Well, today was a rather marvellous day. We had THE best birthday party ever!

Any parent will testify that when you enter into the realms of the children's birthday parties, you are entering into a whole new world.  Week after week you are bombarded with invitations to new and exciting locations and  presented goodie bags that are stuffed with beautiful treats and mouthwatering cakes; In fact, it almost gets to the point where only a decent piece of jewellery and a foreign holiday will do.(not really, but  you know what I mean!)
This can end up in The Average Mum feeling woefully inadequate.
There's always one parent (never me) who will sniff out a bigger and better location and then for the remainder of the term, you end up with another 10 invites all to the same place.
Birthday parties are big business.

However, today, for my 10 year old's birthday, it was our turn to find something new. The woeful inadequacy finally escaped me! YAY! It was by no means the biggest, but my girls and I certainly thought it was the best.

We headed over to Russell Colman Photography in Bowness for a photo party. As we turned into the private driveway of one of the oldest buildings in Bowness, we were all nervously excited, not quite knowing what to expect.
We needn't have worried. Even the drizzly rain didn't dampen our enthusiasm and we were wowed by our beautiful surroundings; A perfect farmhouse set in beautiful grounds, with the shores of Lake Windermere within touching distance.
 We were warmly greeted by Megan, Russell and his wife Pippa. This is a fabulous team whose chemistry works well. And because they are all relaxed and comfortable with each other, they instantly set the children at ease.
We were joined by four of my daughter's friends, so that made 8 excited girls! The ultimate challenge as these young ladies know what they like!
After a quick tour of the studio, viewing room and dressing room,(all decorated with THE most amazing photographic captures) the lights were dimmed and a catwalk session ensued.
Russell worked hard to get to the children to smile, relax and enjoy themselves and you could see their confidence blooming as he spoke.Within minutes, they were in front of the camera with some fabulous music going, dancing and enjoying themselves.
Meanwhile, we could lay out our nibbles and drinks.
A quick change of clothes and a lot of giggling later, it was back in front of the camera for group shots and individual shots with the Birthday girl. Megan and Pippa did a sterling job with the girls, dancing and having fun with them, with feather boas and masquerade masks.
As we peeked our heads round the corner, our daughter ran over and hugged us both, declaring she was having the best time ever! It was really lovely.
Then with the photo shoot over, they had something to eat and sang Happy Birthday before their Mum's and Dad's came to collect them.
All the while, we had been kept plied with tea and coffee and generally enjoyed the fabulous hospitality that Russell, Pippa and Megan extended to all of us. Even my youngest(the clingiest daughter ever) relaxed and settled in quickly.
100% enjoyable. 100% recommended. The perfect way to spend 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon in my opinion! And my daughter has been walking on air, after her day as a model with her friends!
So now, we are excitedly waiting for the photographs to be processed before being uploaded to an online gallery where we can select a poster print as our "Goodie Bag Gift". Our guests can also do likewise.
At £25 per person, I would highly recommend Photo parties at Russell Colman Photography.
So much so, I am going back the week after next for our second eldest's birthday photo party and we all cannot wait!

Photo Parties are so going to be the big trend for 2010.

For more information about Russell Colman and his team please visit http://www.russellcolmanphotography.com/.