we have seen some children from nursery through the 11+ and onto GCSE choices as we do their parties and know you as parents! Having said that, we did host a fairy school bachelorette party many years ago in the shop with a lot of sweets,games and paint your own prosecco bottles whilst wearing wings – it got out of hand rather quickly and if anyone saw 20 grown up fairies trailing streamers running up and down Hampstead High Street on a scavenger hunt – I apologise! 

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING PARTY YOU HAVE ORGANISED? 

That is a hard one, we do quite a lot of princess, fairies, pirates and superheroes on a weekly basis, so when we get a child who is interested in something that is different and we have to create a party round that,I find that interesting. There are a few of us in the office and on our team that do styling and also teach so to come up with decor and game plans and activities for something new is great fun and interesting to us – when we started hosting Harry Potter Parties for the older children and we put together a potions class, we all had lots of fun learning how to make them and then you would get videos from the entertainers who had gone home and done these potions classes for their flatmates, we love to learn new things! We were involved in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child midnight book launch which was great fun and all the potter mad entertainers were begging to be on it – I went along and everyone had to explain everything to me constantly – but I loved it! 

DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR NEW PARENTS ORGANISING A PARTY? 

My tips for parents new to organising a party is firstly to do what the birthday person wants – be it Elsa for your 3 year old son or your husband wants to rent the everyman and watch Young Frankenstein – do what will make them happy and not what you think everyone else wants to do. If they are happy then you have done your job! Delegate, trust me I was that mother up at 2 in the morning decorating the cake till it was perfect…by the time we had the party I was exhausted and fed up! If people coming or family members have a skill and they offer, or you beg, use their expertise! Also remember it is a party, people want to have fun so don’t over think every decision as it will drive you insane! Lastly take photos, always take photos! 

3 TOP TIPS FOR PARTY PLANNING :

1. Know your child/partner/parents/co – worker/person you are hosting the party for – if your daughter is 4 and LOVES every princess – host a royal ball so then whichever princess comes and however you decorate she will love it – as opposed to buying all Cinderella everything and then she is over Cinders! If your partner is a meat and potatoes kind of guy – organise a BBQ (and a marquee in case it rains), if you are in charge of the baby shower and the Mummy to be loves glitter and sparkles – go mad with glitter and sparkles! This is their party, you want them to love it! It is all about them! 

2. Balloons are a godsend – they can transform anywhere and you can even give them out to the guests as they leave, so less tidying up for you! Dreary church hall – plonk bunches of balloons round the room – mix up the heights – it adds a huge amount and can fill a big room and make a small room look buzzy! 

3. Cakes – cakes should look and taste good. They do not have to be ridiculously expensive (unless it is a wedding and then everything is ridiculously expensive as “wedding” gave it away), we have some wonderful cake makers who make cakes that taste as good as they look, lots of supermarkets do cakes and even Costo if given enough time can do a decorated sheet cake! Over the years we have seen the most beautiful and expensive cakes that taste terrible and that is such a shame. If you go to someone’s party and the cake is good – ask who made it. 

I am adding my 4th and 5th tips too –

4. Party Bags – they are expected and unless you have had an arts and crafts or an activity making session in the party to take away with your balloons, do not give lots of little bits that will break on the way home… everyone gets frustrated by that! 

One thing per child that goes with the theme does not have to be a lot of money is much more thoughtful and appreciated! There are websites like the book people who sell bulk children’s books like the mr men or little miss series – or places like Tiger by the 02 centre which has tons of things you can put into a pretty bag – they are very big on superheroes at the moment and we have been sending superhero party people there! 

Last tip I promise –  

5. Timing – if you have a toddler that needs a nap in the afternoon… have a morning party; host it around their time or schedule! If you have a tween whose birthday is on a weekday a small after school party is a lovely thing to do! If your child is between 2 to 4 I would suggest a 1 hour party as attention spans are not great, but if your child is a younger sibling or at clubs or daycare they might well be great with a 2 hour party which we always recommend from 4 upwards.You know your child! 

In conclusion…

I would say that parties should be fun for everyone, if planning it is driving you crazy, take a break from Pinterest boards or cutting snowflakes to fill a backdrop…you still want to enjoy it when it comes around! Ask for help, if you have been to a party that you or your child loved, then ask who hosted it. People are always happy that you loved it that much! The most important thing for me, is that you love your party. That is why we do what we do! 

Meg

The Fairy Queen

Original Source : Hampstead Mums

So Saturday was J’s 6th party! His birthday was last week but there was another school party so we had to have his on a different day. Anyway, we wanted to do something different this year and his taste can be so obscure so we thought we would do a bespoke party. We drafted in @mystical_fairies to take on the job. J was quite specific in his choice of theme, Lego ninjas in space with arts and crafts at one point 😐.

