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I hope that you are loving our new Ask the Expert blog series! As a mom and a teacher, it can sometimes feel like you need to know it all. It’s overwhelming; but the truth is that there are so many amazing people out there who can make life easier for you. Each week I will be featuring an expert that relates to life with children. I will also be giving you a chance to anonymously ask your questions to each expert! Watch for my IG stories each week announcing the expert and to submit your questions! This week’s expert is, Allison Carter. Allison is an online party planner and the host of a popular podcast! I was so glad to talk to her before Valentine’s Day!

Here is a little bit about Allison before we get started!

Allison lives in the Seattle area with her high school sweetheart, Ryan, and two kids, Evie and Hudson, and has always loved a party! She loves bringing people together and creating memorable experiences for her loved ones. Allison believes that every occasion, big or small, deserves to be celebrated, and she helps families do just that. She has about a million amazing resources to help with party planning and just being a mom that you will read all about in this interview! Allison’s work has been featured in Forbes, Better Homes and Gardens, Mingle Magazine, Motherly, New Day Northwest and more!

What do you do as an online party planner?

My sole goal is helping busy parents save time and energy when planning their celebrations so they can relax and enjoy the moment! I want to bust the dread and overwhelm that comes for many when party time rolls around!

How do you help busy parents?

I create party planning guides and checklists for themed parties called Party Plans. These are 20+ page digital documents, fully designed and outlining your whole party. Think of it as an interactive vision board allowing you to outsource the planning and shopping for your party! I do the upfront work, you take it home by hosting.

Party plans include links to purchase all supplies you need to bring your themed party or holiday celebration to life. Links to purchase invitations, printables, outfit options, decor (both DIY or ready made- you choose what’s best for your schedule and headspace!), activities with supply lists, menu plans, dessert table tutorials, favors parents would actually want, and a full 6 week out checklist breaking down your tasks into small, manageable chunks. No more time wasting and overwhelm! Party plans save a mom on average 10 hours of party planning/hunting for the supplies needed, and help save money because they keep you laser focused on exactly what you need to buy- no more wandering grabbing anything and everything that “might” work!

I have over 50 themes for all different occasions listed on my site, including a custom option that I will build if you need a theme I don’t currently have finished.

Why is it important to celebrate with our kids?

Stopping to slow down, get out of our normal routine, and celebrate these milestones with our family is what is building our family’s story. Each Christmas, birthday, report card celebration, love note on the door for Valentines- each of those are chapters and paragraphs to this amazing memory filled archive we’re creating for our kids. 

Kids want us. They want our attention, our love, our affection, our validation. When we show up for them, fully present and intentional about the moments we’re creating, something changes inside that child. Their chest puffs up a bit, they get a huge smile and they get it.

I was raised in a family that put a lot of value on these celebrations and memory making moments and I am incredibly grateful for that gift. I know and understand the feeling and impact it has and I want to give that same gift to my own family.

And I want to make it very clear…this does not mean having an over the top party. Parties and beautiful celebrations are amazing, and they give me and a lot of the moms I work with, joy. But that not be the case and that is 100% okay. However, a milestone, occasion, or big moment in your child’s life (losing a tooth, epic report card, reaching a goal, etc) should not be passed by. Acknowledge it, celebrate it in a simple way- a toast at dinner even- and don’t let it just fall through the cracks.

I host a podcast called Memories in Moments and one of the questions I ask every guest is “what is your favorite memory from childhood?” I am super intentional when I ask that question because I have yet to have a guest say something big. It’s always something so little, but something that clearly made an impact in their life. Family dinners, camping trips, a conversation they had with their parents, making a craft with their mom, baking, etc. All so simple and all so easy to make routine in our lives. I call these turning up the volume moments! What’s something that you’re already doing…but turning up the volume could make it a bit more special?

Valentine’s Day is coming up and many moms will be busy planning class parties! What tips do you have?

Keep it simple and delegate! Valentine’s Day is all about passing out cards and opening the ones they receive. That’s really what kids want to do and it’s something that takes more time than you think! I taught 2nd grade for years before deciding to stay home with my daughter, and Valentines Day always shocked me with how long it took for those kids to give out those dang cards!

Choose 1-2 treats, one they can help make it fun. I like decorating rice crispy treats as something different, creating a popcorn snack mix with popcorn, sprinkles, themed M&Ms or other candy. I always like to have one healthy option as well so maybe an all red and pink fruit salad or skewer. Strawberry yogurt tubes are also nice and easy!

For activities, think of something kids can do independently and quietly at one station and then work together with a team at another station. I like having kids sit down and write love notes to their family or someone special. It makes them think about something they appreciate or are grateful for, which is a huge skill, while also working their emergent literacy skills. Bonus points, have them cut out the hearts from a piece of paper and get some of those fine motor skills working too! 

For a group activity, they can play a game, do something sensory like play-doh with pom poms, jewels, a heart mold or cookie cutters for shapes, glitter, etc. 

I have a whole class party outlined with links to purchase what you need, along with lists needed to send to the class or upload right into an online sign up service that I’m happy to email out! You can email me at allison@allisoncartercelebrates.com and I’ll send it your way asap!

