Keat-In-Space: July 2010

It's July and it's Bay's birthday month!
Fortunately it is on a Sunday this year and we can celebrate on the actual day.

Papa M and I decided to throw a party for him 1 month ago. Initially we thought of keeping it as a private event for close family members only... just like his full month dinner, but since we did not have a party for this full month, it is time to compensate!

Planning for a party in less than 1 month is not much of a deal... but considering that I'm a FTWM and I have a dear husband who makes guest appearance every few weeks, is of not much help in planning. It is quite a challenge!

The Theme

First thing is to decide on the theme of the party. As Bay does not have any favourite character, thus we can choose any theme that is suitable for small kids. We have some options but have consensus on the Spongebob Squarepants theme. I'm a fan of Spongebob! Love his positive attitude towards life and his sense of humor.

Sesame street (too common)
Pooh bear and friends (Papa M rejected as he thinks that Pooh is a 娘炮)
Super heros (Papa M suggested Iron man as the last 4 letters of Bay's name is iron. As the sole event organiser, I rejected this theme as it is too boring for me!)
Spongebob (Bay's left and right front tooth is totally independent, just like Spongebob's)

The Location

Next is to decide on the location. Thanks to Bini who helped to do some research for some nice locations and also went with us to check out the places and to try the food.

Finally, with just 2 weeks to go, we decided on Brewbaker's at Anchorvale Community Club for the nice and cosy bar area. It is quite out of the way for many people, especially for those who don't drive. Really appreciate all the aunties and uncles who make the effort and came all the way for the party.

The Invitation
I made the invitation cards using Arcsoft, the colours turn out nicely when I sent them for the normal 4R printing. Good price too! only $0.35 per card... and of course they are sent out in bright Spongebob yellow envelopes! A map with some simple getting there instructions to the "ulu" place is included in the invitation.

An event page was setup in Facebook so I can send the invitation for those friends on FB... just tag them on the uploaded invitation card and map. So savvy!

The Decorations and Gifts
It is not sure easy to find nice and reasonably priced Spongebob related items in Singapore. Manage to find some items at babyterroronline (a local online shop), found some on ebay USA and got them shipped to Singapore in time and I also brought some from taobao and got Mark to bring them back.

I found this giant scene setter from ebay

Customised Spongebob birthday banner from the local online shop
Instantly transformed the cafe into Bikini Bottom!
Err... in case you are wondering... that's where Spongebob lives!

4 Spongebob plushes and 3 Patrick plushes bought from taobao and Mark lagged back in an obiang 红白蓝 bag

I brought my playmat to the restaurant to setup a play area for the children and throw the plushes around
It's a pity that my playmat is Pooh one, just bare with Pooh for a while ok!

Spongebob jumbo balloon bouquet from the local online shop and family t-shirts from taobao.

Must have for photo-taking!
Latex helium balloons from the local online shop... of course must be in yellow!

Spongebob table cover - from the local online shop
Door gifts for our guests - Spongebob stickers and pens (from taobao)

The Cake

My initial plan was to order a nice chocolate truffle cake from Cheeky Chocolate and decorate it on my own, I even bought the Wilton ready-made fondant and colourings from Phoon Huat already. But as the party draw nearer and I still had no idea on how to use the fondant. I was forced to forgo the plan just 1 day before the party!

Well... using Mark's words, "we should leave it to the professionals!" (thanks for the encouragement dear!)

So we're left with a normal looking chocolate cake... time to execute plan B! I went online to search desparately for a Spongebob cake toppers and could not find any ready-stock. Fortunately one online shop had the Spongebob candle in stock!

After much walking around, we found this "topper". Guess what? It is actually a coin bank!

I did some modification work by making the cap from the fondant I bought and Bini helped to make the anchor. It is used to cover the slit. haha!

For a last minute plan B, I'm happy with the overall effect.

Another abandoned project...
Bought the Spongebob cupcake stand from eBay but decided not to spend on cupcakes as waffles are already included in the buffet, so this stand is not used at all!

The Food

The buffet spread is quite average, nothing spectacular. For the price, I would have expected more expensive food like prawn or something...

Buffet Menu ($24++)

Fresh Garden Salad (Thousand island /Italian dressing)

Potato Salad

Mini Spring Rolls

Crumbed Chicken Strips

Chicken wings

House Special Nasi Goreng (Sambal sauce)

Dry fried bee hoon topped with cabbages, egg strips & chicken bacon strips

BBQ Boneless Chicken

Battered Fish Fritters with Tartar Sauce Dip

Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Oyster garlic sauce

Waffle with vanilla ice cream

Mixed Fruits platter

Ice Lemon Tea

Spongebob and Patrick on waffle
I bought some Spongebob edible icing from ebay. So cute!

I think I've spent more time preparing for this party than my own wedding (or at least I didnt remember spending so much time as it's so long ago). I enjoyed every minute of my time spent in the preparation and sacrificing my already limited sleep for it. Everything for my cute little boy!

hmm... is it too early to start planning for his next party?

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Bay @ 1 year

Our little Kiiron is turning one!

It seems like it was just yesterday that I had just given birth... yet feels like eternity since the last time I had 8 hours of undisrupted sleep.

Mark and I have been thinking what presents to get for our little boy's 1st bithday? What does a one year old boy needs? how about another toy? shoes? clothes? He has already basketful loads of hand-me-down toys from his cousins and too much clothes & shoes from my online shopping sprees!

After some discussion, we thought it will be quite meaningful to get him something he can use when he is teenager, something he will not outgrow.

With this idea, we went shopping for presents! We looked for pens, watches, necklaces... even a silver spoon, things that can last at least 18 years without disintergrating into pieces.

Mark decided on this watch after hours of online shopping and research. We bought it online as it is almost S$1000 cheaper than a similiar one found in Singapore.