Continue shopping
Your Order

You have no items in your basket

01746 766876 | Mon - Fri 8:00am - 4:30pm | info@dottyaboutpaper.co.uk

Event Planning

Wedding Invitations

What Time Do You Put on a Wedding Invite?

Whose name should be placed first on the wedding invitation? Here is the answer you are looking for!

UPDATED ON December 08, 2023
Wedding Invitations

Three Ideas for Unique Wedding Invitations

I absolutely love a good wedding.  It’s not only the bride and groom who look forward to the big day – it’s also their guests

UPDATED ON December 08, 2023

Music Party Themes

Music Party Themes - Thumbnail
With so many genres out there, a music party can be anything you want it to be! Everyone loves music, so you can rely on a musical birthday party theme to please guests both young and old. Here are just a few of our favourite music themes, along with ideas to inspire your decorations and food.

Karaoke

Karaoke parties can easily be tweaked to fit your own style. Choose your favourite genre and theme the party around the tunes or the musical time period. Think 1950's America for rock and roll, space-age decor for electronic hits, or an all-80's retro theme. Also, make sure to find fun invitations to match! Music Party Themes - Karaoke Party Birthday Invitations Featured Design: "Birthday Invitations - Karaoke Party" Add fun microphone motifs to your food and drink to keep guests singing the night away. This fun recipe for microphone cake pops is sure to add a modern twist to your buffet table! Music Party Themes - Cake Pops by Scholastic Cake Pops: Scholastic Karaoke parties are a hit with kids and adults alike! If your child would love this theme for their next birthday, simply update the playlist with kids favourites. Then, give the children inflatable microphones and glowsticks to add bright and colourful vibes to the party. Music Party Themes - Fun Karaoke Party Birthday Invitations Featured Design: "Ready To Write Kids Birthday Invitations - Fun Karaoke Party"

Live Music

Any music lover will adore adding live music to their birthday party plans. So, take things to the next level and theme the whole party around the entertainment. Hire a band, or let your musically talented friends perform to make the day even more memorable. Base your day around the genre style. For example, an acoustic guitar performance would be perfect when paired with rustic country-style decorations. Music Party Themes - Acoustic Guitar Birthday Invitations Featured Design: "Birthday Invitations - Acoustic Guitar" Or you can simply add music note patterns to decor and food, using items like this unique rolling pin and some subtle sheet music bunting. Music Party Themes - Rolling Pin by AlgisCrafts Rolling Pin: AlgisCrafts If you want to add a spin on this theme for a children's birthday, why not have a musical party? Let the guests become the musicians with a selection of child-friendly instruments, like tambourines and xylophones. Base decorations and food around music notes and instruments. Music Party Themes - Instruments by Gear4Music Percussion Set: Gear4music

Disco

Another great music party idea for both children and adults is a disco night. This funky theme will soon have guests up and dancing. To start, get guests ready for the fun to come with eye-catching invitations. It's a good idea to remind everyone to bring their dancing shoes in your invitation wording! Music Party Themes - Disco Party Birthday Invitations Featured Design: "Kids Birthday Invitations - Disco Party" Then you can start planning your food and decor! Of course, glittering disco balls and colourful lights are a must. Music Party Themes - Lights by lights4fun Lights: lights4fun Pair up your impressive decorations with equally impressive food! Disco ball cupcakes, anyone? Music Party Themes - DISCO BALL CUPCAKES by A Beautiful Mess Cupcakes: A Beautiful Mess Whatever theme you choose for your music party, you're sure to have a firm favourite no matter who you invite! So, grab your microphone and dancing shoes, and start planning your musical celebration!
How to Organise a Barn Dance Birthday Party

How to Organise a Barn Dance Birthday Party

Barn dance parties are fun for all ages. They're a great way to celebrate a birthday with a big guest list. Country fans and western enthusiasts will love the classic American theme, but everyone can enjoy the fun easy-to-learn dances. Here's a few tips on organising the perfect hootenanny!

Barn Dance Venues

Once you've planned your guest list, pick a venue that will give everyone plenty of room to dance. You'll also need room for refreshments, along with an area for the caller and band or audio equipment. The perfect setting is, of course, a rustic barn! See if you can find a local barn for hire in your area. If you can't find one, pick another large space like a local hall, leisure centre, or even a big garden. Make sure the floor is suitable for dancing feet, though! If you're hiring a hall, create the perfect photo opportunity these photo props!

