Flossy & Blossom Parties

05/01/2024

Wow! I can’t believe this was five years ago!!

At the time the fire felt like the worst thing that could have happened. At the bottom of my post you can see I said we’d come back stronger and we really did.

Although we don’t operate as a children’s entertainment company anymore I am so unbelievably proud of what the Flossy & Blossom family went through. I didn’t let the fire knock me back. A year later I didn’t let lockdown knock me back.

Whilst running Flossy & Blossom I obtained an undergraduate degree, a postgraduate degree and a masters. I made friends for life and I have the most wonderful memories. What eventually closed my company wasn’t any of the numerous challenged I faced, but the decision to stop to make room for my own new family.

I’ve kept this page open because I do have plans for the future of Flossy & Blossom. I won’t be putting my tiara back on any time soon but I’m not ready to wash my hands just yet.

Anyway - this popped up on my timeline today. I’m reminiscing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

🔥 FIRE UPDATE🔥

It has been a TOUGH few days. As many of you know from our last post, more than 30 of our costumes were destroyed in the Croydon Fires of New Years Eve.

Many of you have been with me since the beginning of my journey with this company four years ago. You’ve seen it grow. You’ve seen me grow. You’ve seen the addition of some of the most beautiful hand made princesses dresses I’ve ever seen, made by my mother. All but one of them were destroyed and believe me when I say, I am mourning for them, and I want to cry for all of the 100s of hour’s of work that went into them.

I lost more than £3000 worth of costumes and equipment, and that is not even considering all of the personal furniture and stuff that I had stored in there with my company equipment. I have minimal trust in insurance. Tuesday morning I saw no coming back. I thought this was the end...

This is NOT the end. We are continuing on. Yes, our costumes were amazing, but it was our EXPERTISE that made us the company we are. And that has not disappeared, nor has my will to succeed.

We have these characters remaining. We will double that by the end of the month. We will rebuild until we are stronger than we were before.

I could not have considered this option if I hadn’t had so many messages of support from all of our followers. I thank you all truly from the bottom of my heart.

Finally, my thoughts go out to everyone else affected by this trauma. I am lucky that I had the majority of my personal items and furniture at home with me. I sympathise with your losses and hope you have support around you.

14/08/2023

This Saturday we celebrated Olive’s birthday. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting and I was of course in my element.

In my nine years working in children’s parties I attended hundreds of parties, maybe even thousands. (I could work it out if I went back through all my years of records) but it’s different throwing your own child’s birthday party!

We went for a koala theme with grey, white, pink and blue. I want to shout out a couple of companies who really added to the details of the day.

Dragonfly Sweet Company provided the beautiful sweet tubes for the older kids party bags (not the baby).
And Bobblez Inflatablez provided the white and grey bouncy castle, which just went perfectly with my own softplay!

07/08/2023

Oh how my princess identity had changed.

07/08/2023

Olive-May is one!
So begins the five day count down to her birthday party. We went for a ‘koala’ theme inspired by her Australian roots, but we’ve got a pink and blue colour scheme going on to make it pop. I’m on party bag prep today and if you know me you’ll know I am in my element.

03/08/2023

I’ve been quiet for a while as we have been away in the Netherlands for a wedding. But I’m back now and getting in to the holiday swing.
This morning Olive and I went to for a dinosaur disco. She’s dressed as a princess though because next week they’re having a pirates and princess session, and I got myself confused. Whoops!
Oh well. Is there ever actually a place you can’t dress as a princess to?

06/07/2023

I did a thing. You know that thing?

12/06/2023

The rootinest, tootinest cowbaby.

06/05/2023

I used to bake. A LOT. I have set out on missions to find the best brownie recipes. I used to make ice cream from scratch. I once (successfully) made a wedding cake. I considered starting a cake decorating business for a while.
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For as long as I can remember I have loved baking. At some point in my late teens to early twenties it became somewhat of a self therapy for me. In my darkest moments I loved creating something beautiful. Cake decorating is just about the only task in which I can be truly patient and just enjoy being in the moment. In all other scenarios I am go go go.
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Despite all of this though, over the last few years I have barely touched the kenwood and the piping nozzles have remained as unloved as Woody left alone under Andy’s bed, eagerly awaiting their next turn. Recently I have started baking again and to my dismay almost all of my attempts have not gone to plan! I am reminded that cake decorating, like everything else, requires practice! And I am sorely out of practice. I am not deterred though! With my daughters christening around the corner, and first birthday just three months away, I have time to practice. And I am looking forward to the experience.
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I had a go at shortbread and cupcakes today for our Kings Coronation BBQ tomorrow. What did you get up to?

