2020 might have been a turbulent year but we still wanted to end it on a happy, positive and somewhat magical note. Yup, the year end is when I will host birthday parties for each of the kids and we come up with different themes depending on what they like. Over the years, we've had a spy party, Sylvanian party, ice cream party, arcade party, Moana party, poolside party, unicorn party, Shopkins tea party, Sofia the First party, Under the Sea party, Batman party, Dora party, Rapunzel party and more. Even though these parties were not of a huge scale, each of them still brought lots of joy and left behind precious memories in our hearts.
Since we were in Phase 2 this year which only allowed five guests to be in our house at any time, I knew it would be a challenge to conduct birthday parties yet I didn't want to use it as an excuse not to do anything. Back in October, I asked the big girl - whose birthday comes first in November - if she would like to invite five of her closest friends over for a craft party. Even though I knew it would have made her happy like it did every year, she was so sweet to say "Mama, it's okay. You don't have to work so hard this year (and you are pregnant), I can do without a birthday party."
That totally melted my heart. Yet somehow, instead of purely feeling relieved, I began to wonder how I could still do something for the kids since their birthdays are always special to me. It was then I suggested that we hold a combined celebration for all three of them since their birthdays fall close to each other and that we could come up with a theme that all of them liked, could relate to and was excited about.
It wasn't long before the idea of having a Magic Party came to our minds since the girls picked up some magic tricks this year during the circuit breaker period and even the little brother was thrilled when we said that the kids could join forces to perform a magic show. So we put our thoughts into action and started creating their magician costumes, did up a 'stage', came up with decorations and went through rehearsals to get ready for the big day. I also planned a surprise for the kids by having Ian of True Vine Kids Magic to show us what close-up magic means which amazed and inspired everyone present at the table. Read on to find out more about what happened at our one-of-a-kind magic party!
THE COSTUMES
I like to DIY their costumes whenever I can not only because it saves money but also because it makes the kids feel loved. That explains why I decided to make a Rapunzel wig (which is still with us after six long years), Mickey/Minnie Mouse ears, Little Mermaid outfit and more.
For their magician costumes, we kept it simple by putting together a black and red theme and getting them to wear skirt leggings, black shirts, ribbons and tie. However, there were three things that could not be left out - magician capes, wands and hats! Yup, these were the ones that would make the difference so I was determined to make a personalised cape, wand and hat for each of the kids.
The capes were relatively easy to make by transforming their existing Halloween capes which already came in the color theme that I wanted. All I did was print out their names and some pictures, cut them out to paste onto a piece of black felt, and then use the felt to cover the Halloween logo. They turned out looking better than I expected and my mother-in-law even thought I had specially bought personalised capes for them and had a printing company to print the names. Haha. Nope, these were all done with a home printer, which is one of my indispensable tools when it comes to parties.
The wands were also kept simple and done by rolling up pieces of black cardstock sheets and using silver washi tape to add the glittery ends. The one that took me the longest time to create were the magician hats which you can see below.
The kids exclaimed "Mama made us hats out of paper!" and they were really excited to put them on. These were made to measure and each one was specially customised. It took me a while to think of how to create the shape and yet conceal any tape that I used, especially at the crown and brim, and I was glad I managed to to succeed and I especially loved the pink and red ribbons - which were actually added to help hide any holes, haha. Handmade with love, they were definitely worth the time and effort in return for the big smiles.
THE PARTY SETUP
As for the setups, we had two different ones this time round, one being the dessert table and the other being the stage.
For the stage, this was done mainly with the help of a red curtains banner I bought online. We printed out and added the words "Welcome To The Magic Show" along with a couple of pictures to make them in line with our theme. It might be pretty straightforward but having a stage made the kids feel special and more professional when they were performing and I was thankful that we had this little corner.
As for the dessert table, this is what we usually have at our parties and for this one, it included party streamers on the wall which we printed, cut and laminated ourselves, picture standees, poker cards, a letter board, a red boot with a bunny hopping out, magic themed disposable cups, table cover and serviettes. I also specially sourced for magic trick sets online as party favours for our guests.
It was a joy having the girls to help out this time round and they love the sense of participation and the feeling of achievement when the setup was all done. Yup, party planning and preparation can be a form of family bonding too! Thanks much for the extra pairs of hands, my dears.
LET THE SHOW BEGIN
Abracadabra, it's time for the magic show!
The audience comprised of the grandparents (who stay in the adjoining studio in our dual key unit) and my brother-in-law's family of five including the kids' beloved cousins. Yup, the party was kept as an intimate family affair this year but at least we still had a sizeable audience who were very much looking forward to the show and showered the kids with enthusiastic cheers and applause.
After all the rehearsals, it was finally time to showcase what they had prepared. These were the tricks they learnt during their Orange Wand online magic course with Acel Academy of Magic where Nigel the magician taught them everything they needed to know and even sent all the props to our doorstep. Thanks so much for inspiring the kids to be little magicians and for getting them started on this journey.
