Disclaimer: Collaborative post. Stock images are from Pixabay.
But planning a party doesn’t need to be stressful. After all, the most important thing is that you and your guests have fun! There are plenty of ways to reduce sweat and tears while party planning, and using the best event planning apps can help to keep you focused and organised. So, whether it’s a birthday, baby shower or engagement party, check out the following tips for planning a successful party.
Theme
All good parties have a theme. It gives your guests an idea of the kind of party they’re attending, and advises them on how to prepare. Plus, themes add an extra layer of fun and excitement. There are so many whacky and eccentric themes you could choose from these days and, if you’re stuck for inspiration, it helps to consider the person you’re throwing the party for. What are their passions? A theme that connects with the person is normally the best way to go. Just don’t pick anything too out there, or guests might struggle to find an outfit and this could put them off attending.
Guestlist
One of the most difficult things when planning a party is organising the guest list. You might feel worried about inviting too many people, not enough or leaving people out and causing friction within friendship groups. The key with a guest list is to set a clear goal about the size of the party. Is it going to be small and intimate, or a grand-scale event in a large venue? Depending on this, you might have to be selective, or open the guest list out. Generally, considering who gets along well and will make the party fun is a great way to start. Sometimes, you have to appreciate that you can’t please everyone. This worked when planning my baby shower. I couldn't invite everyone!
Budget
Whether you’re throwing a party reminiscent of Gatsby or an intimate garden party more suited to the likes of Mary Berry, you’ll need to establish a budget. This means setting clear guidelines for spending that you make sure you abide by. Whilst it can be easy to go off track, try to remember that you aren’t making a profit from the party, and therefore it’s important to stay within your limits. Don’t splash the cash to impress - money isn’t everything.
Help
Planning a party can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re doing it alone. So, ask for help. This doesn’t necessarily mean hiring people - unless you’re planning a big do, in which case you may need to organise catering or drinks staff. Asking for help can simply mean asking a few friends or relatives to pitch in and provide a hand laying out decorations, picking up refreshments or making a wicked playlist that gets everyone on their feet. Don’t burn yourself out trying to do everything alone. It’s important for you to enjoy yourself, too.
Disclaimer: Collaborative post. Stock image above sourced from Pixabay.
All other images are my own and may not be re-distributed.
Going back to work after having a baby can be difficult. You have had a lot of time to get used to being at home with your baby and now you have to leave your child with someone else. But it may also feel good to get back to a sense of normality and have some independence again. One of your concerns might be if you want to continue to feed your baby breastmilk, then how will you do it? Luckily, it is still possible!
Your place of work is required to make reasonable adjustments for you. This was highlighted by the class action lawsuit filed against Avon by mothers who felt that they were being discriminated against. Their argument was they were not given proper support for exercising their rights to time away from the desk to breast pump whilst at work. If you are having any issues with your place of work you should search: class action lawsuit attorney near me.
When you go back to work, you can continue breastfeeding as you normally would. However, the nature of your nursing relationship may have to change. As big changes happen you may feel that continuing to breastfeed is important for both you and your baby. It is a fantastic way to connect with your baby and is good for their health.
Breast milk has countless benefits for your baby during the first six months of their life. It is packed with antibodies and the chemical makeup of it changes if your child becomes sick, as well as when they grow. It is perfectly tailored for them. Beyond the first six months, it continues to be beneficial.
It is important to raise concerns and have conversations with your employer before you go back to work and make a plan together. You may be able to leave work to breastfeed, work from home for part of the day or finish work earlier. Speak to co-workers who have had children, get support and find out how they dealt with going back to work.
Your place of work is required to make reasonable adjustments for you. This was highlighted by the class action lawsuit filed against Avon by mothers who felt that they were being discriminated against. Their argument was they were not given proper support for exercising their rights to time away from the desk to breast pump whilst at work. If you are having any issues with your place of work you should search: class action lawsuit attorney near me.
When you go back to work, you can continue breastfeeding as you normally would. However, the nature of your nursing relationship may have to change. As big changes happen you may feel that continuing to breastfeed is important for both you and your baby. It is a fantastic way to connect with your baby and is good for their health.