04/05/2023

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!
In all of my eight years of children’s entertaining and dressing up I only ever played a star wars character once! I have very few pictures of myself at that event, but in celebration of STAR WARS DAY please enjoy this hastily edited Canva picture!

12/04/2023

This little princess! ♥️
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26/03/2023

Spot the 🤰baby bump! 💛

This flashed up on my insta memories today and made me laugh because I was actually telling this story the other day.
Here I am - 21 weeks pregnant - doing a Belle party! I hadn’t expected to be doing any more parties by then, and Belle happened to be the only princess costume that fit me.

I could not BELIEVE I managed this two hour party. I adjusted the games slightly, covered my singing with the original recording instead of backing track (did you know your singing voice changes during pregnancy? I didn’t until I fell pregnant!) and took lots of water.
The funny part about the whole day was that I actually cried my eyes out the whole way home. Why? Not because it was my final princess party. Not out of nostalgia. Not out of discomfort. But because they didn’t send me home with any birthday cake, and I, a highly hormonal pregnant woman with an already unnatural sweet tooth, was fighting a raging battle against cravings. 😅😅
What were your funniest pregnancy hormone stories?

(A year on my little princess now)

07/03/2023

It’s funny ‘cause it’s accurate.

22/02/2023

I’ve been thinking back a lot to my party days and what made me love my job so much.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say the dresses were a huge part of it!
This is to the day I received my new Belle dress. I was absolutely in love. You can see of course I didn’t have a wig on (obviously) in this picture. I remember being so annoyed that I’d dyed my hair blonde to make a better Elsa and then ruled out being a natural belle! 🙄😂

19/02/2023

Oh wow! 40th birthday goals!!

A red velvet cake with white chocolate ganache for a special birthday celebration this weekend!! Topped with macarons, mini meringues and white chocolates. Happy 40th birthday!!🥂

17/02/2023

Have you ever been so nervous and so excited that you’re checking notifications every 20 seconds?

That’s me right now.

I’ve got huge imposter syndrome vibes right now after finally taking the first step to launch something I’ve been working towards for a long time.

Many of you have followed my story for a long time. You know I’ve been in children’s party entertainment for over eight years, and in tents/igloos/sleepovers for almost four. Since having my daughter I’ve stepped back from the party entertainment, and slowed down the tents, but I’m still here, ready to teach you how to run your own events company.

I’m launching a free five day challenge equipping you with your first steps to running a successful events business. Want to join me?

Sign up via the link in the comments. Don’t forget to check your junk! Once the email comes through make sure you follow the link to complete your sign up and join the group.

12/01/2023

‘It will be fun’ they said …

02/01/2023

It hasn’t escaped my knowledge that as of yesterday it’s been eight (EIGHT!?!) years since I took over Flossy & Blossom, previously known as London & Surrey Mascots.
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I couldn’t be more proud of this wonderful company and so so grateful for every adventure it bought me. I couldn’t have achieved even half as much if it hadn’t been for the most incredible team of entertainers.
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In celebration, and in no particular order, here are eight of our team. It doesn’t showcase everyone that worked with us, but it’s a glimpse.
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It still breaks my heart that I’m not doing parties anymore. I’ve now sold half of my costumes and am in the process of selling the rest. It won’t be real until they’re gone. It’s sad to see the end of this chapter but I do believe I can do more for your parties this way. I’ve got some really really exciting announcements coming your way soon.
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31/12/2022

Do you want to win a £10 Amazon voucher?
Complete one or both of our surveys, each taking less than two minutes, and go into our draw to win one of two vouchers.

We're putting in a lot of research into children's party planning and in this particular case, budgeting. Help us in our research and you might be one of our lucky winners.

The first survey can be found here and is about planning parties for children aged 3-11. Think hall parties, home parties, softly venue parties etc.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSg4IMTXNgmMpPz9i6pgaGC4ABI-oIR9Qi0SE9dFUUZ33BIA/viewform?usp=sf_link

The second survey can be found here and is all about sleepover parties. If your children are not quite old enough for a sleepover but it is something you would consider doing in the future then please do fill out our survey.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMSR-bj0H5ML_SG_WIv_aoTAeLu67sKgHMOUYrLthDwVOfpA/viewform?usp=sf_link

This really really helps us. All will in time be revealed. But we would be SUPER grateful if you decide to take part in either or both surveys.

All data will be analysed and results may be shared but your personal answers will remain anonymous to the public. The only personal data you will be asked for is your email in order to enter the competition. This will not be kept unless you give us permission to enter you into our mailing list, which you do not have to do to enter the competition.

