Party On!

So we had yet another birthday party! This time we had it at our house and it was the second birthday party for both birthday boys. My parents missed Adik’s birthday party at McDonald’s and also the birthday party for his 9-year old cousin, "Cuz”, early this month. So they requested a small-ish, “for family only” party at our house and we agreed.

I decided to make this a little bit different. Firstly, I made the bags for the party packs. I wasn’t too sure initially how to make it, but by trial and error I managed to make a simple one of decent size to fit all the goodies to go inside it. From the time we decided to do it, I had about 4 weeks so plenty of time for me to make these things. 2 here, 3 there - in no time they were all done.

Secondly, I was so appalled that “Happy Birthday” banners sold at shops and hypermarkets went for at least RM10 that I thought “Peh! I’ll just make my own.” Of course it’s not as fancy or colourful, but chances are, it’s going to be thrown out after the party anyway.

On the day itself, I got to work blowing up the balloons and tying them everywhere I could think of. On the walls, on the lights, at the dining area, on the garage walls, on the front door. It was fun, up until the balloons kept popping and I had a tough time replenishing the popped balloons. My fingers were starting to smell like balloon.

Finally, what made this different was a Painting Corner I set up in the garage. The children used our old t-shirts to use over their nice party clothes to avoid any paint splashes. Good thing, too, because some of the old t-shirts themselves looked like works of art! You’d think they actually intended to paint on the t-shirts.. (Note to self: Next time, buy more drawing block.) I also need to teach Abang to use the palette. He prefers to just squeeze the entire bottle of paint onto his paper and swish it around with the paintbrush. Good thing I put 2 layers of newspapers on the makeshift painting table, i.e. coffee table, so it wasn't damaged.

The best part of the party, I thought, was the Leaning Tower of Cupcakes. Oh, yummy! Something different from your usual birthday cake, yet very delicious. Most of the children had trouble finishing their second cupcake, while we adults stood around the table pondering over our next one - second for some, third for others (you know who you are!).

“Want to share another one?”

“No, let’s just have one each.”

“But I may not be able to finish it.”

“I’m sure we will.”

And it was true!

All in all, judging by the Sweat-O-Meter that I secretly installed on each child’s head, I think we can safely say they all had fun. (The Sweat-O-Meter measures amount of fun that was had based on plastered down hair caused by sweat. You can’t cheat, either, by using water because it’s a smart machine that can distinguish between water and sweat.)

It’s just a shame that at the end of the party, Cuz sprained his foot, while, I suspect, jumping onto the bean bag. Hmm. Still, it was serious enough to warrant a doctor’s visit. I was told Cuz was hoping to be prescribed a wheelchair, but he had to make do with a bandage instead.

Feel better soon, Cuz!