One of the most fun (and sometimes stressful) parts of being a parent is planning a birthday bash each year (or a graduation, a holiday, a sleepover party or one of the many other reasons to celebrate your little ones):
The local businesses listed in this guide have all made my life easier in one way or another while planning parties or have caught my eye while attending local events.
For me, one of the biggest parts of throwing a successful party is supporting local. Local businesses exist for every category you can think of and you can support another family while celebrating yours!
Below is a comprehensive guide of local businesses that I highly recommend and love. Using these businesses for your party will guarantee a day to remember!
Balloons and Decorations: Party Poppin':
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Run by a local mother of three, Party Poppin' offers custom balloon garlands and balloon decor for any event. I have personally used their services for my daughters first and second birthday and they always set up the most aesthetic balloon display to fit the theme of any event. The photo albums from both of her birthday parties are full of photos in front of the balloon arches created by Party Poppin' because everyone loves them so much. They take your party to the next level and create the ultimate backdrop photo op! They offer various options to fit your budget and can help create a package designed especially for your occasion.
Follow their Facebook here to find out more.
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Pictured: Balloon arch by Party Poppin' for a mermaid themed fourth birthday party and a balloon arch for my daughters second puppy themed birthday party at Parsley Lane Farm.
Venue: Parsley Lane Farm:
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We've had multiple events at Parsley Lane Farm and it is the perfect open-air, educational, unique setting for any event from egg hunts to birthday parties to weddings. Parsley Lane Farm is a local, heirloom and organic working farm. It was founded by a local school principal and an artist with a vision of establishing beautiful gardens of plants and flowers. Surrounded by Florida’s natural wildlife and their wonderful farm animals, their mission is to share the farm and to educate the public. We recently had my daughter's birthday party there and they provided volunteers to help, tables, chairs, farm games and hands-on time with all of their resident farm animals. It was a huge hit! They are so helpful and guests of every age created so many memories there.
Follow their Facebook here to find out more.
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Pictured: My daughter feeding baby goats at her party, fun farm themed games set up at the party and a craft event at Parsley Lane Farm.
Catering: Levita Nostra Mobile Pizza:
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Levita Nostra was founded by Joshua Segal and Evan Fitzburgh. The concept is simple: they will travel anywhere within a twenty mile radius of Daytona Beach with a $15 flat rate per personal Margherita Pizza (pictured above) with a soda or water included. They take the thinking, planning and cooking out of the equation for your party and you can sit back and relax as your guests revel in the unique experience. Trust me, they'll be talking about it after! When I saw that a new local business would bring a pizza oven to my location and make pizzas with fresh ingredients for all of my party guests, it was a no-brainer; I knew I had to have Levita Nostra cater my daughter's second birthday party. I even threw them a curveball: the party was outside at Parsley Lane Farm. No problem for Levita Nostra: they set up their oven, came fully prepped with fresh ingredients and cooked pizza for my guests with chickens running around at their feet. The best part, the pizza far exceeded everyone's expectations and was the highlight of the birthday party: hand-tossed crust, delicious sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, ready in under two minutes. Each guest was walking around holding their own pizza and raving about how good it was. Kids and adults of all ages also loved watching the chefs make the pizza right in front of them.
More about our experience here.
Follow their Facebook for your future events.
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Pictured: Levita Nostra in action at my daughter's second birthday party.
Entertainment: Miss Jeanine's Music:
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Music teacher by day and rock star by night, Miss Jeanine is a local mom and music teacher who also works private parties and events. She can sing your child's favorite sing-a-longs with her Mary Poppins bag of interactive instruments for the kids, or she can bring her band J and the 9s if you're looking for a fully equipped rock band for your adult party or event.
Here’s a bit about Miss Jeanine: "I am a native of NYC, and have degrees in both music and theatre. I am a singer/multi-instrumentalist who has taught music to children from ages 3 months to 18 years old. Over the years I have led multiple weekly mommy/baby, mommy/toddler and preschool music classes, children's birthday parties, and a youth group band. I have also performed children's music at various family friendly events as a solo artist as well as in a children's focused rock band. In addition, I ran a music program in a private elementary school in Los Angeles with my husband Chris, taught after-school music, art, dance, and drama classes, and gave private music lessons. I also have an independent rock band with him that currently plays all over Volusia County, but have previously toured both nationally and internationally. We are the proud parents of Jack, our 2 year old son, and have 4 cats and a dog named Ruby, Max, Chevy, Shelby, and Rusty."
Read about our experience with her local music classes here.
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Pictured: My daughter dancing in Miss Jeanine's Toddler Music Class and J and the 9s performing at a Locals Mix Event.
Sweets: Katie's Konfection:
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Katies Konfection is run by a professional baker/local mom. We have used her services for my daughter's birthday party and my mother's retirement party. She makes everything from smash cakes to beautiful gourmet iced cookies to chocolate covered strawberries. She also offers assorted boxes and baked goods for every holiday. She is extremely professional and artistically talented and can create anything for any theme. I gave her artistic license with every party I've thrown and she always blows my expectations out of the water.
Check out her delicious goodies here.
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Pictured: Cookies and pastries for my daughter's Onederland party and cookies and chocolate covered strawberries for my mother's retirement party. All made by Katie's Konfection.
Character Appearances: Magic Mirror Entertainment:
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"Magic Mirror Entertainment offers high-quality character entertainment in the Northeast Florida area. They pride themselves in bringing authentic performances to all of their events to ensure the magic is never-ending! They firmly believe that every child deserves to experience the magic of meeting their favorite princess, superhero, or fantasy friend of all kinds, and want to extend that magic to the Volusia, Flagler, and St. Johns County areas!!"
If you've seen a character walking around a local event, you've probably interacted with Magic Mirror.
Make your kids dreams come true and have their favorite superhero, princess or mermaid at their party!
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Pictured: A few of the many characters that Magic Mirror Entertainment offers.
Party Favors:
Sweet Emmies LLC (Paintable Cookies):
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Sweet Emmies provides my favorite party favors that I've come across at any event: paintable, edible cookies! These make a great addition to any party and are customizable. Kids and party goers can paint their cookies and then eat them. It does not get more fun and unique than that!
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Pictured: My daughter painting cookies made by Sweet Emmies at a local author reading.
Support A Local Author:
Another unique party favor option: support a local children's book author and have a story time at your party with books for all the kids in attendance! Two of my favorite local authors are Pat Goldys and Jess Dailey. They both host FREE story times locally and have amazing children's books for purchase.
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Pictured: Author Pat Goldys reading at Parsley Lane Farm. Facebook here.
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Pictured: Jess Dailey reading her book "My Tiny Pet Elephant." Facebook here.
Photographer: Kim Kuhn Photography:
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Local mom and photographer (pictured here), Kim Kuhn provides photographry of every type. While she has done editorial work, family photos, professional food photos and more, she also specializes in events and party photography. Find her wide range of work here. Let her capture your sweetest moments at your party with the whole family so you can have a keepsake of memories of your big event!
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Pictured: Birthday moments captured by Kim Kuhn.
 Save this guide for all of your future party needs and support local while taking the planning out of party planning. Make it a day to remember! -Savannah Kater, Macaroni KID Daytona Beach |
