If you have been reading my blog and following me on social media over the last year, you know that I love to bring together local bloggers and influencers while hosting a variety of events. Although I have never been an official event planner (although that was the first job I was offered out of college) I love to host a good party! Event planning is definitely in my blood and or was what I did in a previous life! My first event last fall was an intimate blogger brunch and my second event this past spring was a large social event with dozens of bloggers, influencers, and shop owners from Southern California!
I had always envisioned hosting an event at Disneyland and it was just a matter of time before I did! My dreams came true last month when I hosted a dozen So Cal influencers and bloggers at The Happiest Place on Earth with my good friend Jenny from Princess Turned Mom. Jenny and I had been following each other on social media for a long time and had gotten to know each other better over the past year, but had never met before we started planning this event. We hit it off immediately and have even met for some play dates outside of the event! Our kids love playing with each other as much as we love hanging out together! I am so thankful she said she would host this event with me. I mean, who better to ask be my #princessincrime than a former Disney princess herself! She is the most beautiful, humble, thoughtful, generous, and intelligent human being and she has the sweetest family! If you aren’t already following her blog and social media you are missing out! She is amazing and her writing is captivating! You can find her blog by following this link http://www.princessturnedmom.com and follow her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/princessturnedmom/ and Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/princessturnedmom. And did you know she even has her own shirt line? She created 3 designs of her “Princess in a Former Life” collection and you can find them and buy them on her website here http://princessturnedmom.provencollection.com/52/princess-in-a-former-life-collection We wore matching Rose Princess Pink tops at the park the day of the event!
My goal for every event I host is for everyone to connect, collaborate, and cultivate friendships. There is nothing I love more than building a community of local moms, bloggers, shop owners, and influencers with similar lifestyles and mindsets. As moms, and businesswomen, we need a tribe that will support and encourage each other. Plus I love making new friends whether it’s in the virtual world or in the human flesh world. Social media introduced me to these women and this event enabled us to meet, network, and create a closer bond and friendships with each other.
The event took a lot of preparation and started with us picking a date and a guest list. Since the event was inside the park, we needed to pick moms that had an annual pass to the park. Once we picked the date and the guest list, we worked on contacting sponsors for the event.
Our title sponsor was Cosatto USA http://www.cosattousa.com. Not only did they send me a brand new double Supa Dupa Go stroller for me and my children, they also paid for all the guests to have lunch at Carnation Café inside the park during the event, and gave away a stroller to one lucky winner on Instagram! For more information about Cosatto USA and my new stroller, please read my blog I wrote here http://theparentologist.com/lets-talk-about-cruisin-in-my-cosatto/ and to shop my stroller click here http://www.cosattousa.com/supa-dupa/supa-dupa-go-lovestar
Petunia Pickle Bottom graciously gave both of us and all the guests the new Disney Baby Axis Backpack in Sketchbook Mickey and Minnie! We used these backpacks to put all of the rest of the swag inside from our other event sponsors! The backpack has a ton of pockets and the bottom section is an insulated cooler! The backpack even comes with a diaper changing pad and a carrier for wipes! We had so many people come up to us at the park asking where we got our bags, and at the time, they weren’t available to the public yet, so we felt extra special thanks to this amazing company! And once the event was over, each of us attendees gave away one backpack on each of our Intragram feeds – yes, we gave away 10 backpacks! You can shop for yours here https://www.petunia.com/explore/collections/ppb-disney-baby/axis-backpack-in-sketchbook-mickey-minnie and for all of their other bags click here https://www.petunia.com
KIND Snacks was another event sponsor and donated dozens of nutritious and delicious bars and fruit snacks for all of the moms and their children! We snacked on them all day long at the event and even had some leftover to enjoy when we got home! I have been gluten free for over 8 years and I am so grateful that their bars and fruit snacks are not only gluten free but also non GMO and made with healthy ingredients you can pronounce! To shop all of their healthy products please click here https://www.kindsnacks.com
Weestructed has graciously been an event sponsor for all 3 of my events and I couldn’t feel more thankful! I love all of their products and own so much of their merchandise! I especially love the Cali Mama line they collaborated with Loved by Hannah and Eli. They generously gave all of us a Cali Mama trucker hat for the event and we all loved them! To shop the website, click here https://www.weestructed.com and to shop the Cali Mama hat click here https://www.weestructed.com/collections/hats-accessories/products/cali-mama-trucker-hat They even make a matching Cali Cub trucker hat so you can match with your littles!
