Expo earns plenty of party favours

Unicorns, fairies, ride-on animals and DIY cakes that can be baked in a cardboard box featured inthe country’s first children’s party expo.

Parents, kids and stall-holders alike seemed to agree that the opportunity to find party ideas and products under the one roof at Palmerston North’s Conference and Function Centre yesterday was a great one.

Kelly Wilson turned up on the first day of the two-day event at 11am with her children Amelia, 4, and Avery, 2, and was still there at 3pm.

‘‘They liked the ride-ons,’’ Wilson said, referring to the colourful battery-powered animals on the Funtime stall.

‘‘Amelia also liked the Boom people... the fairy, and tried out the survivor section, though that was aimed at older children.’’

The Boom Events ‘‘fairy’’ was Georgia Bergerson from the reality TV show Survivor NZ. Bergerson owns Bloom Events with Piers Finch.

‘‘[Amelia] was having lots of fun,’’ Wilson said.

Wilson’s preference was for a company that designed themed and bespoke decorations.

‘‘Much better than trying to make your own.’’

Kelly Horrocks of Whanganui’s Kelly Louise Designs said she enjoyed the opportunity to get out and talk to people, as it was far too easy to become ‘‘lost in all the social media’’.

For parents who lacked confidence, skills or time when it came to baking birthday cakes, Shayne Hughes and Ange Rye, also from Whanganui, had a solution.

The pair have more than 200 DIY cake designs, and their supplied ingredients can be mixed up and baked at 160°C in a pregreased, disposable cardboard box.

‘‘We have six kids, so there are a lot of tasters,’’ Rye said.

Organiser Emma Anderson said she was pleased with how the show had gone, and was gearing up for bigger numbers today..

The expo runs from 10am to 4pm.