So I may appear to be a bit of a brat, throwing myself a party since no one else will, but I figured there are probably lots of others out there, like me, who bust their butt working hard for themselves, their family or for someone else, only to receive little or no appreciation at the end of the year. I decided to fix this by throwing a party especially for us! This party is for the stay-at-home mums and dad, the entreprenuers and solo business people, it's for the casual workers, like relief teachers (me!) or for people with tight ass bosses that don't put anything on. This party is for ANYONE who feels underappreciated at times (don't we all!) and wants an excuse to celebrate.
Whether 2017 was a killer year or whether it nearly killed you (metaphorically speaking), then we need to eat, drink and be merry to celebrate and commiserate all the wins and pitfalls we have faced over the past year. It is these ups and downs that make for this glorious life we are fortunate to live.
The setting will be on the deck and backyard of Neighbourhood Espresso in Currumbin Waters. The owner, Cleo, is an old friend of mine who is kindly opening up her beautiful establishment out of hours to cater for our Christmas bash. If you haven't been to or heard of Neighbourhood, go check it out. It is my regular haunt when I am catching up with friends, especially with kids, as they have an awesome little caravan, toys and plenty of room to run around. Plus the food, coffee and service are AMAZING! Cleo assures me there will be PLENTY of food catered by her team, including sliders, salads, wraps and some hot food platters. The venue is unlicensed meaning it is BYO alcohol (bonus!) but they will be serving all their usual coffee, tea and cold drinks on the day. Check out Neighbourhood on Facebook and Instagram so you can see how awesome it is going to be there!
I have also been collaborating with lots of other local businesses as I wanted to help promote other upcoming (and established) businesses to help them get an extra kick start. After this whirlwind of a year starting my own business, I know how hard it can be to get your name out there so I thought this would be a great opportunity to help spread the word of some amazing people out there having a go, doing something they love.
Among some of the donated prizes are:
- Corpmentis have very generously donated $2500 worth of marketing vouchers including "Business Card and Logo Design", "Google Adwords Setup" and "Facebook Campaign Design and Setup" that you can win on the day. Perfect for any new businesses starting out or established businesses looking for fresh ideas.
- Wildlings Photography is giving away a Family Portrait and Print credit valued at $300. I was lucky enough to have Camilla shoot my maternity and newborn pics and she is just AMAZING! Be sure to check out her work here.
- The awesome guys at Woody's Surf Shack have donated a $50 bar tab. Perfect to help celebrate the silly season.
- Kelly Elle Salon will take care of your hair and beauty treatments with a generous $100 voucher!
- Boheme Collection is kindly donating one of their beautifully handmade pieces valued at $40. The perfect piece to bring some creative beauty to your home. Check out more of their work on Instagram @bohemecollection.
- The lovely ladies at Malfoy & Rose Candles have kindly gifted one of their handmade, 600g Caramel Vanilla candles worth $30. I've smelt this one and it is delicious! You can also find them on Insta @malfoyandrose
- Fat Rabbit is an awesome children's book series that was written by an inspirational local man, Wayne Patterson. He is suffering from Motor Neurone Disease and wrote the books for his grandchildren that he is hoping to meet. Proceeds to his books go to raising funds for the research of MND, so not only are you getting entertaining and educational books for your littlies, you are also making a difference when you buy from Fat Rabbit. I loved them SO much that I featured them in my latest book "Teacher for a Day- Early Childhood Edition". They have kindly donated "The Fat Rabbit Collection" valued at $110!
- Olsen Avene Community Children's Centre also loves supporting community projects and generously donated over $200 worth of children's books. Great gifts for Christmas or for yourself, because as I always say, much to my husband's dismay "We can't ever have enough books, right?"
- Haven Lifestyle is a new kid on the block but set to take storm in the online space. With amazing homewares at reasonable prices, we are lucky enough to have them gifting us some goodies for a great cause. If you are lucky, you could win a gorgeous homewares pack + $20 gift voucher valued at $120.
- Tropic Abode is another up and coming local business selling candles and homewares. They have kindly donated one of their delicious Soy Candles for you all to win.
- The Source Bulk Foods will be gifting a hamper full of waste-free goodies, from chocolates to granolas to pamper jars to double insulated water bottle/thermos etc PLUS a discounted voucher for a one-on-one nutrition shopping tour.
- Symbolik in Miami is giving away a massage voucher worth $70. Polly does Aromatherapy Massage and Sound Healings. The frequencies of the planetary spheres are placed on the meridians of the body specifically for individual healings. A sound bath with quartz crystal bowls and Tibetan bowls complete the treatment. I've been lucky enough to have this treatment and it is DIVINE!
- Vintage Lamps and Unique Shades will be donating 3 decorative hoops which are a beautiful feature on any wall. Lashay sources one off, vintage fabrics from all over ensuring her pieces are unique and always a statement piece.
- Amy Louise Cash is making waves in the Self Love space. She runs amazing workshops to promote well being and self-love and has generously donated a one-off coaching session for one lucky winner valued at $175. Her love of life is infectious and I am stoked to have her on board.
- The creative folk at These Walls have kindly donated one of their gorgeous cushion covers valued at $95. https://thesewalls.com.au. All their work is designed, printed and sewn locally and their unique designs are a sure talking point for any household.
- The Garage is an all-new vehicle maintenance concept that has recently opened up in Miami. They pride themselves on high-quality service and offer a kid's area and a separate quiet customer lounge with fresh coffee while you wait for your service. They are offering a $200 voucher towards a service which can get you a minor service or some tyres. This place looks schmick and with somewhere kids can go? Genius!
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Teacher for a Day will be donating a book of choice from the range PLUS there will be big specials on my books (which I never do!) to celebrate launching my newest book, TFAD Early Childhood Edition.
+ more donations to come!
These goodies will be raffled off to raise money for The Smith Family Christmas Appeal, helping young Australian families have a brighter Christmas this year. I plan to run the raffle so you can choose which prize you would like your tickets to go in for, so you have a better chance of winning prizes that you will love (although personally, I would love them all!).
Let's get together, support local businesses and connect with other locals to have a fun afternoon out. Bring your partner, your friend, your mum or your grandpa. Bring anyone who deserves some time out to celebrate another fabulous year of being alive! Let's eat, drink and be merry! Make sure you grab your tickets here before they sell out as the venue has a limit on numbers.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Kelly
xo
