SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE 45

Picture the scene... your child’s birthday is coming up.

Jelly and ice cream, pass-the-parcel and musical chairs just won’t cut it these days... every other kid in their class has thrown a themed party this year. For your son or daughter to be able to face their peers for the remainder of their childhood, you know this party has to top them all.

Thank goodness for party retailers coming to the rescue!

But as a party retailer, how do you choose which themes to cater for? While PP is not an advocate of applying specific gender roles, children themselves tend to opt for traditional girl/boy themes. There is an almost endless range from which to choose: superheroes, pirates, jungle safari, science, space and dinosaurs for the boys; princesses, Disney, sweet 16, Barbie and fairies for the girls.

Indeed, Emma Angel, director of Angels Fancy Dress, believes that

children’s parties still seem to have a very distinct gender split in terms of themes. She says: “It’s a generalisation, but most little girls come in to the shop wanting to be a Disney princess (and it’s always Anna, not Elsa!), and the boys want to be their favourite superhero.”

But in addition to the traditional, Emma also thinks that, across the board, films are currently a big driver as to what is popular with kids, with the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Teenage Mutant Hero

Themed Parties

Below:Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron costumes are currently a big driver for Angels Fancy Dress.

THEM(E) AND US

“Our top tip for themed ensembles is to carry the full range; stock the added extras to encourage up selling and maximise the spend per basket. Pocket money add-ons such as themed cookie cutters and latex balloons are perfect - themed party foods really bring the party to life, and balloons make perfect favours as a memento.”Holly Fordermarketing manager, Creative Party

The UK kids party market is worth a hefty £1.2bn. Parents are spending £135 on an average child’s party, according to parenting website Netmums. Throw in themed costumes, goody bags, décor and a themed entertainer for good measure, and that cost further escalates, with one-in-six parents admitting to splashing out over £300. Happily, that doesn’t seem to have put people off as themed parties are rapidly taking over the children’s party market - music to the ears of party retailers.

Inset: Disney princesses like Anna and Elsa are always popular choices for children’s themed parties.

Turtles movies both causing spikes in demand. As Emma reveals: “We always try to manage our stock to coincide with new releases. For example, our new Cinderella costumes were available as soon as the film hit cinemas.”

Charlotte Cox, Amscan’s marketing manager, agrees that films now have a huge impact on themes. Thanks to the launch of Jurassic World recently, the classic dinosaurs trend has seen a recent boost in popularity, something which

has prompted Amscan to develop a new dinosaur themed ensemble to launch early next year. As Charlotte points

out: “With Disney’s The Good Dinosaur launching later this year the trend is sure to continue as a firm favourite into 2016.”

So, the theme has been chosen.

Now, it’s time to focus on costumes, décor and tableware. How important are these factors at a themed party? Well, it wouldn’t be a themed party if you had princess costumes, pirate

balloons and

cowboy tableware, now would it?Helen Hornsby, marketing

manager at Talking Tables, feels that styling in themes is the key to any special occasion or party. With such a wide variety in themes for children’s parties, what does Helen think will be the biggest trend in 2016?

“We have seen a surge in popularity for stylised and premium themes as parents choose more aspirational decorations for their children’s birthday parties. The party must be photograph-worthy as parents will be Instagramming it!”

With that in mind, Talking Tables has created three new unique themes: Pony Party, Pow Wow and Magic, all of which appeal to both boys and girls, though Pony Party would be considered more feminine.

Explaining its approach in these Helen says it wanted to create an alternative to licensed characters and typical colour themes already available, moving towards something more “aspirational. Just because it’s a child’s party doesn’t mean the partyware cannot be design-led. All three designs have been popular with our retailers.”

Whatever themes retailers decide to stock, having the full range of tableware and decorations available will

Left:Leg Avenue’s cool pirate girl.

Themed Parties

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE 47

“One of Leg Avenue’s team members

mentioned that her niece of seven prefers to play ‘pirates’ in

the garden. Stories like these are

rising everywhere around us. It only

confirms the trend of little girls wanting to be, and look, tough.”Joyce Mallomarketing and communications, Leg Avenue

Above: Pams Child Stormtrooper costume from Star Wars. Just one of the kids thems that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Below: The Pow Wow range from Talking Tables, part of their unique themed parties. Right: Amscan’s The Good Dinosaur balloon proving that films now have a huge impact of themes.

make parents lives easier when it comes to theming a party, which in turn should make for a happy loyal customer!

Carl Taylor, marketing director at Pams has noted how: “Birthday parties for kids seem to be getting bigger and bigger and that means that the pressure is on for parents.” He suggests offering a broad range, from banners, invitations,

balloons, novelties, tableware and more, as well as

keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in what’s hot for the kids.

Looking to its own product portfolio, Carl says: “Our latest releases include Star Wars,

wrestling and The Avengers. Of course

we always keep stock of the firm favourites - Disney princess, Peppa Pig and Minions. New

themes are introduced regularly and as soon as licences are signed by suppliers, we always try and make sure we are the first to receive the stock for our customers.”

All that said, here’s one to think about... could buying a theme ‘in a box’ be a thing of the future? New for 2016, toy boxes and dress-up boxes from Pretend to Bee could be the newest phase of the theme trend.

Harrison Palmer, its sales and marketing director elaborates: “We will be packing up assorted sets of our costumes in value buys, ideal for parties. These will include a safari set, jungle set, occupations or ‘people who help us’ sets, pirates, princesses and more.”

So, from pirates to princesses, dinosaurs to ponies – the thrust for kids’ parties really are variations on a theme. And long may it continue.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE 49

Themed Parties

From tableware, to decorations, bakeware and favours, Amscan’s accessories add a sense of fun

and inspiration to children’s birthday parties.

Pirate Kit transfers from Tinsley Transfers are a party bag filler with a difference. Easily removable so everyone even grandparents and tiny tots can join in the fun.

A little pirates dream...from Unique Party comes

this pirate ensemble with all party favourites

including a pirate piñata.

Ahoy, Matey! Pirates are a big seller many retailers. These costumes from Pretend to Bee are sure to float your boat!

Disney Princess tableware and decorations from Pams – what little girl doesn’t

want to a princess for the day?

New for 2016 - beautiful designs and unique products from Talking Tables. The Pow Wow theme is perfect for boys and girls who love to be an indian or cowgirl. Yee-haw!

Ever popular cowboys and indians costumes for ages 4 to 12 are part of the high quality, affordable range from Fun Shack.

Selling fast, the recently unveiled Block Party range from Creative Party, makes a great party theme for any young budding builders with it’s bright colour palette.

Baby and toddler costumes from InCharacter include the Precious Pixie and Dinky Dino, with non-slip grips on the feet, and poppers to allow for easy nappy access.

Quirky costumes from Rasta Imposta include Get Real Cheeseburger and a rainbow of colours from the Crayola range for kids aged 3 to 10 years.

From giraffes and sharks to turtles, Rasta Imposta

has an adorable array of creature costumes for little

ones, with matching adult and children’s versions.

No themed party is complete without balloons!

These foil balloons from Betallic will complete

the theme perfectly!

Themed Parties