Party Invitations - Barn Dance - Pack of 10 

For refreshments, you can't beat an American-themed buffet! Light bites are ideal for keeping the dancers' energy up. They're easy to grab between songs, too, so you don't need to halt everything while people leave to eat. But if you'd prefer to stop for a big meal, try fun rustic food like a hog roast.

Party Invitations - Country Barn Dance - Pack of 10

Invitations and Decorations

There are a few different ways to theme your barn dance party. Create a traditional scene with rustic bales of hay covered in gingham blankets or hessian. Vintage decorations like mason jars and bunting add to the country vibe. Or you can go all out with Wild West decorations, like cowboy boots and saloon signs. This theme is great fun if you're expecting a lot of kids at the party. We love these props - perfect for photograph fun. Whichever theme you pick, find the perfect invitations to match. Make sure to detail the time, location, and theme on the cards. Let everyone know they'll need to bring their dancing shoes... And why not encourage a bit of country-style dress-up?

Party Invitations - Barn Dance - Pack of 10 

Featured Design: Barn Dance Party Invitation

Barn Dancing

The great thing about barn dances is that they can be as in-depth or as relaxed as you want! If you have a big budget, you can hire a professional caller, and even a band, to make an unforgettable night. But if this isn't an option, you can still have a great time. All you need is pre-recorded music and a way of teaching the guests the dance moves. There are great tutorials online that you could project onto a wall or screen at the party. Or, if you're feeling brave, try learning the steps and doing the calling yourself! Don't worry about getting things perfect; with some upbeat country music, everyone can have a great time simply free-styling to the tunes!

Party Invitations - Country Barn Dance - Pack of 10 

Featured Design: Country Barn Dance Party Invitation

Organising a Surprise Birthday Party - Organising a Surprise Birthday Party - Chalkboard Layer Cake

How to Organise a Surprise Birthday Party

Surprise birthday parties can be tricky to organise! Here are a few tips to help you plan a secret party.

Planning

Before you starting planning, think about what the birthday guest of honour wants. They might be planning their own birthday party, or even a celebratory holiday away. Perhaps they just want a quiet day to themselves. Think about whether your gesture will be appreciated or not! If you’re not a family member, ask relatives for their opinion. Once you’re sure a surprise party is a good idea, start planning. Traditionally, guests will wait for the birthday person to arrive and surprise them. But what if the guest of honour is shy or doesn’t like shocks? In this case, bring them to the party first and have guests show up one-by-one. The Card Gallery - Polka Dot Surprise Birthday Invitation Featured Design: 'Polka Dot Surprise Birthday Invitation' Pick out someone that will act as a guide during the day. It should be someone with whom the guest of honour feels comfortable. It will be their job to keep them occupied while the party is set up and guide them back in time for the surprise. If you’re holding the party at a house, the guide can take the birthday person out while you get ready. A trip to the cinema or shopping isn’t suspicious, especially on a birthday, and it ensures the guest of honour is booked for the day so they won’t make conflicting plans. It will also make a great birthday treat to put a smile on their face before the party’s even started! If the party is at a venue or restaurant, the guest of honour’s relatives make a good choice of guide. They can pretend they’re taking them for a meal or a day out, when they’re actually leading them to a party!

Food and Decorations

Plan the food and decorations as you would for any birthday party. Pick a theme, or use the person’s hobbies and interests as inspiration. You might even base it on a ‘surprise’ theme to reflect the party. Choose food and decorations that can be easily hid until it’s time to set them up. You don’t want the guest of honour to find them! Bunting and confetti are good choices as they can all be packed away and put up quickly. As for food, choose things that don’t require much preparation – it could cause problems if your guide’s timing is off. Pizza, crisps, and other party foods are a good choice. And of course, don’t forget the birthday cake! It looks great to have the candles burning in a dark room when the guest of honour enters. Happy Birthday Fairy Lights by www.gifts.co.uk Source Image: 'Happy Birthday Fairy Lights' from www.gifts.co.uk

Invitations

There’s one big rule when writing surprise birthday party invitations – tell everyone it’s a secret! Make it clear so that no-one starts chatting to the guest of honour about their upcoming party. As with all birthday invitations, make the date, time, and location clear. It’s very important that people don’t show up when the birthday person is around! You might suggest a nearby car park for guests to use so the guest of honour won’t see their friends’ vehicles and get suspicious. Organising a Surprise Birthday Party - Organising a Surprise Birthday Party - Chalkboard Layer Cake Featured Design: 'Chalkboard Layer Cake Birthday Invitation'
How to...Stick to Your Budget

