Here's another mental note to self. Well, a few mental notes to self AND husband in case one of us develops amnesia and forgets how tiring the whole affair was:
1) We should organise a party for our child(ren)'s birthday once every decade only.
The next one for Arissa would be when she turns 12. Her coming of age (21st) party can be with cousins/friends to ensure no old boring party-poopers are around including Mummy & Daddy.
2) We should NEVER have any parties at chalets because we end up 2 times more tired- having to lug the whole kitchen there and back (ladles, deep fryer, pots and pans, airpot, teabags, coffee powder, sugar, dishwashing liquid, sponges, mats, paper plates, forks and spoons etc). If we can't do without a chalet, make sure its no more than a 15m ride from our kitchen i.e. the BBQ pit at Sembawang park will do.
3) Get guests to send presents directly to home address to save boot space. Or provide appropriate gift dimension/price guidelines to guests.
4) Hire Amah-on-Wheels to do the cleaning up afterwards!
But, hey, you guessed it.. we were none the wiser this time round and broke all the abovementioned rules for Arissa's 2nd birthday party. To make life more difficult, both Hafidz & Arissa were sick and I was getting there too, having to breathe the air contaminated by these two people in the bedroom.
Me, MIL and Arissa's babysitter/aunt chilling @ Costa Sands Pasir Ris
Sous chef & Chef de partie
Lamb chop in black pepper sauce, hot from the stove
Chicken chop, sauteed prawns and buffalo wings
Our guestlist:
...but don't things always seem a lot more fun on hindsight.. we had a great party, the Aussie-style Barbie concept by Hafidz & Fendi was a resounding success (minus the Caesar salad which never got made somehow) and birthday girl had so much fun she wasn't able to wind down at night. We ended up driving home at 4am just so she can fall asleep in her own bed (aka my bed), then up again at 8am in order to get back to the chalet in time for the big cleanup & checkout.
The birthday gifts are still unopened because Arissa slept from 6pm on Sun all the way through to 9am on Mon morning, a loooooooooong respite for me & Hafidz to nurse our aching muscles with heat pads and a spot of Simpsons, The Movie (hah, thats how long I've wanted to watch it).
I plan on giving her one package every morning to open to lengthen the excitement because after all, the next big party is 10 years away.. Gotta milk this one for as long as I can!
My thank you list extends to:
Yani, who secured us the preferred chalet unit (Q1 in case I forget) at a very competitive price,
Joe Peter for purchasing the KungFu Panda party favours from US,
Hafidz & Fendi who worked really hard preparing food for our family & friends,
Sapna & Anil for the very yummy chocolate truffle bday cake,
Sanah for helping prepare the party and sleeping over in spite of being 6 months preggers,
Friends & Family members who came all the way with your gifts, ang pows, potluck deserts and well-wishes.
xxx