A Mr Men and Little Miss Party for a special 5yo
This year, we threw a Mr Men and Little Miss party at home for Sean's 5th birthday.
He loves the books and I thought it would be quite a cute theme for a party.
I only started on the preparations about 3 weeks before the party. The most stressful part of the planning was looking for Mr Men and Little Miss merchandise. I could hardly find any in the shops (it was quite late to buy online) - I was so stressed!
Right from the start, I decided we were going to give Mr Men/Little Miss books to his classmates and friends. I managed to get my hands on some storybooks and activity books.
Later, we also chanced upon a big toy sale at Taka where they had some Mr Men stationery, bags, wallets, etc - I wasted no time and grabbed a big bunch of them as goodie bag stuffers and gifts!
Other than that, I DIY-ed a happy birthday banner with a cute rainbow ribbon, made some Mr Men/Little Miss photo props and drew a Mr Men/Little Miss character for each child on the goodie bags.
Sean wrote 'Love, Sean' on all the bags - I could have done it for him in half the time but thought it was a good way to teach him how to be grateful to his party guests :)
This year too, I decided to try something new: making my own pinata! Inspired by party extraordinaire V who claimed it was not at all difficult. But it was very tedious! I spent a few nights working on it and was very pleased my Mr Bump turned out very well! Won't be the last piñata I make! (More instructions on how to make one below)
We held the party on our condo grounds. The sky looked a bit dark before the party but thankfully it cleared up just in time. Phew - I wasn't sure how I was going to squeeze 20 kids (and their parents) into my house if it did pour!
To keep the kids occupied while waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, I had a small photo booth area with Mr Strong and Little Miss Chatterbox costumes (from My Mini-Me, an online costume shop) and handmade Mr Men/Little Miss photo props. The kids had fun here though I wish we had encouraged more of them to pose for pics!
We tucked in before we started on the games.
My mother prepared most of the kid-friendly food - we had fried beehoon, stir-fry veg, roast chicken drumsticks/wings, fish/sotong balls, hot dogs, potato wedges. I made mashed potatoes and prepared cut fruits and Cher made her famous salad.
To kick things off, I gathered the children and told them a story about Mr Birthday just to get the children in the mood. It was not easy narrating a story to a bunch of children of varying ages and limited attention spans, HAHA.
First game of the day: Passing the Parcel. The kids had to do a little something every time the parcel ended with them whenever the music stopped: tickle someone like Mr Tickle, sing a song like Little Miss Star, stomp their feet like Mr Noisy. They were very sporting and everyone got a little something for his/her effort!
Then we had a potato race. The kids were divided into 3 groups and they had to run/walk with a spoon holding a potato. It was quite cute, and a good party game for all ages. I had half a mind to decorate the potatoes as Mr Men characters but then thought that was a bit over the top (even for me), HAHA :)
Our last game was a good ol' treasure hunt. My assistants helped to hide small tubs of Play Doh, potato chips, bouncy balls and Japanese jelly all over the garden. I gave out the goody bags and off the kids went hunting to fill their bags with bounty. It was such a hit with the kids - I loved seeing their excited little faces when they spotted something!
Finally, we had the pinata bashing. How cute is my Mr Bump?
The kids were a bit shy about hitting Mr Bump at first but after a while, they were completely ruthless! And he was sturdy as a rock! They needed some 'help' breaking Mr Bump in the end and then, it was candies galore (sorry, parents)! Hey at least, I threw in some nice organic candies in the mix ;)
Then we brought out the Awfully Chocolate cake decorated with Mr Men figurines and sang for the birthday boy. It was impossible to get a pic of all the excited kids clamouring to look at the cake - I only managed one of the tops of their heads. HAHA
Overall, I thought it was quite a successful and not-that-stressful party. Was happy that everyone had fun!
Sean was truly the happiest boy on the planet that day.
He was actually a bit flu-ey that day but he had so much fun with his friends. After the party, we adjourned home to clean up and he got to open a few presents.
Couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthday for a five-year-old. And just so you know, he has started to count down to his 6th birthday already ;)
(Ryan actually started running a fever just shortly before the party and had to sit out for most of the games. He really wasn't in the best of moods that day. Poor kid!)
Party preparations
♥ Goodie bags: I drew Mr Men/Little Miss characters on the goodie bags for each child. Was going to print them but then I realised it was much faster if I just winged it and drew them by hand! Looked a bit unprofessional but it was the best I could do!