After a few weeks at narrowing it down he decided Ninja/spy. So Mystical Fairies rolled with it creating ‘Jovan’s Spy Club’. A 2 hour spy training party complete with bullet holes in the walls, top secret party bags and mission impossible challenges that kept the kids on their feet, engaged and tired them out (you’re welcome parents). I have to say it felt really weird because they took care of everything. All we did was show up with the food to be welcomed by 2 spies. J’s face lit up, he loves the theatrics of it all.

Giancarlo and Nancy were amazing with the kids, making sure that everyone was included and having a good time. Apart from sorting the food (our choice) we could just stand back and enjoy watching them all belly laugh and complete the challenges.

J’s feedback – the best party ever ever EVER!

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Kai’s fifth birthday came and went. Just like that. My baby turned five.

A few months ago the lovely Meg at Mystical Fairies got in touch and asked if we had a party on the horizon that her team could host for us and the first thing I thought of was Kai’s fifth. Let’s face it, I was going to be 34… that’s not special and it’s not about me anymore, have you seen my demanding little diva?

So just like that, it was decided, Kai was to have a super special fifth birthday! I’ve never used a party planner before. To be honest it always seemed like something that was deemed a bit too ‘lavish’. I should be the one planning his party and I should be the one scouring Pinterest and Amazon for all the party bag ideas! And I have. We did it all for his welcome to the family party, his second, his third and his fourth I loved doing it all. I’m a control freak after all and I love to plan a party so I always enjoyed it, even if I did find it a little hard so soon after Christmas. I got in to the habit of sending invites just before Christmas and ordering as much as I could in the weeks before the holidays. But this time, I felt like I wouldn’t have minded the break from all the planning. We’ve had four, solid, good parties. Could I really hand over the reins to someone else?

Turns out, yes I could. We’ve never been busier as a family. Work, school, appointments, meetings, general life… it was honestly a huge relief to have the team at Mystical Fairies put it on for us!

To kick things off I had a call with the team who wanted to find out all about Kai, what he loves, what a party for him would be like. He is so relaxed with things like this. All he would need would be music and his friends and he’d be happy. I felt like this was the time go for it though. My friend’s daughter recently turned six and she wanted her close friends round for a movie and some games. That could be Kai next year. What if is this was to be the last proper ‘book a hall’ type party we have? After sharing all the details, even down to his favourite colours and songs, the team went away and started planning.

We’d decided to go with an enchanted forest themed party because he loves the outdoors and the walks we have in the forest. This idea soon turned into a Knights and Dragon style, and I loved how it naturally evolved and the team were on board!

The weeks are flying by and the guys at Mystical Fairies were busy building Pinterest boards and emailing me with ideas for napkins, cups and party bags. They seemed to have access to a secret lair of goodies I’d never have thought up for a party! We decided on some designs for the tables, even choosing between light blue and royal blue for the table cloths, every detail was thought of. I just had to choose via email. It was nice…!

When it came to games, music and entertainers I wasn’t sure what to go for. We’d been to parties before where the entertainer just couldn’t keep the kids engaged. I told the guys that with Kai you get a short time, you have to win him over and he’s yours. If he gets bored, you’ll know about it, and that’s what I loved about Mystcial Fairies, they just got it. They don’t run a party to a rota or a standard ‘set’. It’s all off the cuff and they see whats working and what’s not and will work around the kids. We decided to go for two entertainers! Both trained actors and used by the team all the time. We were to have a Knight and a Maiden host the party, play with the kids and sort out all the party games! 

On the day I don’t know why, but I felt really nervous. Maybe it’s because I didn’t really have to do much? We obviously prepared all the food but all of this was happening without my control, and like I said, I am a control freak. But in the end it felt good to relinquish it and just hand it over to Meg and the team. I arrived at the hall a couple of hours earlier to let them in and off they went setting up straight away, telling me to go home and get the birthday boy ready. Ahhhh!!

They wanted Kai to arrive a bit before the party started so they could make him feel a little special and also to allow him time to warm up and get to have one on one time with the entertainers, and it was such a good idea. I think that’s a nice touch especially as kids can act differently when in groups. I brought him before the party started and the minute he saw the balloons all over the floor, the tables and the set up he was all over it! The entertainers seriously did such a good job of making sure he felt special before the kids arrived.

The team checked in to make sure we were happy with the outfits (they brought back ups) and they looked just perfect. Of course, Danny and I had to dress up too! All of Kai’s friends started arriving and they were all dressed looking amazing and the entertainers made a start on getting everyone warmed up. It really was so lovely to see the kids laughing and running around together outside of school and I honestly put it down to the entertainers bringing them all together and making them all involved.

