On Friday 30th June we held our very first Gin & Dessert Club at The Royal Pug in Leamington Spa. What better venue to find than one which has it’s very own GIN PALACE!!!

The idea was that the lovely Mums from our group Mum Knows Best Warwickshire could met up and enjoy a very well deserved child-free evening, a luxury that most of us don’t often have!

Our charity is the Birth & Babies Appeal at Warwick Hospital which was set up to raise money for the finishing touches of the new Midwife Led Unit, currently under construction and due to open in early 2018. You can read more about the appeal and the items we are raising money for here. As Mums local to Warwickshire we are really passionate about supporting other Mums and helping to shape the future for new parents in our area.

Tickets for our event sold out in less than a week so I got to work finding some amazing treats for our attendees’ goodie bags! Strider Bike Uk very kindly agreed to sponsor the bags and the lovely Natalie from The Norm designed a Ginspired quote to go on the front ‘What happens at Gin Club’. If you love a good typography quote, do check out their website, I love their stuff!

Thanks to The Cotswold Distillery, Britvic, House Of Fraser Beauty, Kokoso, The Norm, Aubrey Allen, Tesco, Loreal, The Fudge Factor, Stacey at Learn & Explore Through Usbourne Books and Pukka for supplying some amazing treats for our hard working Mums. There were also lots of local companies who offered exclusive discount flyers for the event. Have a sneak peak at some of the goodies that went home that night. I’ve received a LOT of Gin & Tonic photos following the event so I know the treats went down well!

So 50 gorgeous Mums stepped into the Gin Palace for a night of fun & laughter! There was a real buzz in the air, it’s quite hard to describe, but there were lots of Mums who came alone, who didn’t know anyone else, and it didn’t matter, everyone just chatted to one another. There was an incredible feeling of solidarity.

So you know about the Gin…Here’s the dessert amazingness…

I was having so much fun I barely took any photos, and that really speaks volumes! But there were some gorgeous desserts, White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake (I didn’t get a picture in time! Someone send me a pic!), Summer-fruits Terrine with crème chantilly and Home made choux buns filled with a rich chocolate ganache and some beautiful macaroons. The Royal Pug had carefully created a ‘Gin-pairing’ menu to go alongside the desserts so our guests could choose their own gorgeous gin concoction to compliment their chosen desserts.

I was so happy to introduce everyone to my own lovely midwife who was there supporting our cause and of course, representing the midwives of the hospital. I look demented in the picture but she’s really amazing!

We held a raffle, which was hugely popular thanks to the generosity of many local business who kindly donated prizes. Thanks to Elan Spa @ Mallory Court, Fabulous, Warwick Castle, Gü Puds, Love For The Mama, Arden House, Bread & Co, Alphabet Bags, Clinique, Ceri Jam, The Cakery, Saks Hair & Beauty Kenilworth, Cassie Leedham Photography, Church Farm Brewery and The Hair and Beauty Gallery. A small selection of the many prizes are photographed below:

We partied into the night and fun was had by all, I’m so delighted to announce that I smashed my target of £500.00 and together we raised a huge… drum rollll….

£674.99

you can see the full total here on our Just Giving Page where you can also donate if you’re feeling generous! 😉

Thank you to every single person who came along, supplied something for our goodie bags or raffle or bought raffle tickets. You made such a difference and I know that the Birth & Babies Appeal will benefit hugely from our contribution.