INSIDE THE $$$ WORLD OF CELEB BABY PARTIES
UNICORNS! £700K BUDGETS! ICE PALACES! MICRO PIGS!
You know you’ve gone wrong somewhere in your life when a two year old is getting into cooler clubs than you. Heir to the X Factor fortune, Eric Cowell, put us all to shame two months ago, when he celebrated his second year of being alive with a mega-bucks bash at the exclusive Arts Club in plush Mayfair. A-list dad Simon invited a slew of celeb mates –oh, and Sinitta because, always.
But Eric’s was positively pedestrian compared to some ’dos. Extravagant parties for children have been on the rise in recent years, as celebrities seek to out-bouncy-castle each other on social media. heat spoke to several upscale party planners, including Charlotte Morris, founder of Dazzle and Fizz, who specialise in “magical bespoke children’s parties”, to find out
what really goes into the multi-million-dollar world of celeb baby parties.
“We see demand increasing week in and week out,” says Charlotte, who has worked on kiddie’s parties with budgets of upwards of £250,000, and regularly hosts events at high-class venues around the world, including the Mandarin Oriental, The Dorchester hotel, Bulgari, Claridge’s and – one time – the middle of an actual desert. “Our clients’ privacy is of paramount importance to us, so I can’t divulge any names, but I can say we’ve partied with everyone including pop stars, music industry professionals, premiership footballers, royalty, famous bloggers, fashionistas, socialites and more. We’ve made ice palaces in deserts, flown in real unicorns – yes, they do exist – made replica cakes of stately
homes, recreated TV show sets in five-star hotel ballrooms, sourced micro pigs for guests to cuddle, arranged private trains for guests to arrive in, built customised pirate ships and mermaid coves, flown giant Poké Balls across the channel, made ice caves out of fresh flowers and partied in numerous palaces across the world.” Phew.
And you only have to look as far as Instagram for examples. Heiress Tamara Ecclestone spent an estimated £70,000 creating an actual zoo in her backyard for her daughter Sophia’s first birthday. They had zebras, sheep, puppies and ponies shipped to her London mansion, where they jostled for space with a pink balloon castle created, of course, with S-shaped balloons. The Beckhams are known for their excessive children’s parties, with party guests that have included everyone from Heidi Klum to Gwen Stefani. They once spent £150k on a custom-built playhouse, and another time hosted a Hollywood Extreme Martial Arts themed party for Cruz, who showed up in an Optimus Prime costume. Rumour has it even down-toearth Adele persuaded David Blaine to appear at son Angelo’s magic-themed first birthday.
Liz Taylor, from Taylor Lynn Corporation – who arranged Coronation Street actress Cath Tyldesley’s baby shower and has worked with actors, soap stars, musicians and sports legends – says she’s regularly given a budget between £7k and £700k for children’s parties. “The most I’ve spent on one item was when I hired a circus,” she tells us. “It was well worth it, though. We had a big top, acrobats, clowns, a ringmaster, trapeze artists and fire-eaters. We spent over £50k just on that.
“I also created a fairground in someone’s garden with five days’ notice. Fortunately, they had a huge garden, so we could bring in full-sized dodgems, a carousel, hook-a-duck, waltzers, hot-dog vendors, candy-floss machines, street entertainers and even a big wheel. Planning it all in time was the real challenge, and the logistics of getting everything into the garden without destroying the turf or manicured flowerbeds – all down quite a restricted private driveway – gave me more than a few headaches. But it was worth the challenge – the kids loved it. Frozen has been a strong influence, too. I recently created an ice rink in one child’s back garden and had professional ice dancers teaching the children to skate.”
Over in the US, things get even crazier, with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West throwing North a real-life festival for her first birthday. Called “Kidchella”, there was a Ferris wheel and a massive karaoke stage, where Kendall and Kylie sang with Jaden Smith. Beyoncé and Jay Z had a jungle theme for Blue Ivy’s second birthday, renting out the entire Miami Zoo so their daughter could get up close and personal with penguins and kangaroos. And to top off the theme, Blue’s present was a pure-bred Arabian horse rumoured to have cost $75,000. For her third birthday, they went with a Frozen theme that included an ice sculpture and a six-layer rainbow cake. And as if that wasn’t enough, Blue’s most recent birthday had a marquee fashioned
‘Bey and Jay rented out Miami Zoo for Blue Ivy’
into a magical fairy kingdom, with real-life princesses (kind of) and themed costumes for all of the guests. “Children’s parties are becoming a really big thing, with first birthdays being the biggest occasion right now,” says Steven Duggan, of Steven Duggan Events, who recently organised a bash with a £70k budget. “We’ve arranged a mini theme park, petting zoos, a medieval foot bridge and several very large ice sculptures with the child’s name. We once had to hire an entire castle, too. There are so many themes, colours and styles to go for, and gift bags tend to be a big spend right now. They can include soft toys, vouchers, upmarket candy and ipads.”
But it’s not all unicorns (er, real or otherwise) and rainbows for the party planners, with Steven admitting things “can be very pressurised”. Charlotte adds, “Most of our clients are amazing, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t met one or two Mumzillas over the years.
“They are the most formidable force you will ever deal with. The only thing I remember saying no to was when a client asked for a live tiger at a party full of five year olds. I don’t think my insurance would have covered that…”