*Warning: Super long and detailed post ahead! Read this instead for the concise version if you don't want to get bored! :P
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The Theme:
Initial ideas were milk bottle or shapes, things that were familiar to him. In the end, we decided on barnyard animal themed party for Baby cos this one sounds more interesting. Moreover, Baby was born in the year of ox. So, naturally cow became the star animal of the farm-themed party.
The Venue:
This item held us back for quite a while. I was very keen to hold the celebration outside and took some time to source for a suitable place. Our initial idea was to celebrate at a hotel and stay overnight there. We wanted Oriental's Cherry Garden cos it leaves a very good impression on us years ago when we planned our wedding at Oriental but sadly this was not possible because the number of guests has to be at least 100! As we only intend to have a small celebration with relatives only, that option was out of the question. Then, I went on to search for function rooms from other hotels and actually shortlisted two. We almost went ahead with it but put a brake to it when everyone else around us seems to object. :( They felt that it was too extravagant to hold it at a hotel. We considered and re-considered and decided to go with holding the party at our place... I had some new ideas brewing at that point and I think it may not be a bad idea after all to have it at our place...
The food:
The food served for the baby shower was disappointing. That was the one people complimented years ago, we didn't expect the standard to drop so much. This time, we opted for another caterer. Neo Garden's food was nice but we heard that the portion was small, so we ordered more pax.
The Invitation:
Invitation was by call and sms. I was still contemplating whether to create an invitation card for relatives or to create a facebook event to friends we want to invite. In the end, I decided not to proceed. The relatives could be easily reached by a ring away. Instead of invitation, I had a thank you card.
The Party Favors:
This was quite a headache for me... I wanted things that fit the theme, are suitable for toddlers and can keep them entertained throughout the party. I've to thank my sisters for helping me check out the online stores and order the party favors. :) There were so many things that I wanted to get but only so limited space...
The following are what I chose in the end:
- Barnyard-themed Party Bags from an online shop
- Cow-printed Blowouts from the same online shop
- Kaleidoscopes from another online shop
- Balloons with barnyard animal stickers and body parts from a party shop in Millenia Wlk referred to by the party shop in Orchard
- Organic Raisins from an organic mart
- Mini Meji Chocolates (or Gummy Bear sweets) from Kiddy Palace
- Packet Barley Tea from Carrefour
- A Thank You Card from DC and CP! :)
I was very tempted to make animal party hats for the little kids but decided to do without this. My baby simply hates wearing anything on his head!
I considered getting customised stationery, animal bath toys and even sweets. There weren't enough time for these to be shipped over.
The balloons below were the only reason why I decided on the theme! Unknown to all, the balloons were gathered from different sources. Sis has 3 dogs and 1 dino. DC and I bought all farm animals (2 ducks, 2 pigs and 1 cow) from the party shop in Orchard in one swipe. Still there were not enough to go around for all the kids. So, we collected another 2 chicken (all that was left) from another party shop in Millenia Wlk. Still not enough! Then, Sis got me an online store that could fill me with the stock I wanted and at a much cheaper price! We swooped down on 1 pig, 3 Corgis and 3 dalmatians from that online store. :) These balloons were a hit with the kids!
The Decorations:
My sisters sponsored and helped lots in this as well. Big thanks! We rented a tank of helium gas for the blue, light blue and white balloons. I had a painful time tying the balloons such that my fingers were still aching the next day but I love the way they float around the ceiling of the dining area. Nice! :)
Next was the banner. I had difficulty getting a banner that fitted the theme at that time and wished my theme was "Safari Animals" instead. That theme was so much easily available! I didn't really want a big rectangular piece of banner. I wanted very much to create my own banner but DC disapproved it. He thought I should rest more instead of spending the time and effort on the party. I see his point. Just after I bought a few banners that I thought could be further customised to fit the theme, I chanced upon the perfect banner at a gift shop in Orchard! I love this jointed banner! :)
Then, I realised that the party bags, banner, cutouts and garlands that I bought from different sources were actually of the same series! Great! That makes the theme even more consistent. I was thrilled! :D
DC helped me put up the banner and cutouts on our living room wall. The decoration sets the scene and that is where we wanted to take photos with our guests.
And we have the party garland against the window.
And the twirling decorations that we also put up...
Besides the animal balloons that we lined at a corner of our living room, there was a giant cow welcoming the guests in the house. We did the balloon bouquet with balloons and the twirling decoration. I love that cow! :) It adds a lot of party mood to the buffet area.
I wonder if anyone actually notice that the moove cow decals that were on our kitchen glass were part of the party decorations? I went all the way to the marketing company one very early morning to buy them!
This soft toy cow that was on top of the shelf serves as a decoration too, together with my pig head phone dock.
I actually wanted much more! More farm animal soft toys that lie around the sofa and some magnetic ones on the fridge. I intended to diy a centerpiece but didn't go ahead with the plan because of certain reasons... :P
Besides the above decorations, DC spent time to set up the lights in our home studio to take pictures of Baby. Then, he selected the best, blew it up and framed it. The photo is now sitting on top of the shelf.
4 of the pictures taken were framed up in a 4-part photo frame hung just outside Baby's room.
Another 4 photos were clipped on the mirror shelf in our dinning area.
DC did a photo book for Baby. The photo book covers Baby's first year and there were lots of photos of our darling son inside. The book was placed on one of the tables for guests to view. All these photos could also be found in our digital photo frame on our TV console.
Love all those pictures and the effort DC put in!
I thought of decorating the buffet area with signs or even banner but didn't bother to pursue this idea further for obvious reason...
The Party Activities:
We've designated the living area for the small kids and played children karaoke songs throughout. I think little did the guests know that there was a karaoke session planned for them. If anyone wants to sing, they could! Somehow, the animal balloons stole the limelight and the kids were very engaged with the balloons.
There were farm themed books, flash cards and rolling toys on the table to keep them entertained but I guess they weren't of much interest to the kids as they were already very entertained with their animals!
The treats and balloons in the party pack were also supposed to keep them entertained. :)
Initially, I wanted to rent a farm learning centre big toy for indoor play and my dad wanted to get some kiddy cars for the kids for outdoor play. Both plans were aborted as we simply do not have the space!
The Birthday Cake:
We chose to design our own cake according to our theme. The 2-tier cake comes with 3 animals. We picked 3 cows to represent us: daddy cow, mummy cow and baby cow. I specially wanted the daddy cow to read newspaper, mummy cow to be with the baby cow feeding milk. Well, that was the usual scene in the morning at the time we designed the cake but this has changed since last month. Now, DC was the one doing the feeding! :P We were satisfied with how the cake looks like, it fits the theme very well. Orange Cranberry with Chocolate icing. I like the cake, it actually tasted better than the samples we've tried at the shop. We were also very blessed to have ordered the cake early cos a few weeks later, the price was revised!
The Party Pictures:
Baby's first present - The wrapper so fits the theme! :)
The pictures of the party can be found here.
Overall, I've enjoyed the party planning and the party itself. Having this experience, I'm sure we will do a better job next time! :P
Related Posts:
Baby's first Birthday Celebration
2 more days
2 weeks more
Updates to Baby's first birthday preparation
A's Birthday Preparation
Planning for the '1'
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