What other events can you help with?

I help with first birthdays, birthdays, holidays, baby showers, bridal showers, engagements, bachelorettes, girls nights outs, etc. You name it, I’ve helped plan it! First birthdays are my absolute favorite to help with because those mamas hold a special place in my heart with all the emotions and exhaustion they are dealing with…and a first birthday just has so many fun special personalized details to it. My sister is getting married this year and I finally have an excuse to host a bridal shower and bachelorette and I am SUPER stoked about both those!

Another party I’ve started to get a reputation for is my Favorite Things Parties. I host one every single summer for my mom tribe and it’s literally our favorite day of the year! The perfect moms night out and excuse to get a cute new outfit, share your favorite things and walk away with presents! I have Party Plans breaking different themes down with the games I play, gift ideas and more all on my site under Girls Night Out Party Plans. I highly suggest trying one out. I can’t say enough about how fun and special this party is!! SO needed for our sanity and self care as moms!

What resources are available to help?

Helping moms is my favorite thing in the world. I am constantly trying to create content that helps you get excited about celebrating these fun moments and milestones with our families!

Besides Party Plans, I’ve got two other fun ways that I serve my tribe!

Memories in Moments Podcast

I host the Memories in Moments podcast! It’s my favorite way to show up weekly and teach about how to start turning that volume up, sharing some of my favorite easy but memorable ideas for celebrating holidays and special occasions, and I get to interview awesome moms that are experts in their field to help make this ride of motherhood just a little bit easier and more fun! I’ve interviewed moms like Ashley Smith with Veggies and Virtue teaching moms how to actually get your kids to eat what you serve them, Dr. Sheryl Ziegler about how to beat mommy burnout once and for all, and even a couple dads like Dave Hollis, where I got to pick his brain about fatherhood and connecting with your kids on an individual level! 

Memories in Moments: Unwrapped!

I have a holiday and special occasion themed subscription box called Memories in Moments: Unwrapped! This is brand new, launched last October and I am SO insanely excited about it I could just die.  Each month you get a delivery of holiday, special occasion or seasonal themed crafts, activities, memory making ideas and more delivered straight to your door! While you wait for your shipment, you can enjoy the digital Celebration Guide that comes included with your box and map out all the easy and fun ways you’re going to celebrate that month with activities, games, ideas for screen-free quality family time, recipes, and more! It’s the ultimate time saver and kids are OBSESSED with getting their package, addressed to them, and opening it each month. Such a special gift to give to your family! You can learn more about boxes and what they include, and my different subscription packages here!

Reader Questions:

Y’all come up with the best questions! Each Sunday in my IG stories, I announce what expert I will be interviewing and give you (yes, you!) a chance to submit your questions to be answered by the expert! Here are the chosen reader questions for this week:

I am a teacher at a low income school with very little parent involvement. What can I do make holiday parties special for my classroom kids?

This was me too, sister! I totally get it. Kids just want something out of the norm. Anything out of the norm of the day to day life is special! When it came to parties when I taught, they fell on my shoulders, and that was okay. I wanted to give them a really fun and memorable day so I put a little more effort into things, taking what I could from parents, but not having an expectation.

Create magic.

One year for Valentines day I made play-doh (super cheap and easy!) and each kid got a ball at the Valentines party. I made this a bit more special by adding food dye to the middle of each ball and once they started kneading it, it magically transformed into a color! We called this magic pay-doh and it ended up being a quiet choice activity. Super memorable and I became somewhat famous at school for that one! Instant tradition!

Make friendship bracelets.

Another thing we did often was make friendship bracelets. Depending on the age of your kids, you can have them watch a YouTube video on actual string with patterns OR you can use pipe cleaners and thread beads through them. Dollar Store will have everything you need! The Dollar store will also have a ton of themed paper plates, napkins, and stuff like that to make your room festive and fun.

Write love notes.

Another fun thing I did was write each student a love note (a paper heart with a little note). This was my Valentine for them. Some years I would tape them all to the board and kids would have to guess which one was theirs based on what I wrote about them. You don’t need to spend money to make it memorable- you just need to make a few tweaks to the things you’re already doing to make the day more special. 

Where are your favorite places to shop for party supplies?

I love supporting smaller shops and artists like My Minds Eye, Ginger Ray, Sprinkles and Confetti, and Daydream Society!  When I’m shopping for Memories in Moments: Unwrapped boxes, those are my first stops because I want boxes to have unique items in them- something you can’t find just anywhere. I also love checking out places like Home Goods and TJ Max! They have such cute paper goods and party supplies for really great prices! Sometimes you have to dig, but they’re there! Also, if you LOVE a really cute patterned plate or napkin, but they are a little pricey, pair it with a solid color from the Party City or Target. The mix makes things a little interesting and it’s a great budget saver!

Want more from Allison?

Allison has the best website, www.allisoncartercelebrates.com with post like Valentine’s Day Family Date Night Ideas and How to Survive Party Day! Her party photos will make you swoon! She is also on Instagram and Facebook. She loves to connecting with readers, so please introduce yourself and say hi!