Category: party planning ideas

Lots of party ideas for Londoners

Party Ideas, Music for kids party London, entertainment for children's garden party London, (Kensington, Chelsea, Holland Park,)

Entertainment For Kids Party London

When did you last host a garden party for Kids?

One thing which connects all Kids is excitement and if you are looking to hire entertainment for a Kids party in London, you will need to come up with fun ideas to create lots of excitement. We have covered lots of parties for children of all ages and have seen which party ideas work best.

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Entertainment for Kids

A large bouncy castle is always a fantastic start and if you have the space to include an inflatable slide, then your children’s party will be a huge success. One of the features which we saw at a Kids party last summer was the Gladiator Duel.

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Fun ideas for kids

You will need to check the age group to ensure that it is ideal for your children and their friends, but it looked like a lot of fun. Ofcourse, space is always a concern as inflatable features require lots of space and also a power supply. There are venues for hire in London to host your children’s party and you will also find lots of suppliers, especially on Twitter.

One idea which I liked at a kids party was the Photo booth. It was a nice touch which created lots more excitement as many kids squeezed into the booth to make funny faces. I have also seen it used to good effect at 16th and 18th birthday parties, but the best photo idea which is just unbeatable is to hire a couple of professional photographers and roll out a red carpet. This is more for older kids, but everyone likes to feel important and would love to walk the red carpet like a celebrity. However, if your kids are too young and would be happy with some ice cream and a balloon, then at least treat them to some amazing balloons like these.

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Ideas for Children’s parties

In addition to all the features for the children, you may also want some music to entertain the grown ups and to create a carnival atmosphere. Our steel drum band has covered many garden parties and is also hired as entertainment for kids parties.

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Colourful steel band for party

They seem to be totally fascinated by the way that sounds are produced from a collection of unmarked drums. They stand close and peer over the edge of the drums to see how it is done. We also allow some participation, but with so many other distractions, their attention soon drifts towards the bouncy features. Having said that, there is always one or two who stay around until they work out how to play a simple riff, which is always a pleasure to see. If you are planning a party for children, you are more than welcome to use our service. As mentioned above, it is more for entertaining the parents and creating a carnival atmosphere while the children enjoy the excitement of other features.

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How to make friends in London

How to make friends in London?

Making friends with people is like a skill which needs to be developed. You can start by developing the right mindset and saying hello and good morning to more people and see how they respond to you however, one of the best ways is to plan a party. This can include the people who you already know and ask each of them to bring two people who you have never met. They will usually persuade at least one person, but if you ask for one additional person, you can guess the outcome. Use a guest list App to get their basic contact details and confirm the numbers well in advance. Depending on the scale of your party, you will have enough time to greet all the strangers and make a good impression. During the party, you can refer to the guest list and leave some brief comments next to the name of a guest who impressed you. It will be too difficult to remember all the information if you wait until the next day, or drink too much. The idea is that you now have a list of useful names which you can add to your social network and follow-up to make friends.

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Making new friends

When making contact with some of the people from the party, you may wish to suggest going out for drinks. It helps if you come up with some exciting suggestions as they are also assessing you, just as much as you are curious about them. Most of my favorite places have excellent views like the Sky Bar at the Trafalgar Hotel. I also like Skylon which is overlooking the Thames. The service is good and everything is well presented.

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Dessert at Skylon

You can arrange to meet anywhere that you like, but it is better to score as many points as possible in the early rounds of a friendship. If you have good listening skills, this will be useful. There are over 300 different languages spoken in London from many cultures and you can bet that the people you meet will have an exciting story to share. You can share the most relevant parts of your experience and this will help to form a bond.

