A mother who has spent £15,000 on lavish birthday parties for her eight-year-old daughter has revealed how she rolled out the red carpet for a Hollywood-style cinema night for her girl’s latest celebration.
Liyah Londyn, 34, from Croydon, South London, who often spends months planning her daughter’s extravagant birthday parties, faced additional restrictions to her usual party planning because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
She ended up splashing out £500 on Skylar-Rose’s eighth birthday bash on Saturday, November 21, surprising her family with a cascading popcorn cake, film-inspired décor, a colourful balloon display and a stunning outdoor cinema marquee,where a special screening of Aladdin awaited them.
Liyah revealed: ‘Because she wasn’t expecting it at all, she had the best reaction. She was blown away. She was buzzing.’
Liyah Londyn, 34, from Croydon, South London, spent £500 throwing her daughter Skylar-Rose a lavish movie-themed birthday party
The eight-year-old was completely surprised by the incredible effort from her mother, who organised the whole party during lockdown
Skylar-Rose was treated to a huge selection of movie-themed treats for her eighth birthday as well as bags of popcorn
Entrepreneur Liyah, who is no longer with Skylar’s dad, although they are friends, has thrown everything from a glamorous jungle-themed nightclub event to Minnie Mouse and Wild West bashes.
But this year was a challenge, with Liyah explaining: ‘Skylar is such a sweet girl. She loves school and loves her friends.
‘When there was no school because of the first coronavirus lockdown, nothing was open and you couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, it was quite hard for her.
‘She was really excited to go back to school, but really disappointed when I told her that, because of all the restrictions, she wouldn’t get a party this year.
Other snacks from the extravagant movie night included cupcakes, chocolate treats and a cascading popcorn cake
The 34-year-old splashed out on a cascading popcorn cake, film-inspired décor, a colourful balloon display and a stunning outdoor cinema marquee, where a special screening of Aladdin awaited them
The resourceful mother was forced to think outside the box for her daughter’s birthday, which she organised during the second Covid-19 lockdown
‘She was really sad at first, but I think that she didn’t want to make me feel bad about it. She kept saying, “It’s fine, Mummy”.
‘This is a child that’s used to lots and lots of things and over the top birthdays, so I was so impressed by her behaviour.’
But the resourceful mother decided to think outside of the box when it came to her daughter’s eighth birthday.
She explained: ‘Usually, I throw a princess party or have some type of theme – like ponies or live animal shows.
Liyah often spends thousands throwing parties for her daughter, but said this year she’d been forced to cut back due to the pandemic
Liyah said she was initially ‘so impressed’ that her daughter didn’t mind the thought of missing out on an over the top birthday party
‘I couldn’t do any of that for Skylar’s eighth birthday, but I didn’t want to have a basic party.
‘My daughter loves movies and family time, but I wanted to build on that idea and make it something special.
‘Then I came across these outdoor cinemas and contacted a few places, but I was worried, as they are summer things, that it would be too cold to use one in the garden in November.
‘But one company said they’d ordered something suitable and that I’d be the first to use it.’
Liyah has turned her love of party planning into a business, and now organises events for other families
Liyah revealed she normally works on her daughter’s birthday throughout the year, but was forced to turn around the movie-night in just one month
It was a leap of faith for Liyah, who normally starts working on an idea months in advance.
‘I was on the edge, because I had a month to go and nothing was planned,’ she said.
‘Usually, I start planning from the beginning of the year and begin paying things off early, too.
‘There’s this misconception that I just splash the cash all in one go, but it’s not like that. I stagger it and it’s more or less paid for by the month before her birthday.
It’s not the first lavish party Liyah has thrown for her daughter: Liyah has previously organised Barbie and Princess themed events for her youngster
For the Barbie party, Liyah spent time crafting life-size Ken and Barbie photobooths for guests to enjoy
‘It’s really the first time I haven’t done that, so it was strange.’
Still, the all-weather cover and inflatable marquee, which included special cinema chairs and a ‘massive 10-foot screen’ was a massive hit.
Liyah said: ‘It was just my household and my support bubble – so all Covid friendly.
‘Because of what I do we had vendors contact us, so I got the party favours and Skylar’s outfits gifted for nothing. Normally, a marquee like this would cost £200 but we had a lockdown discount, so it was £160.
For Skylar’s first birthday, Liyah organised a princess party with a quilted pink cake and gold decorations
‘The attention to detail was 10 out of 10 – with movie reels and clapperboards – and I would definitely use this again if I was doing something professionally.’
Liyah did not let her down, throwing the cinema party, which she said was Skylar’s favourite celebration to date.
The 34-year-old said: ‘You couldn’t see the marquee from inside, so when I told everyone to settle down for the movie they all moved towards the TV.
‘Then I pushed back the sliding doors and went straight into the cinema tent.
Skylar-Rose’s jungle themed fourth birthday party was thrown in a nightclub, with several cakes and treats on offer
‘My daughter was absolutely blown away.’
Bringing joy to her daughter’s life is all the reward Liyah wants for her tremendous effort.
‘I absolutely love it,’ she said. ‘And her reaction to the cinema party was extra nice – making this my favourite party, so far.
‘It was a challenge to think outside the box for something to do without breaking the restrictions.’
The resourceful mother often throws extravagant events, with huge cake tables and enormous colourful balloon arches
Liyah always goes all out with her extravagant plans for parties, organising lavish cakes and huge decorations
‘I felt like I won. It was a case of, ‘Mum-one; lockdown-nil! And Skylar was genuinely overjoyed.’
Liyah previously went to town for her daughter’s seventh birthday, when she put on a Princess Tiana party – costing around £2,500.
The glamorous bash featured fairground-style food, a candyfloss machine, plus a live entertainer and exotic animal petting zoo, including African frogs, flying sugar gliders and even a cuddly tarantula.
And Skylar sang the Tiana theme song Almost There, with the Disney entertainer dressed as Princess Tiana.
Meanwhile the entrepenurial mother has turned her hobby into a job, previously organising a Frozen-themed birthday party
Learning to adapt has been very important to ensure the continued success of her business, Once Upon A Party Events, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She has developed a range of party boxes, so that hosts could have all the essentials delivered to them to set up their own cake tables and customised backdrops.
With contactless doorstep cake and balloon deliveries also available, her innovations have proved a resounding hit with families looking for something to celebrate.
‘It’s not exactly the same, as our most popular package is the cake table and background, but obviously we can’t be on site setting up anywhere at the moment,’ Liyah said.
Meanwhile Skylar’s fifth birthday party was Little Mermaid themed, with under-the-sea decorations and the Disney princess Arial adorning cakes
‘We do doorstep deliveries, just so people can have something.
‘We get a lot of people requesting this for first birthdays, Zoom parties, or just for their household.
‘It means that special occasions don’t go completely unmarked.’
Again, the resourceful businesswoman says her customers’ reactions have far exceeded her expectations.
And it’s not just birthday parties! Liyah has also organised huge Christening parties with impressive cake display tables
She said: ‘I didn’t think the packages would do that well, because I thought if you can’t have a hall and lots of guests then you won’t want a party at all.
‘In fact, it’s been completely the opposite and lots of people have booked these deliveries.
‘I think people just want something to look forward to.
‘They have their babies and they want to dress them up and they want to have cake smashes and things like that.
‘People need a little bit of sparkle at the moment. Skylar certainly laps it up!’