How to...Stick to Your Budget

Whenever you start to plan a celebration, one of the first things you are advised to do is set a budget. We all know that setting a budget is one thing – sticking to it is another thing all together! But, you can do it. Here are just a few ways you can make sure you keep control of the pennies, without compromising on quality. 1. Prioritise what you HAVE to have at the party. Write a list of the must haves – this will include: venue, food, drink, invitations and may include entertainment, decor, new clothes. Then write a list of would like to haves, such as a photographer, fireworks etc. Focus on prices for the must-haves. Once you have finalised a price for the necessities, you can see whether you have any money left for the rest. 2. The date – think about when you are going to have the celebration. For an occasion that is not time specific eg wedding or christening, you will get much better value for money in the winter. For a birthday or anniversary, obviously time-specific, some venues may be cheaper if you book midweek or in the afternoon. 3. Venue – village and community halls are very cheap to hire and many venues, such as sports clubs are free if you use their bar. If you want to go to a hotel, have a look at their all inclusive packages. 4. Food – many venues are quite happy for you to self cater for parties. In my own family we do this frequently and we always end up with a complete excess of gorgeous food – everyone likes to show off their speciality dish. You may also have someone who loves icing cakes – perhaps they could do that as a present for the event. 5. Drink – If you are buying a sparkling wine for the event, see if you can buy it on a return basis if you don’t use it all. Make up some cocktails (and mocktails) using soda water as part of the mixture. Guests do not necessarily expect free drink for the whole event, just let them know there will be a cash bar. 6. Other supplies – for other suppliers it really is worth shopping around. Many suppliers will have a tiered price structure, ranging from “bargain” to “premium” service and occasional sales and offers to make your pound go further. Here at The Card Gallery we have a permanent selection of affordable stationery collections plus frequent sales If you have got a budget for a specific service, tell the potential supplier up front. Ask them what they can do for £x amount – being up front with your budget means you are not wasting yours and their time. You can buy some fabulous party clothes on line, but a little tip from a dressmaker friend: buy at least one size too big, because it is always easier (and cheaper) to make the dress smaller than to expand it. When you are organising any celebration, remember that people want to enjoy themselves. Parties are a great way to catch up with family and friends and that is far more important than how much money you spend. You can have as much fun under a gazebo in the park as you can at a 4 star hotel.
Organising a Retirement Party

Organising a Retirement Party

Retirement parties are held in honour of a person retiring and should be a fun event looking back over their working life and looking forward to their future. A retirement party can be organised either by the retirees company or by the family, but either way they should be a joint effort between work colleagues, family and friends. Some companies will have a policy about who gets a formal retirement party, based on length of service or seniority for instance. Whether you are organising the party as a work colleague or a family member, you need to be aware 1. That the retiree may not be looking forward to retirement and so could well be emotional 2. That the retiree may not want a party – maybe they would prefer a trip to an event or entertainment. 3. The retiree should not be regarded as being old – I have read a lot of blogs suggesting they won’t want loud music at their party - would you say that to Mick Jagger? You will also have heard retired people say that they don’t know how they ever had time to work and I have running friends whose race times improved after retirement, so for many people retirement is a new lease of life. Bearing these points in mind you need to think how best a party can honour and appreciate the retiree, taking into consideration their working life, social life and family life within a budget. A retirement party is a one-off occasion and should be very personal to the recipient. Your budget will help determine the venue and how many people you can invite. Many pubs and clubs have free rooms for events and all you have to pay for is the food and drink. Normally the food and a welcome drink would be provided by the host (the people organising the party) with a cash bar thereafter. Guest List The guest list should include: • Work colleagues • Family (you need to decide whether grand-children are included) • Former work colleagues who the retiree was close to • Associates from work, eg suppliers, sales-people etc with whom the retiree worked closely • Friends Once you have agreed a guest list and a venue you need to send out invitations. These need to include the name of the retiree, the date, venue and RSVP details. If you are having a theme this should be stated on the invitation, which should reflect the theme. Read more for ideas and wording for retirement party invitations. The Party A retirement party should include speeches and a toast in honour of the retiree. Make sure these formalities occur in the first half of the event so that everyone can relax. It is also a good idea to reflect the life of the retiree. Have a brief “This is Your Life” where guests give anecdotes about the retirees life or scan in photographs of the retiree at various stages of their career onto a presentation and have these showing on a loop. You could have a quiz about the retiree or decorations that reflect their working and social life. If you have gone for a themed party make sure the food, decor and entertainment fit in with the theme. Retirement presents are often purchased by collection at the workplace, family and friends can add to this or purchase gifts of their own. A retirement party should give the retiree great memories of their working life. A guest book with photos and comments can be a great memento and can be passed round on the evening. Just remember; keep it fun, keep it personal and respect the conflicting emotions of the retiree.
How to Organise an 18th/21st Birthday Party

How to Organise an 18th/21st Birthday Party

In the UK people celebrate coming of age at both 18 and 21. Eighteen is the age at which you can vote, get married without consent, sign contracts and, most importantly for celebrations, drink alcohol. It marks the time when teenagers are regarded legally as adults.