I got an assortment of Mr Men/Little Miss activity books, board books and story books from a few places: The Groovy Giraffe, Popular at Bras Basah and NOQ Asia, all at very decent prices. I hope the kids have fun with them at home!
Other fillers for the goodie bags: paper balls from SKP, a small tub of Play Doh, bouncy balls from Daiso, potato chips and Japanese jelly.
♥ Photo props: I drew some distinct Mr Men/Little Miss characteristics (like Mr Birthday's party hat, Little Miss Naughty's green ribbon, Mr Tickle's long arms) on cardboard, cut them out and glued them to balloon sticks. Quick and simple!
♥ Mr Strong and Little Miss Chatterbox costumes: The costumes were generously lent to us by My Mini Me, an online costume rental company for kids. You can rent children costumes at a very affordable price of $10. Great for dress-up parties or photoshoots. Everyone thought they were so cute!
♥ Helium balloons: Balloons really liven up the party - I could never do without them! I got mine from Harvest Well for a steal (80 cents each)!
♥ Pinata: The Mr Bump pinata is basically a balloon covered with a few layers of papier mache (or strips of newspapers soaked in a 1 part flour - 5 parts water mixture). Lots of instructions online. It is not that difficult to make but very tedious because you have to wait for each layer to dry (best to sun it for a day) before applying the next. I only applied 3 layers and it was sturdy as a rock! Finally, I just glued strips of blue and white crepe paper, stuffed it with not-too-heavy sweets, sealed Mr Bump's head with more newspapers and glue, cut his eyes and mouth from black cardboard paper, glued them on and that's it!
♥ Passing the Parcel: You should have one final big gift, a good number of 'forfeits' written down (eg. give the birthday boy a hug) and many small gifts and just wrap them all up. Warning: you will need LOTS of wrapping paper (or just use magazine paper for the inner layers, like I did).
♥ Cake: I baked a chocolate cake the night before but thought it looked a bit dry (I used the wrong type of butter). So I asked the husband to run to Awfully Chocolate to get one. Plonked the Mr Men figurines I got from My Mini Me and the cake looked so good!
Holler if you want to know anything else!
He loves the books and I thought it would be quite a cute theme for a party.
I only started on the preparations about 3 weeks before the party. The most stressful part of the planning was looking for Mr Men and Little Miss merchandise. I could hardly find any in the shops (it was quite late to buy online) - I was so stressed!
Right from the start, I decided we were going to give Mr Men/Little Miss books to his classmates and friends. I managed to get my hands on some storybooks and activity books.
Later, we also chanced upon a big toy sale at Taka where they had some Mr Men stationery, bags, wallets, etc - I wasted no time and grabbed a big bunch of them as goodie bag stuffers and gifts!
Other than that, I DIY-ed a happy birthday banner with a cute rainbow ribbon, made some Mr Men/Little Miss photo props and drew a Mr Men/Little Miss character for each child on the goodie bags.
Sean wrote 'Love, Sean' on all the bags - I could have done it for him in half the time but thought it was a good way to teach him how to be grateful to his party guests :)
This year too, I decided to try something new: making my own pinata! Inspired by party extraordinaire V who claimed it was not at all difficult. But it was very tedious! I spent a few nights working on it and was very pleased my Mr Bump turned out very well! Won't be the last piñata I make! (More instructions on how to make one below)
We held the party on our condo grounds. The sky looked a bit dark before the party but thankfully it cleared up just in time. Phew - I wasn't sure how I was going to squeeze 20 kids (and their parents) into my house if it did pour!
To keep the kids occupied while waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, I had a small photo booth area with Mr Strong and Little Miss Chatterbox costumes (from My Mini-Me, an online costume shop) and handmade Mr Men/Little Miss photo props. The kids had fun here though I wish we had encouraged more of them to pose for pics!
We tucked in before we started on the games.
My mother prepared most of the kid-friendly food - we had fried beehoon, stir-fry veg, roast chicken drumsticks/wings, fish/sotong balls, hot dogs, potato wedges. I made mashed potatoes and prepared cut fruits and Cher made her famous salad.
To kick things off, I gathered the children and told them a story about Mr Birthday just to get the children in the mood. It was not easy narrating a story to a bunch of children of varying ages and limited attention spans, HAHA.
