We celebrated Noah’s first birthday on Saturday, and had a great time at the party! We decided earlier that we didn’t want to tire ourselves out planning something huge or doing too many things, so everything was pretty simple. All we did was invite the guests, book the venue, order the banner, balloons, and cake online, get everything delivered, and voila! Party time!
We had a simple lunch celebration at EatPlayLove Cafe, as we thought it would be a good place for our younger guests, although only three of them were old enough to craft. We also liked that the menu was a fusion of both Thai and Western dishes, as our parents generally prefer Asian food. Jessica, whom we liaised with for the party, was very helpful and friendly, and even loaned us a ladder to put up our banner that day. We did feel that the party area seemed a little cramped, even though we were allocated the larger half of the cafe. Also, the cafe is designed such that the craft materials are spread out around the entire cafe, so there were quite a few customers coming to our party area to select their materials. The food was good, despite the limited variety, and small portion sizes. It would have been nice if the buffet spread was served in warmers, as some of our guests came quite late, and the food had already turned cold. I loved the milo tarts which we chose for the dessert, but was surprised that there was only enough for one per guest. I would have loved to have more than one! For those of you who are considering EatPlayLove cafe as your party venue, my advice would be to order more food, rather than cater for the exact number of guests, unless most of your guests have small appetites. The cafe is perfect if you have plenty of young party guests, as they will have plenty to occupy themselves with at the craft area.
As the cafe itself is already very prettily decorated, it required minimal party decoration. All I did was order a reusable party banner (good for the next four years) from KidzPartyStore, as well as some walking pets and large balloons from MiiniWorld! I should have gotten more walking pets though, as they were a great hit with our guests. Even the other cafe customers were fascinated by them, and one kid even asked his mum to take one from our party for him! Thank goodness she didn’t, because they were meant as door gifts for the children. In fact, two of our adult guests loved the walking pets so much that we gave them the pets meant for Noah. Anyway, Noah loves the six big balloons we brought home, and we will get Noah his own walking pet when he’s old enough to properly appreciate them. 🙂
Our simple party set-up
Some of the old-school tidbits sold at the cafe
One of the adorable walking pets
We wanted the birthday boy to be as well rested as possible before the party, so my best friend and her husband graciously agreed to help by picking us up a little later, as C had to be at the cafe early to receive the balloons and cake. Thank God that even though Noah woke up earlier than usual that morning, he still took his morning nap, and was able to enjoy most of the party. He got cranky towards the end, but by then, everyone was leaving, so it wasn’t too bad.
Noah playing with my best friend at the party
Noah with his new BFF, aka my best friend’s husband
We were a little worried that the kids would be bored at the party, but they were very busy crafting!
Little SY, hard at work, erm, scribbling
Noah had fun banging the markers on the table too
The birthday cake was from Bee’s Cakes, and everyone enjoyed the deliciously moist carrot cake. I requested for the animals to be wearing party hats, and loved how the cake turned out! Noah was extremely fascinated by the candle when we lit it, and kept staring at it for the longest time. It took many, MANY people clapping and waving at him, just to get him to look at the camera. I actually “trained” Noah to clap his hands whenever the ‘Happy Birthday’ song is sung, but the little boy was just too busy staring at everyone that day that he forgot to clap along. Sigh.
Birthday cake!
Our little family
C’s hockey friends
The gals
All in all, I think the party went pretty well, if I might say so myself. We had a good time catching up with our friends at the party, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. We are very thankful that our family and friends made time to celebrate Noah’s birthday with us, and really appreciate all the love that they have so generously showered upon him. Noah is indeed very blessed to be so loved by all of you!
Noah with his gifts and angpows
PS. In case you’re wondering, we got our matching tees from Threadless, and one of the wall decals in Noah’s room is the exact same design too! You can read my post about our love affair with Threadless and Blik here.
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