INDIANAPOLIS — Shauna Williams owns Once Upon a Party, an event business where she provides face painting, glitter tattoos, art parties, balloon twisting and balloon decorations for kids birthday parties and corporate events.
All of Williams events have been canceled or postponed in March and April. She had 15 scheduled events and usually gets about the same amount of last-minute events. All together, she’s losing around $13,000 in income for the two months. If cancellations and postponements continue into May, that income loss increases to nearly $20,000.
Not only is Williams concerned about the loss of income, but she is also thinking about the kids who will not get to celebrate their birthdays with their friends.
As a way to give a small supplement to what she is losing and bring some joy to children at this time, Williams quickly changed her business model in a matter of a few days.
Now, she is creating birthday boxes to deliver to kids who are celebrating their birthdays in the next couple months.
"Since they can't go to parties and events I'm going to try and bring some fun to them," Williams said.
Each box is customized for the child and their interests. They come packed full of activities, projects and games for children to do with their families at home.
So far, she has only made the boxes for kids, but Williams just received her first order for an adult birthday box. She says she’ll be collaborating with another small business, Vino Mobile Bar to provide wine along with activities for that one.
Along with the birthday boxes, Williams is also offering what she calls busy baskets. These are filled with themed activities for learning and having fun.
Williams is also offering a discount for parents who reserve any services right now to use in 2020.
Click here for more details.
