Sean turns 6!
Sean turned six on August 15 and for the first time ever, we were able to throw a party on the day itself :)
Thanks to my husband, the boys are going through a huge superhero phase now (they are always bugging him to tell them stories of the X-Men and Marvel superheroes) so a superhero theme it was. It is actually a really great theme for a party - I had no shortage of ideas. I will write more about the party prep in my next post.
For the party, the boys were decked out in superhero costumes from our regular online costume rental store for children, My Mini-Me. They have a decent superhero collection and I chose Captain America for Sean, Superman for Ryan and Spiderman for baby Jo. They looked so adorable together. Too bad Jo refused to wear his Spidey mask!
The kids were encouraged to come dressed to theme and most of them did. I got superhero capes and masks as party favours (from Aliexpress) were a huge hit with everyone, even the adults ;)
We had little Ironman, Incredible Hulk, a few Batmans and Supermans, Spiderman, Supergirl, Batgirl, a special warrior princess and quite expectedly, a couple of Elsas (she is a superhero too, right?) and my favourite, little Miss Violet Incredible. I couldn't stand the cuteness!
The weather was nice and sunny for the party. Our guests started arriving around 530pm as we were setting up and getting the fire going for the BBQ.
As we waited for all the guests to arrive, we got the kids started on a craft activity: decorating their own superhero cuffs (actually painted toilet-paper rolls). It was a very simple activity but the kids enjoyed it and some really went to town with the stickers, embellishments and washi tape on their cuffs!
This is the first time we are trying a BBQ for our party so my mum and helper marinated tons of chicken wings and hot dogs. We also prepared fried bee hoon, fish balls, sotong balls, deviled eggs, potato salad, fruit skewers, guacamole and chips. Foops and Leon my brother did most of the sweaty BBQ grunt work and the chicken wings and hot dogs were truly delish. Always love a good BBQ!
After most people have eaten, we got the ball rolling with the first game: Pass the Kryptonite (or Pass the Parcel).
It is a nice warm-up game and it was actually really nice to see the kids growing through the years and being able to join the game on their own. Baby Jo was so happy to be part of the action.
The children sportingly executed their dares (they got a small present in return) - they ran as fast as Superman, gave the birthday boy a Hulk hug, stomped their feet like Ironman, laughed like the Joker and crawled like Spiderman. We wrapped up the game with everyone singing the birthday boy for Sean :)
Then it was time for Superhero Training (or station games)!
The kids put on their superhero capes and masks and off they zoomed on scooters at the speed of lighting, jumping over buildings (actually cardboard boxes) in a single leap, bowling down baddies (plastic bottles), working on their aim (tossing balls into holes), punching out meanies (helium balloons).
At the very end of it, we congratulated them on completing their superhero training with flying colours and they claimed their reward: a superhero lollipop. This game was nice coz the kids could go at their own pace and no one was really competing with anyone (which means no tears)!
Next up was the Superhero Mission (Treasure Hunt). I gave out a list of items they were supposed to find (so they only take one of each item) - Caprisonne drink, Yan Yan biscuits, raisins, fruit gummies, Wang-Wang biscuit. The kids had lots of fun and even the little ones could join in with their parents. Because we started out a bit late, it was rather dark by the time we did the hunt so the kids really had to look very hard for their treasures, haha. Should have given them torchlights!
The goodie bags also contained a superhero storybook (Frozen, Big Hero Six, Mulan, Spiderman, etc) - I hope the kids like them :)
The games ended with the piñata - I made a big, black bomb for the superheroes to decimate and they did a decent job of it. I just wish I had more time to shop for more things other than candies and gummies. Maybe next time!
Finally, we gathered everyone the birthday cake, sang the birthday song for Sean and he blew out his candles. Yay! We did this in almost pure darkness because it had gotten so dark by then - we have remember to start the games earlier next time! I made a two-layer chocolate cake covered with a rich chocolate frosting - it was my best attempt at a birthday cake. Too bad we didn’t get proper pictures of the cake or of us!
We are very grateful to everyone for celebrating with us and indulging Sean with love, hugs, books and gifts - I hope he remembers his special day for a long time to come. Ryan also deserves special mention - despite the teeny bit of jealousy in the early days that it was Sean's birthday and not his, he was really mature on the day itself and totally let Sean be the star of the day. Proud of my little guy!
