Wedding Idea’s

The age-old question of whether we should or should not invite children to the wedding. It can be a difficult dilemma because you don’t want to upset guests and have a blanket ban on children, but equally, if your friends and relatives have young children it is difficult. It is at the end of your day, the bride and the groom’s preference but more than often you may end up with relatives or have a dashing ring bearer or beautiful little flower girl but you don’t want the wedding to become a children’s party.

Tots Tables White tables are very versatile and will hopefully fit into any venue easily. They are suitable for children ages 1-8. If you are hiring a table-dresser, the chairs can be dressed in the same style. Or simply use the same flowers that have been used for your wedding. As seen in the images below. It can be simple but keeps the wedding on a color theme and creates a stylish area. Here the flowers were bonded together using twine from a florist. White and pink reusable plates were used to match the wedding color theme. The plates won’t break if knocked over or dropped. No need to worry about an awkward plate smash in the middle of speeches.

By creating a children’s area, they have an area to relax but they are still involved in the wedding. Entertaining the children throughout the day is key. Once the tables have been used for the wedding breakfast, you may clear the tables and then they can be used for crafting. It doesn’t have to be messy either. There is the option to buy coloring books, pens, scissors, and a pritt stick. We also have matching c

At the end of the evening, you can repurpose the chairs to create a cinema space.

It doesn’t have to be serious either. Create a fun space using Lion or Bunny plates. I decided to style chairs and tables to match the plates. A big pop of Sunshine to brighten up the area. The children could take these bunches of flowers home as a wedding favor.

The BEST thing is, it saves adults from being left on the ‘children’s table’. Your guest can still have adult time and children can have children’s time. Everyone is happy and catered for.

Contact us today to speak about your requirements for your wedding and we’ll be happy to assist. We have up to forty chairs and four high chairs because of course we have not forgotten about our littlest ones.

You’re so bunny

As Easter is behind us now I wanted to share with you the setup created for Easter Sunday. It was simple, using creations all made from recycled and sustainable products. The decorations were made using cardboard, toilet roll holders, and eggshells. The rest of the setup is available to hire.

• Bunny Melamine plates

• White Chairs and Table

• Carboard, Toilet Roll, and Egg Shells

• Paint

• Bunting

To see how I created the decorations, visit the Tots.tables on Instagram for a quick tutorial video. But it was simply cutting, sticking, and painting. During the easter holiday, it was a fun activity with the children and we actually used them several times. The bunny faces were used during the easter egg hunt to help the smaller children find the tasty treats. This setup was in the garden and it was such a beautiful day.

I hope you feel inspired beyond easter and can apply these tricks to your own party theme. Please send us you idea’s

Start your engines

Full disclaimer, I am not an artist in any way, shape or form. I am sorry for the insufficient quantity of my drawings; I can all but try.

Hopefully, your artistic skills are better than mine, and you can take inspiration and pop your spin on it. Continuing with the theme of ‘what’s in the house,’ my son loves his engines and cars; they are scattered everywhere and underfoot. I was thinking of ways to incorporate them into a decoration; they were a bit lost just placed on the table, lacking direction. So I had a quick idea which took me about 15 minutes to set up. Used in this set up is the following;

• White drawing paper, MALA, but any drawing paper would work

• Cars

• Colouring crayons or pens.

• Reusable tableware

• Chairs and Tables

I started by rolling the paper across the tables to create a table runner and tapping it on four corners. It was a perfect size which was lucky. I started by simply drawing a road in the middle with roundabouts. I used a ruler to draw the streets, but you could go freehand or trace a map if you felt more artistic.

I didn’t over-complaint the drawing; just a simple few prompts, a little park, duck pond etc. Using the drawing paper as a table runner, you can also easily personalise the place setting by either writing the name above the plate or, in this case, drawing a house or naming a street the child lives on.

To create an activity, I placed two pots with coloured pencils on the table and found a packet of truck stickers and voila! I let the children do the rest. The results were so fantastic and heartwarming. The table ended up with roads around mountains, pools, parks, a picture of granny’s house, woods, and the school; there was a petrol station and drawings of family pets and family members. Whilst the four-year-old was more than happy drawing, the two-year-old used the cars and drove them around the roads. The table setting created a place for them to eat and drink and an activity to keep multiple ages range happy. The cars also decorated the table, and again everything had been used. There were no new items bought. The plates will be washed and reused, the paper can be flipped over, and another creation can be made.

If you're looking for a keepsake of the party, cut out your favourite sections and frame them. Let the children take home the area they created into their party bags. If this is being used for a family party or bbq, you can leave the table out with the paper on, and you’ll find the children keep coming back to it and adding to it repeatedly. The imagination can go wild. For the colours of the plates, I kept it simple with greys and whites and let the colours of the pictures add that flare to it.

A Rawr-some idea

The heart of this business is sustainability. I want to start by saying this isn’t about making anyone feel guilty; David Attenborough does that for us. This is about sharing sustainable party ideas, inspiration, and ways to design our beautiful tables and chairs. When I have hosted parties in the past, what always makes me so stressed is the clean-up operation. I love planning, especially events; I feel a buzz when others may feel stressed. But, the aftermath, the bin bags, all the bin bags! Even if you have bought recyclable paper plates, they still need to be separated, and if you have purchased a set to match a theme, you may have been left with three or four, so they tend to join their friends in the recycling bin. If you are at a venue, you may want to get out of there quickly; your ears are ringing, the children are sugar-crashing, the guests have left, and only the faithful friends are helping clean up, so you make life easier for everyone involved; you grab that bin bag, and off you go. But there is another way. And it is just as easy as a bin bag. It’s a box, and I’ll clean it all for you. Over a series of blogs, I’ll share some simple party solutions to help you get your party on the go.

Let’s get down to prehistoric business.

Children love a theme, and the likelihood hood you’ve picked a theme because it is something your child already loves, so there may be an obsessive amount of these toys already in the home.

Take a good look around your home. What do you already have that you can use to decorate? A little can go a long way for children.

This party set-up was created using a bucket of dinosaurs, a wipe-clean tablecloth, tots pastel plate set and white wooden chairs.

• Bucket of Dinosaurs

• Preowned table cloth

• Egg shells

• Paint

I looked around our house and found the dinosaurs, and I already had the tablecloth from summer parties. Although the children regularly play with the dinos, putting them in a different set-up with the table and chairs created a new experience.

I mixed and matched the green and yellow plates to match the colour already in the dinosaurs and the tablecloth. That is simple and colourful, and nothing has gone in the bin. The dinosaurs can be played with during the party or used as place settings. They could be used as a party favour instead of the party bag as a bonus if you wanted to.

To add some decoration, I wanted to create some dino eggs. We painted them green with blue spots, and the children got involved, which killed two birds with one stone—making decorations for the party theme and keeping the children busy. It didn’t matter if each one was slightly different. I hid little chocolate eggs under them as an extra surprise, or you could easily use them for a dino egg hunt afterwards. Most importantly, these shells would end up in the bin anyway. Sustainable decorations at their finest. They are a little rustic, and I would suggest using acrylic paint. We used our green finger paints because the children decorated themselves, and I wanted an easy clean-up operation, but it depends on how polished you want the final look. This could also be used as a craft activity during the party if you wish for entertainment.

It is all reusable, the plates will be washed and reused, and the dinos will continue being played with for years. To top off the good news, I haven’t spent a penny to watch it disappear, and the children had a dino-mite time!