Disappointed with the choice of invitations and matching party accessories for christenings and young children’s celebrations, full-time mum Nikki decided to create her own business ‘Lila’s Party’,  to offer stylish and coordinated party packs.

Here, she reveals what she needs to tackle in a typical day, and how she fits it all in!

A Typical Day...

My day usually starts around 6am when I am woken by my beautiful 21 month old ‘alarm clock’, my daughter Gracie.  We spend time having breakfast, playing and preparing for the day ahead, until my husband joins us. Then I am able to get dressed and spend an hour in my home office. prioritising my work load for that day, dealing with any urgent emails and monitoring stock levels.

After we wave goodbye to my husband, the next few hours are devoted to Gracie. We may attend playgroup, go for a walk or just stay home and raid the toy-box!  Although some days it can be incredibly difficult to completely switch off from the business at this time of day, with a long ‘to do’ list swirling around my head or an urgent call to take, I always try my best to focus on my time with my little girl.

Late morning is ‘nap-time’ for Gracie and I use this time to pack orders which may have come in during the morning and catch up with calls and emails. 

After lunch (and the clean-up operation from Gracie’s self-feeding techniques!), it's time to despatch party box orders to the courier.  Dealing with this in time for the start of ‘In the Night Garden’ being essential!  As Gracie journeys to her much loved ‘Night Garden’, I make preparations for dinner and enjoy a few moments of quiet and a cup of tea!

Shortly after 5.30 my husband returns from work, we all share time together - having dinner and catching up before bathtime and bedtime for Gracie.


I then turn my attention back to my business, packing orders and updating the accounts (usually with the help of my hubby!). Before I pack up for the day, if time and energy levels allow, I thoroughly enjoy working on themes and design ideas for future party box ranges.   

Overall I find combining running a small business with being a ‘stay at home’ mum is challenging, it can at times feel like a juggling act, and committing my heart and soul to both aspects of my life can be exhausting!  However it is not without its rewards.

Being able to organise working hours around my daughter is such a luxury, and the enormous sense of achievement of following a dream and seeing it become a reality has a very positive impact on all aspects of my life. 



For more information about Lila's Party, or to order your own part box visit www.lilasparty.co.uk