The brief
Two children turning five, one party, at a beachfront hotel with lawn running down to the sand. Both names had to be on the set — that is not negotiable at five — and the adults were staying for a proper dinner, not standing about with paper cups while the children were entertained.
What we built
A jungle across the whole width of the lawn: a giraffe-print panel, a carved wooden sign reading <i>Sergei and Alice</i>, <i>WILD 5</i> with paw prints tracking across it, and animals built at full size standing on the grass — tiger, elephant, giraffe, zebra, gazelle, and a <i>JUNGLE</i> arrow pointing off into the hedge. The balloon work ran olive, sage, burnt orange, cream and chrome gold with leopard print through it, with live tropical greenery built into the base. Beside it a <i>Rescue An Animal</i> shelf stocked with soft toys, and a sweet table with cake pops and lollipops.
How the day went
The rescue shelf did what it always does — every child arrived, chose an animal, named it, and carried it for the rest of the evening. Binoculars, hunting through the greenery, photographs on the tiger. And on the other side of the lawn the adults sat down on cushions at a low table dressed with jungle florals, red velvet and zebra hide, and were served dinner with the reef breaking behind them as the light went.
What the parents got
Two birthday children who both saw their own name, five-year-olds who went home holding something, and an actual dinner party for the adults happening at the same time, in the same place, in the same palette.
