For some, time never passes more slowly than at a swim meet—or a child’s birthday party. Disputes start, tears fall, and all you can think is, When will this be over, and where is the wine?
It could be easier. You could summon the pros.
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For years, Maggie Peterson wished her twins’ birthday parties could be magically arranged.
“With trying to manage a busy household, it got to the point where I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to just have a fairy do it for you? To show up at your house and have everything from invitations to picking up the cupcakes, picking up all the dinnerware, and all I have to do is open my front door?’” Peterson says. “After talking about this for two years, my husband said, ‘Why don’t you just stop saying you are going to do it and just do it? See what happens.’”
She teamed up with Holly Meyer, a college friend and fellow graduate of the parks, recreation, and tourism program at the University of Missouri in Columbia. A year ago, they founded their company, formally named {b.celebrate.d} with The Event Fairies.
With six children between them, Meyer and Peterson have plenty of personal experience. Peterson starts planning her twins’ birthday parties in November, two months beforehand.
Last year, her 7-year-old daughter chose an ice-skating theme, while her 7-year-old son picked the cartoon strip Peanuts. “We went ice-skating first,” Peterson says. “We came back to our house. We had cupcakes and a hot-cocoa bar. But to carry out my son’s party, we had Woodstock’s wing-ding bar, Snoopy’s Red Baron pizza, and Peppermint Patty’s cookies.”
For $75, The Event Fairies will provide a two-hour consultation on an upcoming party, including a design board detailing the theme, the decorations, and the food. For $10, they’ll handcraft 18 cupcake toppers and wrappers, and for $20, they’ll create a name banner (up to eight letters; each additional letter is $3). The pair also offers packages ranging from the Fairy in a Box ($295) to the the top-of-the-line Pixie Posh Package ($595), which even includes “an onsite event fairy” to welcome the guests, corral the children, and assist with opening gifts.
An example of a recent fête planned by the pair was a vintage Barbie birthday party. The color theme was light pink, hot pink, and black. The activity: Dress up in costumes, crowns, and shoes, provided by the fairies. The food? The guests chowed down on a buffet of Midge’s malted milk balls, Skipper’s strawberry cereal, and Barbie’s Jet-Puffed marshmallows—and all the dishes were dyed pink.
The guests numbered 35. The birthday girl was turning 3.
{b.celebrate.d} with The Event Fairies, 636-223-0034, theeventfairies.com.
