Organising events is set to become much easier with the launch of new business The Wee Party Box

Abigail Taylor

Launching on Facebook, ‘The Wee Party Box’ stirred up a lot of interest in the first few weeks of February.

Having recently returned to her family roots from the Middle East, self-proclaimed “lover of event design” Donna Young decided to take the leap of faith into a new business.

“I have two little boys and we wanted to move back. When I was thinking about this I was thinking about what I would do when we got back and what I could bring to the islands as well. I’m really conscious of the community here and how we keep the economy going,” explained Donna.

That sense of community was elevated once the business page was up and running on social media, as her page has achieved more than 100 followers in just a short time.

“I’ve had such a good response so far. I have been using social media and it’s so powerful.

“I had the idea of creating a business to bring something different to the islands. Normally when people have events here on the islands like weddings or birthdays they would have to order things online or buy things that you wouldn’t ever use again. My idea was to invest in these things so that people could hire them out and people wouldn’t need to worry about what they would do with them after their event was over.”

Donna wants to provide a service that will be a sense of relief to planners, whether they’re brides, parents organising birthday parties, or baby showers.

“I wanted to create the ‘party box’ so that I could just drop it off at their door, during COVID-19, and they would have everything they need. Post-COVID-19 it would have more of a design element, I would come in and set it all up. It takes a bit of time and effort so me doing that for them would really help out.”

Her love for design originated from when she decided to plan and design every aspect of her own wedding seven years ago.

“I did it all myself and that’s where the creative element came from. Being able to do that for people here would be so good. I am sharing stories of what I’ve got online so I’m just starting the launch process and it’s harder just now under ‘Level 4’ restrictions, but we will get there.

“We will be able to have parties and events again, especially brides who have had to cancel their weddings, it gives hope. And to be able to give them something that they will be able to add into their day will be brilliant. It’s something that I feel I love.”

Donna and her family decided to move back to where she grew up after the intensity of lockdown in the Middle East.

“We were stuck inside a house in the middle of the desert with 40 degree heat outside,” recalled Donna.

“We couldn’t go outside for a walk or do anything with the kids, no school and everything was closed. Everything was taken away from us so we had no family or friends and we had to think about what to do. We missed our family and we needed to do something for the kids.”

Her boys, Lachie and Lyle, were the inspiration behind the title of the business.

“It was coming up to my youngest son’s first birthday and I was thinking about how I could make it extra special and something that we all enjoyed. From then though the pressure has been on as a mum! He knows when his birthdays are coming up and he wants to know what the plan is!

“They’re all themed, and being a working mum with two kids, it’s quite difficult to find the time to get everything made with the chosen theme. So my idea was to provide this to the parents or whoever needs it.”

Local support is also important to this mum turned businesswoman.

“My hope is to work with other small businesses as well. I think that’s so important. So with event design I can work with photographers, cake makers and florists, we can support each other here and people want to work together. That part of the community is so important to me as well.”

The pandemic has had a silver lining here for Donna and her family, who will continue to support local and invest in their community: “There are so many new businesses coming out of this which I think is brilliant. It’s the perfect time to support them and allow something a bit different to flourish here.”