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Summer party venues London

Most people like the company of others with a common interest or someone who can help or become a useful contact. After a while, you will build a larger social network and be able to hand-pick the guests for your next party. I attend many parties in London to perform with my band and you can easily tell which ones are more about networking than celebrating. What’s special about London is that there are many hotels with good bars where you will find a comfortable space to have drinks with friends. You will also get a quality service and a clean glass; the wash rooms will also be in good condition. In my experience, this is better value than going to a crowded bar with a louder ambiance, average service and no seats. It is worth paying a little extra for the comfort and quality.

Please leave some comments if you found this post useful and share any advice on making friends in London. You can also follow me on Twitter and start a conversation if you get stuck with the challenge of making new friends.

Parties in London

House Parties in London (Entertaining guests)

An outdoor space is a luxury in a crowded city, but you can still be creative and plan a fantastic house party. This post covers some basic party ideas and top tips for entertaining guests at home.

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House parties

You can use these suggestions for house parties, garden parties or parties in your penthouse flat in London.

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Penthouse parties

It all starts with making your guests list and ensuring that you do not saturate the property until it over spills onto the streets, this will not score many points. It is best to limit the number of guests so that they can enjoy your attention and the full extent of your hospitality.  Most of my clients begin with a champagne reception and serve a selection of quality canapes.

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Luxury canapes

There was a house party which my band covered in Cheyne Walk and as the guests entered, they could enjoy the aroma of freshly baked pastry. The canapes were freshly made and well presented.

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Canapes

The waiters then served chilled champagne, which was timed to perfection. Many hosts and catering companies get the timing totally wrong as they prepare the arrival drinks too early to cope with the demand at the start of a party. The guests arrive and are served champagne or fruit punch which was poured 30 to 45 minutes earlier.

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Colourful drinks

If you hire an experienced catering company, they will time this to perfection and clear the cartons before your guests arrive.

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Champagne

If your budget does not extend to having champagne, you could source a quality sparkling wine and ensure that it is served chilled. A good choice would be Reina Maria Cristina 2008.

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Good sparkling wines

Champagne should always be served in flutes, never in plastic glasses. It is also trendy to serve champagne in a wine glass and you can purchase cheaper champagne flutes from Ikea or any suitable supplier. Be sure to add ice to your shopping list as this is easily overlooked. The most successful parties have a manageable guest list and a continuous supply of drinks, quality food and entertainment. If you have enough space for a live ensemble, then this is an excellent treat for your guests. The experienced party bands are very efficient at providing this service and will ensure that the sound is fit for the purpose. Popular choices include jazz bands, string quartets, steel drum bands and mariachi bands.

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Bands for parties

A live act performing a couple of sets or just covering the reception drinks, will score many points and your guests will always remember such features from your party.

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Most of my clients just want to have live music in the background during the reception drinks, at a volume that they can talk over. After the reception phase, the party then goes into overdrive with pulsating dance music. You could at this point remember to take random pictures on your smartphone or use a dedicated photographer throughout the party. Create a pin board for the images on Pinterest or post onto your Facebook page and, you are welcome to link back to this blog post to help anyone who is planning a house party.

One final thought for house parties in London, is to remember your neighbours and insert an etiquette line with the invitation. This could include anything which you would like guests to adhere to when visiting your home.

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How to Make Friends? (Networking Party ideas)

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How to Make Friends? (Networking & Party Ideas)

Quality friendships are priceless. You meet someone for the first time and a bond is formed which connects you to that person. This post looks at some of the simple ideas for making new friends by networking and arranging parties.

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Bonding

One of the easiest things that you can do is to arrange a garden party and invite just 10 people, but ask each person to bring 2 people that you have never met. You can also request that they each bring a bottle of drink to share or you take the responsibility for all the refreshments.

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Champagne receptions 

Nowadays, you can use social media to set up a unique group and create a barrier to entry so that only those with similar interest can join. This strategy is popular on Facebook and LinkedIn. Some groups are so successful that they have weekly events.

