From themed parties and award-winning entertainers to baby stylists and post-natal photo shoots, glitter fans can do it all for their children. Here we get an insight into the Haute Monde educational world
Paris and Tyson Fury's son Prince celebrates his 12th birthday at the theme park
Since founding GOPR & Events, Stephanie Ledigo, 35, who lives in the North West, has had more than 28,000 Instagram followers. And her planning skills have seen her booked to host themed children's parties for stars including Paris Fury, Jorgie Porter and Jennifer Metcalfe – although the likes of Kym Marsh and Olivia Attwood have also turned to her to organize their “adult parties”. up” events!
My business started 10 years ago when I started hosting small events at hair salons and gyms. One of the salons said they wanted a celebrity involved so we asked Tanya Bardsley from The Real Housewives Of Cheshire to be involved.
Stephen Lidigo has hosted parties for celebrities such as Paris Fury
She was the first celebrity I ever interacted with. The event was a success and through word of mouth I started doing more. It's really all thanks to Tanya. It's gotten completely out of hand lately and I've been doing events for actors from Hollywood and Coronation Street as well as people from Geordie Shore. I can't think of a celebrity who hasn't messaged us at some point. I would say that children's parties are one of my favorite events as the themes can be out of this world. We have received many extravagant requests. We get a lot of requests for miniature ponies and farm animals, and boys tend to like reptiles. Everything is getting bigger and bigger. We had live contortionists for a “Greatest Showman” theme and do a lot of festival parties.
Often parents wish they had thrown a party like the one they threw as children. The parents also plan something for the love of their life, so it usually takes months. On average, a full children's party costs £5,000, although some customers have spent over £20,000. However, we adapt to every budget. There's so much imagination involved and you can really put your mind to it.
Organizing a children's party requires a lot more planning than an adult party because the details really matter. An adult party is often about choosing the food, but with kids they don't care as long as it contains sugar. It's more important to the kids to have something that looks absolutely incredible, so seeing something become a reality is amazing.
Coronation Street star Tina O'Brien has also been linked to the event planner(
The question is when the children will get involved. Sometimes we meet with the parents and a child comes in and asks for a neon chocolate fountain. We must kindly explain that it doesn't exist, but we will try to find something similar.
Parents send us quite a lot of details about what their child likes and dislikes, because when you ask a child about their interests, they naturally change their minds quite often. One week they might like Frozen and the next week they might like Moana, so we try not to ask them too many questions. We'll just keep building the best theme possible.
Many of our customers are business people. I think because they are so busy they want to make sure their kids have something special. We noticed that first birthdays are a huge deal and then they probably won't have another big birthday until they're four or five, so the kids are a little more aware.
Every party is different, but if it's aimed at children between the ages of zero and four, they will always love a gentle game. We always have great sweets too. We had a poor kid who had a cotton candy maker at his party. They immediately ate four servings of cotton candy and became ill within the first hour. Over the years I've learned that the key is to make sure the party doesn't last too long. Two and a half hours is definitely the maximum. After that it goes downhill.
The work may start months before the actual day, but the party isn't any easier. We take between 20,000 and 30,000 steps because we constantly check that everyone is okay. It's a lot of work, but seeing the children's reaction is the best feeling in the world. I would love to do something for the Kardashians one day. I saw Kourtney Kardashian throw a Disney baby shower and recreating something like that and creating a Disney world in someone's home, complete with the castle, is my dream.
Find and follow GOPR & Events on Instagram at go_pr_and_events
As CEO of Amanda's Action Club, 53-year-old Londoner Amanda Frolich knows a thing or two about kids' parties. The award-winning celebrity children's entertainer has worked with everyone from pop stars to politicians and counts Take That's Amanda Holden and Mark Owen among her happy clients.
I was hosting birthday parties at a local recreation center when my husband told me I could start my own business. Therefore, I never thought that I would appear as a children's entertainer among the stars. Living in London, I naturally started meeting different celebrities through my work. My first big gig was for David and Victoria Beckham and since then I've been a children's entertainer for everyone from musicians to Hollywood stars.
Amanda Frolich is the CEO of Action Amanda and has worked with a variety of celebrities. WEEKEND MAY. SUNDAY 7 AM Stars push the boat out – Amanda Frolich aka Action Amanda
It is assumed that families who have money go overboard when it comes to event planning, but nine times out of ten that is not the case at all. Every celebrity I've worked with has been super down to earth. They all keep their parties authentic. I threw a party for Boris Johnson's son and it was very intimate. It was in a church and there was a bit of soft play, sandwiches, a game of pass-the-parcel and a cake from the local cake shop. For most of my clients, it's more about creating memories than holding elaborate events.
I consider myself a preschool party specialist extraordinaire, entertaining children in the most engaging and interactive way. My parties are dynamic and energetic and I bring a real wow factor to match their theme, whether it's dinosaurs, princesses or superheroes. Children have fun with music and props while being active at the same time.
I've seen horror stories about children's entertainers, but luckily I've never let a customer down. Parties are something very special for me. As soon as I put on my uniform and my white glasses, I am Action Amanda and I will do anything to make someone happy.
The best part of my job is watching families connect with each other. During lockdown I hosted a virtual party for a family in Brazil and Portugal. I told both groups to grab a broom to use as a hover stick and started playing some music. Seeing them have so much fun together despite living on the other side of the world was magical. Although the focus is on children, adults are not neglected either. At my parties you won't find her in the back with a glass of Prosecco. They'll do a mass hokey-cokey!
Find out more about Amanda's business at atamandasactionclub.co.uk
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