The reason that a 21st birthday is also celebrated is that, until 1969, 21 was the age at which all these rights came into place. Until the 1950s there were “coming out” balls for single upper class ladies once they have reached marriageable age, approximately 18. This was the start of the London “season” and these debutantes were introduced to the monarch in their first season.

Most people now celebrate both occasions, with the 18th tending to be the bigger family party, probably because the teenager is still living at home and it is a chance to all meet together before they leave home to go to University.

18th birthday parties are not easy to organise: firstly there is the issue of alcohol – if your child is one of the oldest in the year many of their friends cannot legally drink alcohol; secondly many venues will not hold 18th birthday parties; thirdly most of the guests will be teenagers, so there is the risk of uninvited guests, noise, drunkenness and mess. We have had a plethora of 18ths in the family over the last couple of years, including my daughter’s, so I thought I would share these tips based on my own experience with you:

1. Ask your son or daughter how they want to celebrate – not all of them are party animals, so they may prefer a trip to a theme park with friends or tickets for a gig. If most of their friends are already 18 they may want to go out on the town, that’s fine – if you want a family get together too, book a local restaurant for the family.

2. Check out local venues – understandably many venues do not like 18th birthday parties, mainly because of licensing laws; just because it is a private party does not mean they can sell alcohol to under 18s. However they are more likely to allow the booking if it is a family party. My daughter’s was at a local golf club and my nieces’ in a private room at a Pub and both of them were family parties. Guests were mainly family, friends and work colleagues, with just the closest friend group present – perhaps 20 with partners.

3. Send out formal invitations – this helps in that you have a formal list of who is invited, it takes away the informality of invitations going out by social media and getting passed on in an uncontrolled way. My daughter did not want to send a blanket invitation to the whole class, – by sending out invitations as a parent it was a tactful way of limiting the friends who were invited.

4. If you send out formal invitations you are more likely to get a formal reply, which helps for catering purposes. Teenagers are notorious in saying they might come, or turning up for a short time and then “going on” somewhere else.

5. Invite their friends’ parents – over the years friends’ parents have probably seen a lot of your children. Having them at the party is a way of saying thank you and also is likely to make the teenagers behave better.

6. Have some entertainment – if you have a band or karaoke the teenagers will probably drink less and be less likely to get bored and start causing trouble.

7. Have a theme – not totally necessary (unless you have my daughter who always wants a theme!) but it does help break the ice between family and friend groups and make it memorable. We chose a Musical themed party - I was desperate to be an embarrassing mother from Mama Mia – but other suitable themes might be Movies, Harry Potter, Twilight, Vegas or a Rock Concert.

8. Do not have the party at your house. Throughout my children’s teen years we have had small parties at home and in the garden, but I would not have an 18th at home. Even the best behaved group of teenagers are large, boisterous and likely to get drunk rapidly. Twenty-first birthdays are not so tricky. The event is more likely to be organised by the birthday girl or boy and there is not the issue with under-age drinking. Hopefully they have grown more sensible, so even if you do opt for a big family party the issues around venues will not be such a problem. It is well worth having a family party for one if not both of the events, because it is a great opportunity to see the younger members of the family maturing into adulthood.