I love their starting line where they introduced themselves as Angel the Great Magician, Ariel the Cute Magician and Asher the Handsome Magician. Haha, it made everyone laugh out loud too.
While the girls took turns to take the lead, the best part was seeing how they involved the little brother as their assistant and he was so cute as to do everything that he was tasked to. The kids also made sure that they interacted with the audience by asking them to check the props, answer questions or come up the stage to help out too. They even had an interval in between to allow the audience to take a break before resuming the show.
The eight tricks that the kids performed include Food for Thought, Lightning Ball, Hocus Pocus Hanky, The Incredible Mr Sniffer, A Special Delivery, The Magic Mat, Forgotten Fairy Tales and Legendary Loops. I think it was a good way for them to entertain the guests and at the same time build up their stage confidence and public speaking skills too. Well done, kiddos!
It's much easier to showcase magic through videos than photos so see more in the clip below to catch the kids in action.
SPECIAL CLOSE-UP MAGIC SESSION
One of the biggest highlights of the day was having a REAL magician over to wow us with some amazing tricks. Thanks to Ian of True Vine Kids Magic, we had our first ever close-up magic session with the grandparents and kids present at the table (we had politely asked my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to kindly step away for that 30-minute session so as to keep within the 5 pax rule).
For those who don't know, close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table.
Even though Ian performed right in front of our eyes, we were still mind blown by each of the tricks and the kids were saying "What? How did that happen? How did he do that?" again and again. From card tricks which included getting Thanos to pull out a card we randomly picked (this was one of my favourite, you can see it in the video below) to hiding my mother-in-law's ring in the most obscure place in the blink of an eye, we were left feeling impressed and yet had no clue of how everything was done. He shared with on how he has been learning magic for 10 years already and is still improving and working on his skills every day.
What I loved most was how this short but fun session inspired the kids to work hard, learn more tricks and become better magicians in the future. It's always good to have a goal to work towards and this session served to spur them on towards making their dreams come true and realising that nothing is impossible if you set your heart to it.
The grandparents were also very thankful that Ian is effectively bilingual and when I told him my father-in-law doesn't understand English, he immediately conducted the performance in smooth and fluent Mandarin. This doesn't happen every day so we were really appreciative of what he did too. Thank you, True Vine Kids Magic!
I would definitely recommend having a close-up magic session if you are having a small scale home party like us as it is family-friendly and suits everyone from the young to the old. It is highly entertaining and awe-inspiring too. To find out more about the party packages they offer, go here.
THE CAKE-CUTTING CEREMONY
Last but not least, we had a yummy steamboat dinner (thanks to the hubby for getting the freshest ingredients and preparing them in HaiDiLao hotpot style) followed by a cake-cutting ceremony with the family.
The kids chose to have an ice cream cake this year so we got this cookies and cream flavoured cake from Swensen's. I printed out a photo of the kids to add as a personalised cake topper and also did a special topper with letters that spell "The Magic Is In You" to remind them that they always have the power within them to make magic happen in life.
So that concludes our Magic Party for this year and it definitely left behind lots of happy, lasting memories. It was the first time the kids performed together and also the first time we had only family members and no friends joining in. Did we still have a blast? Yes, you bet we did and all of us enjoyed the gathering tremendously. Perhaps this is the way to go from now and the pandemic only reminded us even more about the importance of having a close-knit family.
Thanks to everyone who came and helped to make this party such a magical and wonderful one! To my dearest kids, HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to all of you (To Angel for turning 11, Ariel for turning 8 and Asher for turning 5!) and please know that Mama and Papa love you all very, very much. Thank you for being our bundles of sunshine and for bringing so much joy, warmth, love and magic into our lives.
拥有你们是我一生中最大的幸福. Till more party updates next year!
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Here's our video to showcase the highlights that took place at the party. Have fun watching!
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Read more on Angel's birthday parties here:
Angel is 10 - A Unicorn Party
Angel is 9 - The Case of Angel's 9th Birthday
Angel is 8 - It's a Sylvanian Tea Party
Angel is 7 - A Royal Princess Party
Angel is 6 - Sofia the First Birthday Bash
Angel is 5 - Let's Get Tangled with Rapunzel
Angel is 4 - Viva La Fiesta with Dora and Friends
Angel is 3 - My Bubbly Bunny
Angel is 2 - Oh Toodles, it's a Disney Party
Angel is 1 - It's a RAINBOW Party
Read more on Ariel's birthday parties here:
Ariel is 7 - Let's have ICE CREAM!
Ariel is 6 - The Ocean is Calling
Ariel is 5 - It's a Shopkins Tea Party
Ariel is 4 - A Royal Princess Party
Ariel is 3 - Sofia the First Birthday Bash
Ariel is 2 - Let's Get Frozen
Ariel is 1 - Turning One Under the Sea
Read more about Asher's parties here:
Asher is 4 - It's a Batman Party
Asher is 3 - Arcade party in Timezone
Asher is 2 - Just Keep Swimming
Asher is 1 - Having a BALL of a time