First game of the day: Passing the Parcel. The kids had to do a little something every time the parcel ended with them whenever the music stopped: tickle someone like Mr Tickle, sing a song like Little Miss Star, stomp their feet like Mr Noisy. They were very sporting and everyone got a little something for his/her effort!
Then we had a potato race. The kids were divided into 3 groups and they had to run/walk with a spoon holding a potato. It was quite cute, and a good party game for all ages. I had half a mind to decorate the potatoes as Mr Men characters but then thought that was a bit over the top (even for me), HAHA :)
Our last game was a good ol' treasure hunt. My assistants helped to hide small tubs of Play Doh, potato chips, bouncy balls and Japanese jelly all over the garden. I gave out the goody bags and off the kids went hunting to fill their bags with bounty. It was such a hit with the kids - I loved seeing their excited little faces when they spotted something!
Finally, we had the pinata bashing. How cute is my Mr Bump?
The kids were a bit shy about hitting Mr Bump at first but after a while, they were completely ruthless! And he was sturdy as a rock! They needed some 'help' breaking Mr Bump in the end and then, it was candies galore (sorry, parents)! Hey at least, I threw in some nice organic candies in the mix ;)
Then we brought out the Awfully Chocolate cake decorated with Mr Men figurines and sang for the birthday boy. It was impossible to get a pic of all the excited kids clamouring to look at the cake - I only managed one of the tops of their heads. HAHA
Overall, I thought it was quite a successful and not-that-stressful party. Was happy that everyone had fun!
Sean was truly the happiest boy on the planet that day.
He was actually a bit flu-ey that day but he had so much fun with his friends. After the party, we adjourned home to clean up and he got to open a few presents.
Couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthday for a five-year-old. And just so you know, he has started to count down to his 6th birthday already ;)
(Ryan actually started running a fever just shortly before the party and had to sit out for most of the games. He really wasn't in the best of moods that day. Poor kid!)
Party preparations
♥ Goodie bags: I drew Mr Men/Little Miss characters on the goodie bags for each child. Was going to print them but then I realised it was much faster if I just winged it and drew them by hand! Looked a bit unprofessional but it was the best I could do!
I got an assortment of Mr Men/Little Miss activity books, board books and story books from a few places: The Groovy Giraffe, Popular at Bras Basah and NOQ Asia, all at very decent prices. I hope the kids have fun with them at home!
Other fillers for the goodie bags: paper balls from SKP, a small tub of Play Doh, bouncy balls from Daiso, potato chips and Japanese jelly.
♥ Photo props: I drew some distinct Mr Men/Little Miss characteristics (like Mr Birthday's party hat, Little Miss Naughty's green ribbon, Mr Tickle's long arms) on cardboard, cut them out and glued them to balloon sticks. Quick and simple!
♥ Mr Strong and Little Miss Chatterbox costumes: The costumes were generously lent to us by My Mini Me, an online costume rental company for kids. You can rent children costumes at a very affordable price of $10. Great for dress-up parties or photoshoots. Everyone thought they were so cute!
♥ Helium balloons: Balloons really liven up the party - I could never do without them! I got mine from Harvest Well for a steal (80 cents each)!
♥ Pinata: The Mr Bump pinata is basically a balloon covered with a few layers of papier mache (or strips of newspapers soaked in a 1 part flour - 5 parts water mixture). Lots of instructions online. It is not that difficult to make but very tedious because you have to wait for each layer to dry (best to sun it for a day) before applying the next. I only applied 3 layers and it was sturdy as a rock! Finally, I just glued strips of blue and white crepe paper, stuffed it with not-too-heavy sweets, sealed Mr Bump's head with more newspapers and glue, cut his eyes and mouth from black cardboard paper, glued them on and that's it!
♥ Passing the Parcel: You should have one final big gift, a good number of 'forfeits' written down (eg. give the birthday boy a hug) and many small gifts and just wrap them all up. Warning: you will need LOTS of wrapping paper (or just use magazine paper for the inner layers, like I did).
♥ Cake: I baked a chocolate cake the night before but thought it looked a bit dry (I used the wrong type of butter). So I asked the husband to run to Awfully Chocolate to get one. Plonked the Mr Men figurines I got from My Mini Me and the cake looked so good!
Holler if you want to know anything else!