Birthday Blast 2013 - An unbirthday mad party: Alice in Wonderland Post2

Following the earlier post on the prep work that went into Dumpling's birthday bash, here's the second post on the actual celebration day! Now, initially, when we first started planning this, Dumpling did not have any specific ideas on the activities and the grand-dad went ahead to book a SAFRA chalet. Though we later managed to book the chalet unit, Dumpling decided that she wanted sports / games activities on the actual day.

Thankfully I work in the Early Childhood Education industry and so, I approached the bosses if we can use one of the schools for the party so that we can use a gym for the games as well as the dining room for another activity (shared below).

:: Decor
Decor wise, we centered it around a pink and blue theme where I bought an editable file on buntings on ETSY so that I could edit the letters and print out the message which we want. ETSY is a fantastic site which sells a lot of home made and party stuff too! This is how our bunting turned out :)

Now, riding on the colour theme, we decided on having blue and pink balloons too which we tied to the back of the chairs.

To tie back to the 'Alice in Wonderland' theme, the same file that I bought had signages (shown below) and they were perfect for our activities!

As much as we can, we'd always include balloons in our parties because they do fill up the 'space' and add to the festive mood. Instead of plain balloons, we chose polka dotted ones to add to the whimsical theme but that's not all! We stuck some signages which read "Which Way", "This Way", "That Way" to them too! 

And here's how the activity room look :)

:: Activity 1 - Croquet

While the setting up of activity room was taking place, the kids were in the Croquet Court (gym) having their first activity of the day. We also pasted Flamingos to the Floor Ball sticks to be in-line with the theme! 

The coaches were really good with kids and conducted a few different games with them to warm them up. As you can see, the kids had a great time! 

True to the invite, the kids played an improvised version of the croquet game.

With the last 'obstacle' having to hit the ball down a slide and through a 'hole'.

After burning off their beans, it was time for Activity 2!

:: Activity 2: Planting a Red Garden for the (Red) Queen!
We stumbled upon The Blue Pocket a few months ago while we were out. The team at Blue Pocket was displaying their terrariums and Dumpling crept closer for a look. When she read (on their signages) that they conduct workshops too, she was thrilled and asked to make one too.

After some days of discussion with her and several calls with The Blue Pocket, we were able to include these terrariums as part of the activity for the kiddos at her party too! :)

So, what's in a terrarium?

(Source: The Blue Pocket)

The workshop started with Uncle Vincent explaining what a terrarium is and essentially, what goes on in the glass bottle - how water is recycled, etc. The presentation/intro talk had cute animation and the kids were fully engaged.

They then proceeded to demonstrate how the terrarium should be built and off the kids went! Planting a garden fit for the Red Queen!

 And tada!

:: THE CAKES, THE CAKES!
Now, what about the birthday cake? As what we have done regularly for the past years, we ordered them from Whips Cupcakes which Dumpling's gramps and Uncle helped to pick up that morning too. Ordering from Whips Cupcakes has always been a breeze and I love that they are able to do customization. We had a main cake shaped like a table with tablecloth and a cup plus saucer (from Hatter's tea party scene). The cake was wonderfully yummy as the base was red velvet so that complemented the fondant.

But the star of the day was the dessert stand filled with 2D and 3D mini cupcakes, macarons and more cupcakes (without the fondant for those who prefer them as they are). We had a mix of vanilla and red velvet base mixed with rose and buttercream cream on top.

Check out Cheshire Cat, the cute mushrooms and the tea pots! Taste wise - how good were they? Let's just say that I did not get to sample any because they were TOTALLY GONE before the end of the party!!!!

All in all, it was a blast and the kids have great fun! As for Dumpling, she found it too short and asked if we can "play the whole day next year!" Well, my mummy friends, are you ladies up for an even bigger bash next year? :p 

 Note: None of these items were sponsored in any way; I am sharing the contacts on my own accord so that it gives you mums an additional avenue to hunt for more party contacts! 

Here's part 1 of the Unbirthday Mad Party Post where I shared on the prep work leading into the party. 

This is a continuation of the Birthday Blast! series which I hosted last year! 

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