When it came to planning the party bags I was really excited. I feel simple is key and I didn’t want to have the same old pencil and a rubber, sweets and some playdoh… so we opted for a fun light up toy (unicorns and rockets, the kids could choose) and some chocolate inside. When it comes to cake it’s always an easy option for us, this was lovingly baked by my dear friend who runs Peach’s Bakery! (The guys at Mystical fairies do provide cakes too though if needed).

The guys were on hand throughout and were more than happy to coordinate the games, which the kids LOVED, and plan the cake and just about anything and everything. They really did go all out to make it as seamless and special for us. I made sure they knew that Kai’s favourite song at the moment is The Grand Old Duke of York, and I can tell you now a highlight of the day for Kai was having everyone march around to that. We also had a fun craft station with tattoos and foil scrapers. Just a nice touch for the kids who fancied a little break from all the games.

The two hours just flew by and before we knew it we’d played all the games, popped all the balloons, eaten all the food and blown out all the candles on the cake. The party bags went down a treat! We were packing up and I can’t tell you how nice it felt to just pop all the lovely gifts and cake into the car with the balloons and not a lot else. We needed a party like this… just to really be able to enjoy it and get involved and I cannot thank Mystcial Fairies enough!

Mystical Fairies offer different packages to suit all party needs and budgets. This party, which included everything apart from food and cake, would’ve cost £650. It’s not every year you’d splash out on such a party, but when it could be the last big one (til maybe his 16th?) I really think it’s worth it! You can get 10% off party with Mystical Fairies just by mentioning UNLIKELY DAD when you contact them. You can find out more at www.mysticalfairies.co.uk and on Instagram @mystical_fairies .

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As you may have seen Harry turned 5 last month. He’d not had an actual birthday party before except for the one we threw for his 1st birthday as that was also combined with his Christening, this is for a number of reasons including he hasn’t really had his own set of friends before, playing with Emmy’s friends or their siblings and him choosing to go away on holiday instead of having a party (they tend to cost roughly the same anyway).

When he started school he finally had a circle of mates who he wanted to celebrate his birthday with and he talked of nothing but having his own party.

The birthday planning started a few months previous when Mystical Fairies got in touch and offered the entertainment for a party of our choice, choosing whichever theme we wanted.

Harry has always had a Pirate bedroom, decorated by myself when I was pregnant and he’s has a huge love of all things pirate orientated, so of course when asked what party he wanted it was going to be Pirate themed.

Mystical Fairies offer a one stop party planning to help with all children’s parties. They have amazing entertainers ready to entertain children’s parties for a number of different themes and are also open to suggestions should you not see what you are looking for on the website. They have princesses, fairies, star wars, pirate’s and many others.

We opted for a Pirate party and talked through what we would like before the day numerous times. Whenever I had a question I was able to call or email and have it answered very quickly.

As well as providing entertainers they can provide someone to set up the hall/room for you who is also able to stay and face paint/apply temporary tattoos etc. for you (at an extra cost). They can even make up the party bags and source cakes should you wish.

Our entertainer then called us before the party to talk through how many kids were coming, what games we wanted and any songs we may like played. I was open to leaving the ball in their court, wanting to see what they could do and not restricting their creative flow.

On the day of the party the duo met us at the hall 30 minutes before the party started to get ready. While we set the hall up with tables and chairs and unpacked the food, cake and party bags from our car they set up their equipment and went to get changed.

We greeted Harry’s guests and the Pirates were ready, playing with the kids until most had arrived then starting their show.

I’ll begin by saying I have never seen 25 mainly 4 and 5 year olds sit so well throughout an entire party and this was commented on by their parents too! This swashbuckling duo captured their attention from the off and put in their all throughout the 2 hour party.

The main Pirate took charge and his assistant helped to round up the children for the games and give out prizes throughout. They were able to easily project their voices over the crowd of energetic children without the need to shout at all and the games they played were age appropriate and ones the children already knew but with a pirate twist to them (changing the names).

They played a few games before the food was served and while the children were eating they went around and made balloon swords and animals for the children, chatted with them and made sure they were all having fun, and then after the fun and games continued.

The entertainers were always on the ball and made an effort to make sure all children were included in the games and that all won prizes during the games.

Their energy was never ending so it seemed and they certainly made us adults feel tired just watching them run around with the children.

I usually find that during kids parties there are a few who hang back with their parents not wanting to join in, I am a parent to 2 children like that so do know how hard it can be to get them to want to have fun with their friends. During this party however this was short lived, with a few girls starting off in the side lines but soon joining in with all the fun.

The children all had a blast and were still taking about it weeks later which is a sign of a great party, and Harry is already planning what he wants for his next birthday party, but don’t just take my word for it – just take a look at our video and see for yourselves:

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