A touch of sparkle recently decorated a venue for my sons christening, Service was great, as I was…read moreat the church, Claire was hard at work transforming the venue. She done a great job! even threw in bubbles, the kids loved them! will defo be using the balloon collection service, a great selection the shops dont have! and suits me great as I work late and the shops are closed!

Great wee shop on The Antrim Road! Ideal for all occasions, especially Halloween costumes. The best…read morething about the shop is actually the website, you can order online. So you can take a jaunt to the shop, get some inspiration and then order exactly what you want online. Don't be leaving it to the last minute if you have a party to go to though. They have all sorts of costumes - from complete sets all ready for you to just put on or accessories to make that outfit complete. Lesser known than some other fancy dress shops so you'll be less likely to turn up to a party in the same costume as someone else! Don't take my word for it, go and have a look!

Party Solutions is a shop on the Antrim Road that is the first port of call for hen parties who…read moreneed some sort of pink sash or silly hat to wear in order to make their night more eventful! It also stocks party stuff for most other occasions. The best thing about this shop is how it almost completely changes its front window and most of its stock for the upcoming holiday or occasion that's coming up. Last Halloween I went here to get my costume, hoping to avoid the bigger queues in the main fancy dress store in town, Elliotts. Party Solutions was just as busy, I had to charge through the crowds to get what I wanted, but I paid a lot less than what I would have at some of the other stores!

It doesn't take a genius to work out what this place sells. Definitely a case of doing exactly…read morewhat it says on the tin. Well the sign outside actually. Whatever kind of party you're having, you'll find your supplies here. Invitations, banners, balloons, candles, badges etc etc. They're probably a little more expensive than you would pay in the giants like Tesco, but sometimes it's a nicer experience to go to somewhere local that's smaller and more of a specialist. Especially if they were in business before the big supermarkets blotted out the sun. I have also used these guys to supply large numbers of helium balloons for a corporate launch event and the owner came in especially on a Sunday morning to check that everything was OK for the event the next morning. So, good customer service and the produce was great too - big bunches of balloons in corporate colours tied together to look like bunches of flowers. If they hadn't been in corporate colours, I would have taken them home.

Paperchase is the sort of stationary shop I go into only to browse, but often end up buying…read moresomething, even if I don't need it. Sells cards, wrapping paper, notebooks, diaries, photo frames, scrapbooks, party items, bags, umbrellas, cases for glasses, gifts and some basic art/ craft supplies. A beautiful range of patterns, design, colours and textures. Plus lovely illustrations on cards and notebooks. Not the cheapest shop for such items, but the products are beautiful, which makes it hard to resist impulse purchases. Staff are nice and offer an option to sign-up for a "Treat Me" Loyalty Card at the till. This allows customers to build up credit towards receiving free treats and discounts.

If you're a stationary geek, you should definitely give this shop a visit! They have so many quirky…read morejournals and pens, and they are all of such high quality. Yes, the prices can seem a little steep but you really do get your money's worth. That staff are incredibly helpful and friendly. They wrapped up a gift I was buying and made me feel very welcome! Great spot!

Kids parties these days have become a serious business and for my younger son's third, yes, third…read morebirthday party, it seemed perfectly acceptable to spend £150 on hiring a fire engine for him and four friends. I know, crazy. I have since regained my senses but I must admit it was an total blast and the kids just loved very minute of it. The actual Northern Ireland Fire Brigade selfishly don't do kids' parties. Something to do with rescuing people from fires and car accidents. So if you want the fire engine experience, then go to Party Piglets and hire the next best thing - the Norn iron Fire Brigade. Hilarious. They own a couple of decommissioned fire engines which they hire out for parties. The £150 got us an hour and a half to drive about, party bags and a plastic fire man's hat for everyone. The driver even sounded the sirens a couple of times which sent the kids into excitement overdrive. The driver was great with kids and very friendly which made the experience even better. Party Piglets also have pink fire engines for hen parties etc, but that's a very different kind of party which I'll leave to someone else to review.

We hired this pink fire engine for our hen night, we had been really excited for a month before and…read morehad high expectations.... Sadly this 'amazing' experience was not to happen :( !!! The fire engine was to arrive at 9pm we stood in the street for an hour waiting on it which was not only an hour late but with no apology and a HOT bottle of champagne it just got worse from there..the 'fireman' which definitely didnt look like the sexy muscly ones portrayed on their website appeared drunk or on drugs continued to slur and swing round the fire engine pole hitting everyone in sight with his arms and legs as it's very cramped inside the fire engine and stuffy the girls all left sweaty and feeling rather disappointed... We were told £200 for an hour on the fire engine ?? We got exactly 35 mins... What happens in the fire engine stays in the fire engine is their moto well I'm afraid not.. Save your money and get a taxi, it completely ruined my night!!!!