Breast milk has countless benefits for your baby during the first six months of their life. It is packed with antibodies and the chemical makeup of it changes if your child becomes sick, as well as when they grow. It is perfectly tailored for them. Beyond the first six months, it continues to be beneficial.
It is important to raise concerns and have conversations with your employer before you go back to work and make a plan together. You may be able to leave work to breastfeed, work from home for part of the day or finish work earlier. Speak to co-workers who have had children, get support and find out how they dealt with going back to work.
You also have a right to have a space to breast pump whilst at work. Expressing your milk will ensure that you maintain milk production and will allow your baby to receive your breast milk when you are apart. You will need to keep it fresh in a fridge somewhere at work. If you decide not to express at work ,but want to continue to breastfeed outside of working hours, then you may need to find a way to express initially, or slowly build your hours up at work. This will prevent any discomfort or breast problems such as mastitis.
Another important factor is to have high-quality childcare from people who understand your and your babies' needs. You may even have a carer who can bring the baby into work for you when it is time to breastfeed. You are very lucky if this is the case!
In conclusion, everyone’s situation is different. Do what is right for you and your baby. Your employer needs to support you in your choices and make adjustments for you. Speak to them openly about your and your child’s needs and make proper arrangements laid out and signed for returning to work.
Another important factor is to have high-quality childcare from people who understand your and your babies' needs. You may even have a carer who can bring the baby into work for you when it is time to breastfeed. You are very lucky if this is the case!
In conclusion, everyone’s situation is different. Do what is right for you and your baby. Your employer needs to support you in your choices and make adjustments for you. Speak to them openly about your and your child’s needs and make proper arrangements laid out and signed for returning to work.
So, here I am almost 6 months later. Finally hitting the publish button once again. And wanting to really put my all into blogging again. I want to make it better than ever. Forgive me if you thought I fell off the planet though... I'm still here! Just about publishing this with an 8 month old climbing all over me.
Disclaimer: Collaborative post. Stock images sourced from Pixabay.
Everybody knows that the most important factor for a successful blog is to fill it with mind-blowing content. There are lots of things that you can do besides that to level-up your blog. By implementing the following tips and tricks, your blog should see a massive increase in traffic. I imagine you are reading this tips post because this is your number one goal.
Outsourcing
There are lots of things you can do on your own to improve the quality of your blog. If you are extremely busy or a little bit unsure about how to go about it, you can outsource some work to a freelancer. By using staffing agencies or recruiters you can find great freelancers or Virtual Assistants. These options could be an easy way to level up your blog; although not always the cheapest.
Strategy
Having a strategy is the most important thing you need to think about when considering how to grow your blog. A blog with 100 subscribers will need a completely different plan to one with 100,000, so be wary of following generic plans on the internet.
Email is one of the easiest places to start, as it is free and requires little knowledge. You can send soft emails or newsletters to your subscribers reminding them to check out a new post and to share it with their friends. You can also create cold-email campaigns, sending your blog in an email that convinces new readers to check it out.
Social is Key
Social media is another easy and mostly free way to grow your blog. Create a page for your blog and begin interacting with other pages and readers. Reach out to them and see if you can do content swaps or promote your blog on their page in exchange for writing them a free article. Don’t forget to implement as many social media profiles as you can - you would be surprised at how many there are. Using LinkedIn and Pinterest may feel unusual, but they can reach a whole new group of readers who might not have seen your blog otherwise. Remember to make it easy for them! Place your social share and follow buttons in clearly visible locations around your site.
Engagement
The more pages your readers visits, the longer they spend on each page, and the lower their bounce rate = the higher quality they are to you as a reader. High volume can be misleading, as sending lots of traffic to your blog is pointless if they are not engaged by what they see. Make sure you spend time creating engaging content, as this will not only raise engagement levels, but also help you rank higher on search engines. A good way to check what people find engaging is to stake out your competitors, find their popular posts - discover what your audience want to read.
That’s it!
Focus on the 3 factors above and you should see a massive rise in your followings. Blogs are essentially very simple. Create engaging content and promote yourself in a strong way and people will come back to your blog. It’s just a matter of education and perseverance.
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