Guys birthday party

With the help of the skills exchange, I was able to organise a surprise afternoon tea party for my husband Guy's 40th birthday.

Initially I needed a venue, I sent out an email asking for ideas. So many skills exchangers came back with good suggestions. In the end I used Cath Mears' recommendation, the Wightman Hall Scout Hut which proved to be an excellent and affordable venue. I decided to hold afternoon tea, for which I needed a tea service, lots of tea pots and some yummy food.

The tea service I rented from an amazing charity shop in Sutton in Ashfield called The Vine Tree, for a bargain price of £25 for tea cups, saucers, side plates for 60 along with numerous serving plates and cake stands. The rental all went to a good cause too!

I needed a few extra tea pots which I borrowed from very kind skills exchangers including Claire Richmond and Olive Day. Along with a couple of tea pots each, Gill Murray lent me some kids garden games and Jan lent me a hot water urn. Thea lent me some kids chairs and tables so we were able to make a little children's corner.

Karina made me several batches of 2 flavours of delicious scones: fruit and cheese, which she baked and delivered on the morning of the party. Shazia made me the most amazing cake with 3 tiers of delicious flavours: chocolate fudge, lemon and gluten free vanilla.

I used local shops to get all the food I needed including Brumpton's the Butchers, the Fruit Basket and Paolo's Sea Food. I bought beautiful hyacinths and anemones for the table decorations from Slades. Ultraprint did the copying I needed for invites and a spoof 40th newspaper we put together.

The whole party was a great success and my husband absolutely loved it. Thank you so much to all who helped me out.  Helen