Celebrating Hamish’s birthday with a virtual party from Jelly and Custard

I can hardly believe that we just recently celebrated Hamish’s fifth birthday, time seems to be flying so fast .

 

Last year Hamish didn’t want a birthday party, in fact all he asked for was balloons and a cake, so we had a quiet celebration at home.

https://funmammasa.co.za/hamish-turned-4-and-we-went-low-key/   

This year, however he really wanted all his friends to spend the day with him.  As a norm, I would have thrown him a party but we were still only in level 2 lockdown and with both Hamish and I both trying to catch any viruses, I was concerned about a group of people at our home if I did throw a  party at home. I’m also not comfortable with indoor play areas and so I started to look around at what my options were to still host Hamish an amazing party that he could spend with his friends.

Jelly and Custard

That was when I discovered Jelly and Custard Virtual Events. This dynamic and innovative company host virtual birthday parties for kids.

Born from the knowledge of just how difficult it is for parents to plan a birthday party during a pandemic and how much a child longs for a party to share their birthday with their little friends, Jelly and Custard dreamed up the perfect stress free combination of entertainment, treats and socialization for the kids whilst offering parents a party plan to suit your budget, convenience and a beautiful way to commemorate your child’s milestones.

How it worked

So, when you say virtual party, especially to many of us who only started using Zoom during the pandemic, what does that mean and how exactly does that work?

Let me walk you through it ……

Booking your party

The first step is to visit the Jelly and Custard website at www.jellyandcustard.co.za and look through the packages that start at R1200 for 6 children. Once you have set your budget, chosen your theme and decided on the extras you want to include in your child’s birthday party fill in the online contact form , remember to include the date of your event and the number of children. It is helpful to know that they have a two week notice to be able to effectively plan your party.

 

Confirm your details

Once your party has been booked, you will confirm the details which include:

• your theme
• number of children
• date of party and time
• email and contact number for the guests
• choice of snacks and treats in the party box

Then all that is left is to sit back and wait for the big day. Cassidy and her team will then co-ordinate all the details from ordering your cake, finding iced biscuits to match your theme and shopping for the perfect party favor toys and design you a cute party invite to share with the guests.

No detail is overlooked and I was so impressed to note:

• that the balloons matched the theme
• the stickers on the party box were personalized with Hamish’s name and age
• the back of each box had a dinosaur that matched the little dinosaur in the box that each child received.

On the day

On the day of your party, Jelly and Custard will deliver a party box with treats and party favors along with a balloon to each guest.

Our little guests were so excited to receive their party boxes and as we had been on holiday and returned the day of the party, I was so thankful not to have to stress about still trying to set up a party area whilst Brent unpacked the car.

Cassidy arrived with everything I needed to get the best birthday ever started.

Hamish’s eyes were as wide as saucers and his excitement at an all time high as we unpacked his special dinosaur party packet, lego dinosaur party favor

and beautifully iced dinosaur themed biscuits.

And then it was time for the cake …. the most ROAR-SOME dinosaur cake with a footprint topper and a number 5 candle. I had actually forgotten to buy a candle and the thoughtfulness of this being included was the jelly to my custard.

Going online

With everything set up and some pre-party photos taken we waited for 2pm.

I’m not going to lie, I was nervous at how a group of 3-5 year olds were going to host a party online but with Cassidy’s guidance we logged on. The kids were pent up with excitement and Hamish was delighted to have all his closest friends share this moment with him.

We weren’t online long as the kids are young but an older child may want to spend longer online. We thanked our little guests for joining us, everyone said hello

and amidst the giggles they sang Happy Birthday as we cut the cake  and blew out the candles

before all the kids unboxed their party packs

 

and showed off the fun dinosaurs each child received.

A very happy Hamish said bye to his friends and happily bounced off to build his lego t-rex with his dad whilst chomping on the yummiest iced dino biscuit.

 

I simply logged off, dished up cake for us all and joined him in lego building. The easiest party cleaning i’ve ever had in 30 years of parenting.

Final thoughts

My heart breaks at how much our children have missed out on over the last 3 years and for me personally Jelly and Custard offered us a way to ensure that Hamish was able to celebrate his birthday with the magic that childhood should contain.

The convenience of just choosing a package to suit a budget without the hassle of co-ordinating the party, especially for busy and working parents is a much needed sanity saver and service I will continue to use.

The ease at setting up and lack of mess in the virtual party was a bonus for me, mostly as it allowed us to stay calm to what could very easily have been an over wealming day with us arriving home only 2 hours before the party.

Cassidy’s attention to detail impressed me from the start.

The cake was delicious. beautifully decorated and moist to the cut. the iced biscuits melted in your mouth and in Hamish’s words “Yummy yummy”

The party boxes were personalized and full with quality products. No cheap treats. I was also impressed with the  options given and the ability for parents to choose accordingly for dietry requirements, healthy eating or those like me who love to add a sugar rush at a party.

And lastly the party favors were a good quality. I loved that each child was given the little build yourself lego dinosaur as for me this really felt like each child as spoilt with treats , made to feel special and left the party happy with a new toy to play with.

 

 

Virtual party hosted by : Jelly and Custard

Cake: Jelly and Custard

Biscuits : Jelly and custard

Party decor: Jelly and Custard

Table dinosaur decor : Fun mamma SA

Photos: Fun Mamma SA

 

For more information contact

Jelly and Custard

www.jellyandcustard.co.za