Being a parent is a 24/7 job, but so is owning a business. Learn how one mom is doing it all.
Mary Ann Nesbit lives in Leesburg, Virginia, with her husband, John, and their daughter, Eden (12). Family has always been central to Nesbit, who grew up in an Italian family—which she says influenced her in opening her party planning and hosting business in September of 2023.
“We grew up with big family and friend parties,” Nesbit says.
Her business, Party à la Kart, hosts birthday parties from the Karter School of One Loudoun. The party themes range from art, science, cooking and bowling to dance, tennis, soccer and more custom themes like laser tag.
What inspired you to start Party à la Kart?
When we had Eden, that was always really big to me, and a big memory to me [was] having birthday parties with families and friends. When this opportunity through a conversation with the owner (of Karter School of One Loudoun school) came up, it came to life. It was a safe opportunity to try to start our own business.
What do you love about your job?
I’ve worked in the child care field for pretty much my whole life as a teacher, then as an assistant director and executive director. I enjoy collaborating with parents, families and making connections in the local community. This opportunity brought to use the skills I’ve always used, but with my own business, which is pretty exciting.
What do you love about being a parent?
I think the best part about being a parent is learning again—learning and seeing things through Eden’s eyes: what’s important to her, what’s exciting to her, and sharing all of that with her and sharing my experiences. My husband and I both love that. He’s big into sports, and they’re both super smart together. That’s the best part about parenting, living life through her eyes and with her.
How do you balance parenting with running a business?
It’s probably the hardest part about starting your own business. The excitement of getting the phone calls, and talking about the business, and making sure it’s not interfering with your parenting is hard.
(I) have to set time aside for her and the times that are important to her. When you have your own business, it’s 24/7. That sort of work-life balance has a different meaning when you have your own business compared to when you’re working for somebody else.
What surprised you about the party business?
What surprised me is just the need for something in our community [that’s providing] something different. In talking with parents, the big feedback I’ve gotten is that it’s nice to have something different from what they’re used to. We have the ability to cater to any request—we’ve done science, art, cooking, baking, laser tag—there’s all different kinds of combinations that we can provide. Every party is unique even if it has the same theme.
We capture what the child wants to do. I know the parents always have a vision, but I talk to the kids, too, and learn what songs they want played, what science experiments they’re interested in doing. (I’m) not cutting and pasting the same party for every child.
What was your favorite thing about parties as a kid?
I had a cousin who was born on the same day as me, but a year apart. I always loved sharing my birthday with somebody else in the family and celebrating with our whole family. Being able to celebrate together was always fun because it was always at a park or a little lake with all of our family.
Learn more about Nesbit’s business at partyalakart.com.
Family Favorites
Meal: We love anything pasta; Nana’s spaghetti and meatballs.
Dessert: We’re big cupcake and cake fans.
Activity: We love sporting events—Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears.
We also cheer for our local teams as long as they aren’t playing the Cubs
or the Bears.
Vacation Spot: The beach; warm weather places.
Local Spot: The ballparks and soccer fields, outdoor restaurants or watching fireworks— just outdoors doing stuff.