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Mixers

To make new friends at these events you will need a certain amount of confidence to approach a complete stranger and start talking. The last thing that you want is to be seen standing by yourself. The best way to deal with any confidence issue is to be prepared and speak to the first person that makes eye contact with you. Start by saying hello with a smile and they will respond. From here, it gets more tricky so you need to focus. When you start a conversation, the person will want to know who you are and which company you are from or what you do. Keep it brief and do not hijack the conversation and make it all about yourself. See if you can explain what you do in just 2 short sentences and then allow the other person to do the same.

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Business Networking

If you find yourself attracted to the other person, it will get more challenging. Should this happen, there is no preset response which works in all situations, but you could try taking more interest in what they are saying and exchange business cards. Whatever you do, there is certain etiquette which you should remember; do not get too excited or too loud, don’t forget their name and no personal contact like touching or patting on the back or shoulder. There will be many other attractive people at the event, so keep it brief and move on. As the host, you should arrange some light entertainment to create the perfect ambiance and ideally have a regular supply of canapes. The choice of music or live ensemble is important and should not make conversation too difficult by being loud. A steel drum band was not an obvious choice for networking parties, but we now have excellent relations with event planners who trust our expertise in this area.

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Music for Networking parties 

After the event, you must follow up by thanking all your guests through the social platform and issue a bulletin about the upcoming event. Do not issue a series of bulletins, you need to give the impression that each event is really special. If you become successful at arranging such events, there will be opportunities to monetize the situation. You will also become a magnet and attract new friends and social followers.

Should any of these ideas work for you, we are happy to accept a gratuity and you are welcome to refer to this article in any promo material.

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Office Party Ideas For Christmas (A quick guide)

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What are the best ideas for an office Christmas party?

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The first decision for your office Christmas party is to agree on whether you are going out or staying in. All the office Christmas party ideas will fall into place after making this big decision. Going out means hiring a venue or securing a group booking at a shared event. Staying in means decorating your office and arranging catering, entertainment and games with your colleagues. Having the Christmas party in your office does have the advantage of continuity as you get to enjoy the decor for at least a week or two and there will always be left over food and drinks for a few days.

If you can find the right venue, then going out and getting away from the working environment is exciting. Just watch the smiles on your colleagues face when they hear the news that you’ve booked a venue for the Christmas party!!! It’s great to have fun with the people who you spend a lot of time with and surprisingly, the colourful Caribbean theme is one of the most successful choices for Christmas staff parties.

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Barrio East
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Welcome drinks
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Staff parties with tropicana theme

It is an amazing feeling when you walk into the lobby of a venue and see how the professionals do it, compared to your best efforts in the office. We have covered many Tropicana theme parties and it’s a fantastic surprise when guests arrive and hear a live steel band performing and they are greeted with rum punch, mojitos or colourful cocktails.

Alternatively, if you choose to stay in and celebrate with champagne and Christmas canapes, then be sure to get lots of ice!
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Quite often, they pour the welcome drinks too early and the champagne does not taste nice unless it’s served chilled. Be sure to pick up on this critical point if you are planning the party.

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Office parties

You can then focus on presents, Christmas stockings, the office quiz and any other fun ideas for the party. There are also many entertainers that can be hired to perform in your actual office. If you have done all the decorating and preparations, then why not add some live music? Our steel drum band is available for entertainment; bookings need to be made in good time as many companies choose the same week and the same date for their office Christmas party. The repertoire is enriched with a selection of popular Carols to capture the spirit of the festive season. You can discover how Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sounds on steel drums or hear a medley of Jingle Bells and Joy To The World. The acoustic format with 3 players does not require much space or any electrics and is a great idea for office party entertainment.

The other advantage of staying in is that you won’t have to worry about parking issues. This is becoming a real concern and can ruin a fun event when you see a ticket on your car or, no car. If you are fortunate to hire a remote country hotel, then this is not a problem, but in the cities and towns some advanced preparations are needed.

Visit our corporate hospitality page for more party ideas and inspiration, or call +44 208 421 2987 if you would like to book our steel band for your party.