Planning a Summer Party

Planning a Summer Party

If you are planning a party this summer, you may well be hoping that you will be able to sit outside in the garden or on a terrace, whether at home or at a venue. Of course, this being Britain, you can’t guarantee the weather, but what you can do is theme your party to make it feel like summer, even if there is a downpour! One way to bring the sunshine to a party is to serve cocktails. They don’t have to be complicated or expensive – in fact some are really simple, like the mojitos, mint julep and sangria. You can serve cocktails in a colour that reflects your event by using fruit juices or fruit purees to produce the colour you like and flavour the cocktails to reflect the theme. You can even be creative with non-alcoholic cocktails, with more and more lovely fruit juices and non-alcoholic wines available, you can make beautiful drinks, so that everyone can join in. Here are some party themes that are perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, hen parties or just a summer get together. You can have them at home or at a venue – if the weather is set fair you can event go out to a park or beach. Day at the Races – we can’t all make it to ladies day at Royal Ascot, but we can all dress up in glad rags and hats and celebrate with champagne cocktails. You could all have a flutter too, perhaps in a race to be televised during the party. Party in the Park – make up a posh picnic and make your own party in the garden or a local park – if it rains opt for the bandstand or picnic in your house. Make up an iced-tea cocktail or Pimms. If you can get outdoors take some games: Frisbee, Jenga or quoits gives everyone the chance to join in. Beach Party – what makes you think of summer more than getting out the shorts and swimwear, relaxing with a cocktail and hiring a hot tub or blow up the paddling pool and fire up the barbie. Re-live the summer hols with sangria, daiquiri or kir royale. Rio Carnaval – much as we resist it, we will probably be gripped in World Cup Fever next month – if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em and have a Carnaval themed party. Dress to impress with flowers, feathers and fruit and samba the afternoon away accompanied by the ultimate retro cocktail, pina colada. Preparation for any of these parties could include making your own signature cocktail, have stock in to have a cocktail creating competition on the day. To do this you need to provide: Something strong – gin, vodka, rum, whisky for example Something sweet – you can make a basic syrup or use elderflower cordial Something sour – lemon, lime You may also want to provide angostura bitters, fruit (to puree, add to the mix or garnish), herbs (mint and thyme are popular in summer cocktails), ice, fruit juices, tonic and soda water. Set the tone for the party by sending invitations out about a month in advance - if you want guests to bring their own ingredients for a cocktail competition, let them know. Enjoy the sunshine.
Planning a Surprise Party - Shhhh!

Planning a Surprise Party - Shhhh!

You’ve seen them on your fav TV programmes: from Emmerdale to Friends, surprise parties are a staple of TV land. But, as the surprise party for ex-TOWIE, Mark Wright, recently showed, they can be great fun in real life too. Surprise parties may not be quite so common in the normal world, perhaps because they can be tricky to pull-off, but if you follow a few simple rules and plan it all well, they can be brilliant. Rule 1: Make sure everyone knows the party is secret. Send out invitations that tell guests it is secret. Make sure that if it is a family invitation they tell everyone in the family it is secret. I nearly put my foot in it lately when my hubby received a facebook invite to a surprise party. I very nearly posted a message on FB to say we were going. Make sure how to RSVP is clear. This is when you need .... Rule 2: Have an accomplice This is vital if you are arranging a surprise party for someone you live with. You may need someone to send invitations and make ‘phone calls. You will certainly need someone to receive RSVPs, whether by post, phone, email or text. The accomplice can also help with other arrangements: buying supplies, decorating the venue, providing an alibi etc. Rule 3: Make sure the person you are surprising is the right person at the right time This rule might seem a bit weird, but surprise parties are not for everyone. For instance: • some people just don’t like surprises. They like to be in control and usually do all the organising. • Other people who get really excited about birthdays will ensure they celebrate by making their own plans. They might be hurt if you appear to have forgotten their birthday, so you will need to either fit the surprise round them or do it before or after the actual day • Make sure they are dressed right – you will need to make sure the alibi fits in with the style of the event. A person who always likes to dress-up when going out will hate it if they turn up in trackies when everyone else is in their glad rags. Which leads us to:- Rule 4: Don’t make it too difficult Make the surprise party fit around something fairly normal. If you usually go out on a Friday night, fit it round that. If you like to go walking on a Sunday, meet friends for a surprise picnic. If the person you are surprising goes shopping with a friend on a Saturday have a surprise at the house when they get home. Rule 5: Don’t talk about the party Make sure everyone invited knows not to talk. Let as few people know about the party and arrangements as possible. Only talk about the party with your accomplice and get them to do the chasing. With those rules in place, you need a plan: 1) Book the venue if necessary 2) Work with your accomplice to get the guest list together and find all the contact addresses. 3) Send out invitations 4) Appoint a ‘babysitter’ – the person who will ensure the guest of honour gets to the party. Have at least 1 excuse up your sleeve – sometimes the original plan won’t work 5) Organise food, decorations, entertainment and who is going to organise it on the day 6) Once you have had replies let the guests who are coming know the arrangements – for instance they may need to be at the venue an 1 hour before the guest of honour is expected to arrive and they will need to hide their cars. 7) The ‘babysitter’ will need to ensure the person you are surprising is dressed right and ready to go – with a secret way of telling the guests that they are on the way. 8) Make sure someone acts as a host to your guests and keeps everyone informed on the night, then you can all surprise the guest when they arrive.