Jack and Jill Events: The Business of Parties

Crista Oppenheim believes life present plenty of opportunities to throw a party. And she wants to make sure you enjoy every festive moment.

Oppenheim, a Wayland resident, has devoted much of her professional career to hospitality and event planning, but it’s her personal life – where she gets to throw her kids’ birthday parties and showers for her friends and fundraisers for various groups – that really excites her.

“I have always loved to throw parties,” Oppenheim said. “If I’m starting to get calls for this and this is what I love to do … I need to do this for a living, or at least try.”

So Oppenheim started Jack and Jill Events in April. The business is designed to provide the party thrower with exactly the level of support they need for the party. If it’s invitations all the way through thank you notes, Oppenheim is perfectly ready to jump in.

“My favorite part of the party is to enjoy the party,” Oppenheim said, adding that many people who set out to host parties don’t realize how much work it will actually be. Since she spent most of her professional career planning major events in New York and at the Boston Harbor Hotel, where she worked for eight years, she’s learned how to put in the labor required for a great party. She even enjoys doing it.

“I had a host tell me during her party, ‘I would never have been able to enjoy my time here if it wasn’t for you,’” Oppenheim recalled. “It’s moments that I share with people -- It works for me. I do enjoy it.”

Oppenheim said she settled on the name Jack and Jill Events because of the nostalgia it invokes.

“I liked the classic-ness. It was nostalgic,” Oppenheim said. “It made me smile and I just knew immediately that it’s boys and girls. There’s a kid in everyone … if it’s not a little kid’s party, it’s a big kid’s party.”

She said that, while children’s birthday parties are her business’ initial focus, she is excited about expanding that vision to include holiday parties, showers and bar or bat mitzvahs.

When it comes to her party-throwing bucket list, Oppenheim checked an item off this spring with a Kentucky Derby party, complete with big hats, mint juleps and even a few bets.

“The options are endless. There’s just so much we can do,” Oppenheim said. She’s already done everything from a Lego party for a little boy to a New Orleans-themed wedding shower for a bride.

She said she will take whatever ideas a client has and plan a party to bring those ideas to life. Her website features three party packages:

• The Party Plan on Paper, which involves Oppeenheim providing a party outline and ideas to bring the theme to life.
• The Classic Party, which is a two-hour children’s birthday party complete with theme, food, take-home craft, set up and tear down and much more.
• The Complete Party includes everything from the Classic Party package plus invitations, music/entertainment, floral arrangements and more.

In the end, however, Oppenheim said she is willing to provide whatever event her client has in mind, and she knows each of her events will be special.

“I don’t think any of my parties will ever be the same,” Oppenheim said. “I would never want to duplicate any party. Everyone is unique and they deserve their own party memories.”