The Clubhouse Scene party planners (Austin area)

I had the great pleasure to host a party that The Clubhouse Scene planned, and I literally sat back and did absolutely nothing as my backyard transformed into this magic playland for a “Fairies and Knights” party.  Rebecca Obenhaus, the owner of The Clubhouse Scene wanted to showcase her full-service party planning service, and I was more than happy to gather up a group of 12 volunteer children.  As this was a mixed group of boys and girls, mostly aged 4 and 5, she suggested that we try the most popular party theme with this age group, hence Fairies and Knights.

Honestly I was not exactly sure what to expect.

We decided to use my backyard as not to spend any extra money to rent a facility, though in retrospect, I think a space sans swing set probably would have been less distracting for the kids.  We chose a Sunday afternoon from 2-4 pm, and promptly at noon, Rebecca and her party host assistant arrived.  They set up a dressing room, a vanity table, a fabric covered tent for the tea party, a fairy castle, a knight’s castle, and several squishy toadstool mats.  I felt rather useless, standing back and doing nothing as I am accustomed to running around like a chicken with my head cut off before a big party, but what a nice change though to do nothing!

Once Rebecca and her assistant were done setting up the backyard, they came in and prepared fresh sandwiches and strawberry-walnut spinach salad.  They also unveiled the beautifully decorated cupcakes from Sugarbakers.  I thought that her attention to detail was spectacular.

The party guests arrived.  We asked the children to enter through the backyard gate, and nearly everyone (child and parent) looked either stunned or impressed with the backyard display.  Right away, the girls made a beeline for the rack of beautiful fairy outfits, and the party host led each child to the dressing room where each girl came out in a fairy costume.  The boys were more reluctant to put on the knight’s armor with the exception of one lone knight in plastic armor, but the knight’s shields and swords were a hit.

As each child was costumed, the others sat in the tented area where they worked on crafts.  This was a huge hit with every child.  Once the crafts were done, the kids were led over to the toadstool ring to play fairly typical games (duck duck goose, bouncing ball races, hula hoops, etc).  Rebecca and I had discussed on the phone beforehand that this group might be a little bit more challenging as far as planned activities.  For one, the children are a bit younger and with about half not having been to preschool/MDO, group activity with specific instructions were a little lost on some.  The second challenge is that unlike most birthday parties where there is an understood “guest of honor” and most invitees knowing each other, here we had no birthday child.  Also, the kids were not a cohesive group of friends.  That also posed a challenge in the group activities.  I do have to commend the Rebecca and her party cohost for never losing their cool as the preschoolers started an activity and half ran off to the swing set.  They went with the flow, and let the kids take the lead.  The kids wanted to play hide and seek, and they immediately took the cue and played that with the kids.

Then it was time for the tea party.

Beneath the tent, there were china tea sets.  Surveying the parents afterwards, most were impressed with the real china.  I suppose we are all used to plasticware with kids, but it was too cute to watch the kids with the sugared tea cups.  This was a HUGE hit with the kids.  I believe that most of the kids have not had carbonated drinks, and the tea was a ginger ale punch.  Many of the kids requested water to drink in their tea cups.  The kids had kettle corn, chocolate covered pretzel sticks (Knight Swords, Fairy Wands), and tea sandwiches to accompany their tea.

Then came the beautiful cupcakes.  This picture should say it all.

The parents had their own buffet bar with croissant chicken salad and croissant roast beef sandwiches with salad and fruit.  The water bottles even had labels (Fairies and Knights) on each one, which was another big hit with the kids.  The food was fantastic, and the parents had their own cake as well.

Finally, the kids were led to the toad stool.  In exchange for changing out of their costume, each child received a handmade goodie pouch.  These handmade bags are another big hit with the girls, especially.  Many have been filling their “treasures” at home with these drawstring pouches.  The birthday child’s name is embroidered on the bag.

What we experienced was the full-service, all inclusive party.  From start to finish, Rebecca and her assistant set up, take down, and clean up the party.  My daughter absolutely loved it, and from the post-party reactions, nearly every child thought it was fantastic even if he or she did not participate in all the games.

I asked Rebecca to what level of customization that parties can be.  It sounds like the sky is the limit as she will work with the family to create the party of a child’s dream.  The parties can simply be The Clubhouse Scene coming in to run the activities to an all-inclusive blowout party.  The Clubhouse Scene can do as much or as little as desired, and that is reflected in the price.  I polled the parents afterwards about pricing out a party, and the average amount most spent on food alone was somewhere around $150-$250.  So for those who also rent a facility on top of the food, The Clubhouse Scene’s pricing is comparable. (All inclusive packages start at $448. Smaller packages start at $288.)

Theoretically if I had planned every detail of this party with Rebecca, I would have been specific to tell her about the dietary restrictions of some kids, the number of sugary foods, and the types of activities (mostly crafts, fewer games).  Instead, I turned it over to Rebecca to set the agenda, and everyone got a sneak peek at the various possibilities The Clubhouse Scene can provide.  It was a wonderful experience.   For a parent of a child who likes dress up with friends and who does not have the time, will, or creative energy to dream up and execute a fantasy party for a child, The Clubhouse Scene is a wonderful way to go.  Great job Rebecca on a party well planned!

The Clubhouse Scene
(512) 228-1888
Rebecca@ClubHouseScene.com
Facebook Fan Page

A TREMENDOUS THANK YOU to Jen Barnes Photo, Dawn Fry Photo, and Hsubox Photography for taking all these wonderful photos!

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