How it all started

I love a party! That’s the absolute truth of it. I’m from a big family and growing up we had a party for any occasion; birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, christenings, baby showers, going away party because you're leaving, welcome home party because you moved back. You name it we had a party for it. But Birthday parties were always my favourite.

I used to love getting party bags as a kid, mainly because my mum never did them. Whilst I was always sad to be leaving the fun, I couldn’t wait to see what was inside. Then as an adult, I wanted to throw a big first birthday party for my son. He was a long time coming and we had a lot of trouble with the pregnancy process, and then even more drama in the lead up to his “birth” day with complications for both of us. So, for us his 1st birthday was certainly worth celebrating because the three of us made the first 12 months together! It truly was a milestone birthday. I teamed up with one of my best friends as her daughter was born 3 days earlier with almost as much excitement. We decided on a “Pirate” theme party because we knew we could have some real fun with it. I set to finding decorations and age-appropriate party bag items. We had children attending between the ages of 0 and 12. I could not believe how challenging it was to find age-appropriate goodies and the quantity that I needed. Some items I only wanted 1 or 2 off, others I needed 50. I looked at pre-made party bags from other suppliers and they only had one style to choose from in each theme or they were full of lollies. So, I scoured the local shops and internet to buy everything separately. Over several weekends I went to 10+ different shops to find bits and pieces, but not usually enough, or not matching and having to find more somewhere else. Then I went online where I paid a fortune in shipping. I purchased from websites in China, England, USA and about 3 in Australia. It was bloody hard work and stressful hoping that everything turned up in time and that it was what I ordered, and was what I thought it was. It all worked out in the end, but I knew there had to be a better way! Then, as luck would have it, I was made redundant from my job a week after the party. I’ve been made redundant previously and in the past that feeling of disappointment, the unknown, the general "WTF, what do I do now" feeling weighed me down for days/weeks even. This time was different. I left the building, called my husband from the carpark, and drove home. By the time I was halfway home, I’d decided what I was going to do, and I’d already named my business “Bags Full of Fun”.