Base Coat Nail Salon was a sponsor for the second time! They kindly gave all of us a bottle of their non-toxic nail polish and a coupon to come into the salon for a treatment! They have soon to be two locations in Los Angeles and two locations in Colorado! To #treatyoself and make your appointment or buy yourself a non-toxic nail polish please visit https://www.basecoatnailsalon.com Here is a list of services https://www.basecoatnailsalon.com/services and to shop polish https://www.basecoatnailsalon.com/shop/nail-polish/nail-polish-red
COOLA Suncare was another event sponsor and we couldn’t have been more thankful for them to supply all of us with two different types of sunscreen. We were given a Mineral Sport SPF 50 and a Mineral Baby SPF 50 sunscreen! No matter where you live, sunscreen is important to wear on the daily, and especially in Southern California, where it is sunny and hot most days out of the year! And the day of the event was no exception – especially with the heat wave we had in October! To learn more about them and their products please click here http://www.coolasuncare.com
If you are a Disney fan I’m sure you’ve heard of Magic Kingdom Mamas but did you know they have their own shop called MKM Supply? They have an assortment of sweatshirts, tees, hats, tumblers, pins and more for all of you Disney loving mamas! They gave each of us one of their signature pins and a generous gift card to spend in their shop! I can’t wait to use it – stay tuned for what I get! To shop click here http://shop.mkmsupplyco.com
Mouse Vibes was another event sponsor and gave each of us gift cards to their shop! They have the cutest Disney themed hats, mouse ears, tees, bags and more! They can even customize items for you and the owner is wonderful to work with and is passionate about everything Disney! To shop click here https://mousevibes.com
Main Street Delights was another sponsor for the event. They generously gave Jenny and I matching red Minnie earrings to wear at the event as well as all of the guests, including us, gift cards to their shop! They make novelty Disney inspired products! To shop click here https://www.etsy.com/shop/MainStreetDelights?ref=search_shop_redirect
Lastly, but certainly not least, we contacted Andie from Tangled in Magic to take photos of the event. I wanted to capture as many moments as possible but also enjoy the event and not be responsible for taking photos myself. I wanted to be in the moment and also knew that, as bloggers and influencers, we would all appreciate photos that we could post and repost on our blogs and social media platforms. I have been a social media fan of hers for quite some time and knew she loved The Magic Kingdom as much as we did! You can follow her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/tangled.in.magic/
The day of the event couldn’t have been more perfect! We all met at Sleeping Beauty’s castle to meet and mingle and take some group photos together! We then all went on It’s a Small World together and then sat down for lunch at Carnation Café on Main Street USA to really talk and get to know each other! I even found out that two of the moms lived in my neighborhood! Everyone that attended mingled, networked, and became friends. I can truly say that it was a successful event and that I genuinely made new friends. I am humbled by the turnout and the positive response I had from the event. It definitely wouldn’t have been possible without the event sponsors, everyone that attended, and our amazing photographer that highlighted the entire event. I can’t wait until the next one!
Thank you to @lovestalgia, @celeste_wright, @themotheroverload, @dasrozo, @megmariewallace, @hali_bear, @alia.preston for attending the event and helping make my dream come to life!
Such a great event! So glad it brought us together! You are so kind & I don’t deserve all the recognition. Love you friend.
It was so much fun and I can’t wait until our next one! You are so humble my friend! Love you! xoxo