So, my dear Ariel turned two last week and for the first time ever, we held a party which was fully sponsored and that meant that other than doing the DIY Frozen invites, tailoring Ariel's oversized dress and making simple Frozen beaded jewellery as a birthday gift, I had nothing else to do. Thanks to KidzFiesta, a party planner that strives to make each party unique and memorable, all the details including venue, theme, decorations, party favours, entertainment, food and cake were taken care of.
Here's sharing more about the party and some reasons why you might wanna consider letting professional planners host your child's birthday party in future.
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Our venue for the birthday party was Little House of Dreams, a cosy bakery inspired by New York's Magnolia Bakery which is located at The Central in Clarke Quay. Though it doesn't boast a big area, its homely ambience makes it a good choice for private parties or intimate gatherings with family and friends.
The moment we arrived, we were greeted by a lovely welcome poster and the most exquisite dessert table I have ever seen. Doesn't everything just look so pretty? What impressed me greatly was that KidzFiesta made the effort to come up with their own drawings of Elsa, Anna and Olaf (which looked really cute!) and these were integrated in all aspects of the party. I personally loved the curtain strips in shades of blue and white, the shimmery Christmas balls, the creative cotton ball snow and of course, the awe-inspiring Elsa cake.
There were also these lovely looking cupcakes that were decorated with snowflakes and turquoise frosting. Look, even the Kit Kats came with specially designed wrappers! I really thought this was such a brilliant and innovative idea, don't you just love all things personalised too?
We had a total of 15 children for the party and the dining table fitted them nicely. As for the adults, they had to make do with sitting outside or just standing around. Since this was a party catered for the younger ones, we also had friends who decided to drop their kids off so they could have some couple time together.
Neatly laid out on the table for every child was a personalised tent card, a set of cutlery and a colouring sheet. I love how everything was so nicely coordinated in blue and white so as to complement the Frozen theme. It might seem quite straightforward but from past experience, I fully know how much effort and time goes into the designing, printing, folding and arranging and that was something I deeply appreciated.
When the guests arrived, they could write a message on the guest board or grab their color pencils from the goodie bags so that they could do some colouring. Of everyone who was present, the one person who was more engrossed in her colouring and would do it with the most attention to details was - my little art lover Angel. I can't say I was surprised by that.
Other than the main dish Pad Thai (stir fried rice noodles), finger food such as nuggets, fish balls, spring rolls, chicken wings, fishcakes and sandwiches were also provided for the guests. I must say that the food was not the highlight of the event and so you should only have the standard, not high, expectations in this aspect.
Once the guests had all arrived, it was time to tuck in and have a jolly good time! I have to tell you that I was initially very worried about the birthday girl because she had started to develop a high fever the previous night. Four premolars sprouting at one go, that's not a fun thing! So, I was just hoping that she would be able to make it through the party.
Surprisingly, despite her high temperature, she seemed to be really having a good time eating, playing, colouring and even singing to all the Frozen soundtracks. In fact, it amused everyone to see that nearly all the children could sing the songs from start to end and so, they ended up having a mass sing-along session.
The only regret I had was that I wished there had been more games to keep the children entertained. As you probably can tell from Angel's Tangled party last month, I like to plan parties such that the guests are occupied with crafts and station games once they were done with the food. At the Frozen party, we did love this Olaf game where you had to match and paste his facial features and buttons onto the cut-out. However, the kids probably did it once before they got bored of it and for the older kids, this didn't interest them much at all.
That's the problem of having kids whose ages vary, right? I have to admit that part of the problem lies in having guests who are nine years old and toddlers who are not even two, so it would have been tricky to come up with games which were fun for all. Also, due to the space constraint, it was nearly impossible to plant another station game.
Luckily, we had another highlight for the party which was very much welcome by all - Face Painting! Thanks to the friendly and kind Alicia, founder of Happier Singapore, the kids were allowed to choose any favorite cartoon or movie character which really excited them. I guess it was not surprising that most, if not all, of the girls wanted to be Queen Elsa, right? Make a guess at what the boys chose!
At two years old, Ariel had only done hand painting before and considering she was still feeling quite sick, I was half prepared that she was going to say "No" to face painting. It might not be the first time she had amazed me, but I was still very much impressed by how she gave a firm nod when I asked her if she would like to do it. Once she was seated, she stayed still so very patiently and would even close her eyes when asked to. How sweet and cute! Now now, I'm not the one who said it, but Alicia herself told us that it was extremely rare of a two-year-old to be so obliging and easy-going.
Ta-dah! Check out our Queen Elsas for the day! I personally loved the snowflake design and the purple eyeliner. It was not hard to tell that the girls felt on top of the world with their painted faces and I guess those precious smiles were what made the wait worthwhile.
Check out what the other guests had painted on their faces and arms! I really loved the happy looking Olaf, how about you?
The biggest highlight and most awaited moment of the party was, of course, the cake cutting ceremony! You know, one of Ariel's favorite songs of all time is Happy Birthday and we sing it so much at home that she would naturally do the make a wish pose followed by pretending to blow out the candles every single time.
So, I was glad she finally got to do it for real this time and best of all, she was surrounded by friends and family who loved her so much. You can check out more of these precious moments in the video below. And oh, all the guests unanimously agreed that the cake was really yummy! It was a rainbow sponge cake which was light, fluffy and had just the right amount of sweet.
Dearest Ariel, happy 2nd birthday! I hope you had a smashing party as Queen Elsa and that you enjoyed every bit of your Frozen celebration! Even though you were running quite a high fever, you did not make a fuss at all and that was just so awesome of you, my princess. The party was a success because of you and I know these will be some of our precious memories for a long, long time. May you stay happy, healthy and lovely always!
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Now, if you are wondering if you should engage a party planner for your child's birthday in future, here are my personal views on the pros and cons.
Pros
1) Stress-free
No hassle of preparation. Even during the party itself, you can can sit back and enjoy with your child.
2) One-stop service
This means you do not to spend time and effort hunting for party favours, caterers, venue, entertainment or decorations.
3) Detail-oriented
Not only is the theme well executed throughout the party, there are also many details, including design work, printing and decoration, which can only be achieved by the professionals.
4) Organised and orderly
No more last minute rushes or spontaneous decision-making. Thank to the expertise of the planners, everything will, or should, have been put into place to ensure a smooth-running party.
Cons
1) Costly
If you are not prepared to spend a sum of money, then it is probably better to DIY.
2) Minimal hands-on opportunity
If you prefer to get crafty, participate actively or simply enjoy the planning process, you would prefer doing things your own way.
All in all, we are very thankful for a wonderful party and all the priceless memories.
A big THANK YOU to KidzFiesta and everyone who helped to make the Frozen party a smashing success in one way or another!
Well, if you would like to see more of what happened at the party, here's a short video I made. I loved the part when the kids just starting singing when they heard the song Let It Go. Would your kid have done that too if he/she was there?
P.S. If you love reading about our birthday parties, check out our previous post on Ariel's Under the Sea 1st birthday.
Disclosure: Ariel's 2nd birthday party was fully sponsored by KidzFiesta. All pictures, text and opinions are ours.