Access Google Forms with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

24/12/2022

How do you do Christmas presents in your house? 💕
🎄This is my first year as a mum and although she’s got no idea what presents mean, I am wondering how the next few years are going to look.
🎄I’m personally not a fan of seeing an obscene amount of presents. Partly because I don’t want my christmases to be just about presents, but also largely because so many families can’t afford a lot of presents and I hate to see the disparity between children’s Christmas experiences.
🎄Likewise I personally believe presents from Santa should be small and in the singular. How do you explain to a child that they only got a small present from Santa if their friend got an Xbox?
🎄I suppose there’s no right or wrong and we’ll all have our different opinions, but I came across this mantra the other day and I absolutely loved it. I think this is what I’ll be sticking to. I can’t say the same for grandparents but I’ll do what I can.
What do you do for your kids presents?

24/11/2022

Who remembers the good old quiz days?

It seems like a lifetime ago that I spent half my lockdown coming up with new quizzes and gained hundreds of new followers and friends.

Now I’m not saying quizzes are coming back, but, quizzes MIGHT be making a reappearance…

22/11/2022

Just me?? 😂

18/11/2022

Equal parts excited and dreading planning a whole month worth of elf shenanigans… anyone else?
I’ve got just a few remaining boxes for our elf on the shelf arrival. Message us direct to order.

09/11/2022

Five ways to keep Santa alive in your household! SAVE this so you don’t forget.
💕 Write a letter to Santa.
💕 Make magic reindeer food.
💕 Elf on the shelf!
💕 Watch a Christmas film.
💕 Book an Elf visit.
We’re no longer offering Elf visits ourselves but over the next few days and weeks we’ll be sharing lots of companies that are. Keep an eye out for elves in your area.

01/11/2022

It’s time for a GIVEAWAY! 💕
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It’s the 1st November which means it’s time to start thinking about December! Not to mention the arrival of those pesky elves…
Speaking of elves, I’ve got two elf on the shelf arrival boxes up for grabs, one on Facebook and one on Instagram. To enter our Facebook one simply:
1. Like this post.
2. Comment.
3. Share.

And if you want more chances to win head on over to our Instagram and enter on there too.
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Competition in no way endorsed by Facebook or Instagram.
Winner must be based in the Uk.
Winners drawn 8th November.

01/11/2022

Anyone else? 😍

30/10/2022

The ultimate Halloween night in? Witch please!! 😍
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You know I’m alll about the grazing boards at the moment. Any party food and I. Am. THERE! I specifically made this one to watch - I mean I only waited a couple of decades for it, it had to be special!

25/10/2022

And they’re … here!

Elf on the shelf arrival boxes! These super cute boxes are filled with elf goodies and are guaranteed to make your december that bit more magical. You’ll receive:
🎁 Elf
🎁 Stickers
🎁 Colouring pens
🎁 Water bottle
🎁 Letter to Santa writing kit
🎁 Key to Santa’s workshop

❤️ message us direct to order ❤️

£19.99 plus P&P.

20/10/2022

Exciting News!

We're back! Well, we're not. We've changed. We've grown up? Well, we're not the same any more.

I've worked in children's party entertainment for over eight years. I know parties. I know parties really really well. I built this company to be a really reputable company doing multiple parties a weekend. I've seen things.

But they say all good things come to an end, and when I fell pregnant I decided it was time for me to stop parties. I didn't know if that would be forever or just for a little while, although I thought probably forever. The problem is I have so much to TEACH! I'm not ready to completely step away from parties.

So this time I'm on the other side. I'm going to show you how to plan the perfect party. I'm going to make party planning easy for every parent, and, where I can, I'm going to make it affordable. So I'm taking the audience I built (this one right here) and I'm going to keep on spreading everything I know. I'll be changing Flossy & Blossom Parties in three major ways. All WILL be revealed, and you can be assured I'll do everything I can to make sure I still have some tiny part in bringing amazing parties to your doorstep (or lounge, or local hall, or wherever it is). I'll start off introducing change number one. PARTY BOXES.

I've been working on these secretly for a while. These are party boxes but like you've never seen before. Think party planner in a box. I'm putting everything you need (and I mean everything - its not just cups and plates over here!) in a box. It will be like your own personal little event planner.

That's enough from me for now. They'll be here VERY soon. I've also got a sneaky little elf arrival box on the way that will be ready to purchase from this weekend.

Well, I think I've shared enough for tonight. Turn on notifications for this page to be the first to know about all of the next up and coming changes.

Love,
Abby-Rose.

11/10/2022

Something for the grown ups. 😂

I couldn’t not share this. What a wonderful idea.

🍋100% juice, no seeds🍋
There’s a cake for every occasion.. rough week for my husband, the swim team has retired 😂the least I could do was bake him some cupcakes 🙈❤️

06/10/2022

Is it true? Is it really true? Could Frozen III be on the horizon?? 😮🤭
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