And so our not-so-little boy is SIX! It has been a gratifying life-changing six years being parents to Sean (and his brothers) and we wouldn't have it any other way :)
Thanks to my husband, the boys are going through a huge superhero phase now (they are always bugging him to tell them stories of the X-Men and Marvel superheroes) so a superhero theme it was. It is actually a really great theme for a party - I had no shortage of ideas. I will write more about the party prep in my next post.
For the party, the boys were decked out in superhero costumes from our regular online costume rental store for children, My Mini-Me. They have a decent superhero collection and I chose Captain America for Sean, Superman for Ryan and Spiderman for baby Jo. They looked so adorable together. Too bad Jo refused to wear his Spidey mask!
The kids were encouraged to come dressed to theme and most of them did. I got superhero capes and masks as party favours (from Aliexpress) were a huge hit with everyone, even the adults ;)
We had little Ironman, Incredible Hulk, a few Batmans and Supermans, Spiderman, Supergirl, Batgirl, a special warrior princess and quite expectedly, a couple of Elsas (she is a superhero too, right?) and my favourite, little Miss Violet Incredible. I couldn't stand the cuteness!
The weather was nice and sunny for the party. Our guests started arriving around 530pm as we were setting up and getting the fire going for the BBQ.
As we waited for all the guests to arrive, we got the kids started on a craft activity: decorating their own superhero cuffs (actually painted toilet-paper rolls). It was a very simple activity but the kids enjoyed it and some really went to town with the stickers, embellishments and washi tape on their cuffs!
This is the first time we are trying a BBQ for our party so my mum and helper marinated tons of chicken wings and hot dogs. We also prepared fried bee hoon, fish balls, sotong balls, deviled eggs, potato salad, fruit skewers, guacamole and chips. Foops and Leon my brother did most of the sweaty BBQ grunt work and the chicken wings and hot dogs were truly delish. Always love a good BBQ!
After most people have eaten, we got the ball rolling with the first game: Pass the Kryptonite (or Pass the Parcel).
It is a nice warm-up game and it was actually really nice to see the kids growing through the years and being able to join the game on their own. Baby Jo was so happy to be part of the action.
The children sportingly executed their dares (they got a small present in return) - they ran as fast as Superman, gave the birthday boy a Hulk hug, stomped their feet like Ironman, laughed like the Joker and crawled like Spiderman. We wrapped up the game with everyone singing the birthday boy for Sean :)
Then it was time for Superhero Training (or station games)!
The kids put on their superhero capes and masks and off they zoomed on scooters at the speed of lighting, jumping over buildings (actually cardboard boxes) in a single leap, bowling down baddies (plastic bottles), working on their aim (tossing balls into holes), punching out meanies (helium balloons).
At the very end of it, we congratulated them on completing their superhero training with flying colours and they claimed their reward: a superhero lollipop. This game was nice coz the kids could go at their own pace and no one was really competing with anyone (which means no tears)!
Next up was the Superhero Mission (Treasure Hunt). I gave out a list of items they were supposed to find (so they only take one of each item) - Caprisonne drink, Yan Yan biscuits, raisins, fruit gummies, Wang-Wang biscuit. The kids had lots of fun and even the little ones could join in with their parents. Because we started out a bit late, it was rather dark by the time we did the hunt so the kids really had to look very hard for their treasures, haha. Should have given them torchlights!
The goodie bags also contained a superhero storybook (Frozen, Big Hero Six, Mulan, Spiderman, etc) - I hope the kids like them :)
The games ended with the piñata - I made a big, black bomb for the superheroes to decimate and they did a decent job of it. I just wish I had more time to shop for more things other than candies and gummies. Maybe next time!
Finally, we gathered everyone the birthday cake, sang the birthday song for Sean and he blew out his candles. Yay! We did this in almost pure darkness because it had gotten so dark by then - we have remember to start the games earlier next time! I made a two-layer chocolate cake covered with a rich chocolate frosting - it was my best attempt at a birthday cake. Too bad we didn’t get proper pictures of the cake or of us!
We are very grateful to everyone for celebrating with us and indulging Sean with love, hugs, books and gifts - I hope he remembers his special day for a long time to come. Ryan also deserves special mention - despite the teeny bit of jealousy in the early days that it was Sean's birthday and not his, he was really mature on the day itself and totally let Sean be the star of the day. Proud of my little guy!
And so our not-so-little boy is SIX! It has been a gratifying life-changing six years being parents to Sean (and his brothers) and we wouldn't have it any other way :)