A Party For A Princess

Little Bee's ultimate dream is to be a princess. She is a vision of royalty perpetually, enjoying decking herself up in little pretty trinkets and long dresses. Hence, when she requested for a princess party for her 4th birthday, I could not resist her endearing request.

Hence, on 28 November, we threw a little party for 18 of Little Bee's closest pals and cousins (together with the grandparents) - little kids whom she had played with regularly in our circle of friends. She was anticipating this party for a whole, constantly bombarding me with questions on how her 4th birthday party would be like. We selected the theme of "princesses and princes" for this party, and dressed Little Bee up in her favourite Disney princess, Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.

Finally, when the day arrived, she woke up bright and early to immediately exclaim excitedly "It's my birthday today!"

We decided to throw the party at JWT Kids Gym at UE Square this year, as I had previously enjoyed a few terrific parties at this same gym. Therefore, I was not to be disappointed by this party, as the folks from JWT Kids Gym really made the party so hassle-free for me! All I had to do was to order the food and cake, and buy the goodies for the party kids - and that was it! Hubby and I did spend a fair amount of time searching for individual presents for each kid, as the age groups of the party kids were too varied for homogeneous party bags, but we enjoyed the process thoroughly!

Some highlights of the party included:

1) Seeing Little Bee's friends trickling in, and the thrill on her face as she greeted them cheerfully, accepting their presents with a delighted smile while leading them into the gym like a gracious host.

2) The exuberant party host, Shah, and his helpful staff, who made the party so memorable for Little Bee.

3) The wonderful games that Little Bee and her friends enjoyed so much starting with a competitive yet crazy obstacle race, followed by a zany limbo contest that got the kids all exhilarated and warmed up. 

These kids turned absolutely delirious when the party host took out a gigantic colourful parachute cloth, involving the parents in the game. 

The highlight of the games was definitely the flying fox, with all the kids eager to launch from the start of the flying fox right into the food table for the cake-cutting session. Little Bee was the first to descend from the flying fox, accompanied by a tune from a Disney princess movie theme song. Talk about grand entrances!

4) I enjoyed the food break with all the kids eating and the parents idly chatting around them. More importantly, this break gave me some time to decorate Little Bee's 2-tiered princess castle cake with her favourite Disney Princess toppers - Belle, Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella!

5) The look on Little Bee's face as Papa brought out the cake, complete with candles and toppers, was priceless. The atmosphere was dense with the usual child-like excitement as everyone sang Happy Birthday to Little Bee, whose eyes could not leave the cake for a nano-second. Big Bee was right beside her, lending her support and gamely instructing her what to do.

6) Lest the kids thought the party was over with the cake-cutting session, more exciting games await them soon after. The party host gathered all the kids for a hilarious session of "dance and freeze" game, followed by a magical bubbles session where the entire gym was dim and filled with sparkling bubbles, enchanting all the kids from the very young to the big ones! Everyone was immerse in his or her little world, at one with the bubbles, chasing them and trying to burst them.

Intense fun followed after the idyllic bubbles session - the parents were all asked into the gym for a feisty foam ball fight versus the kids! Parents and kids, all armed with several foam balls in all sizes, stood in a face-off with each other. The moment the whistle blew, hysterical frenzy broke loose! The kids ignored all rules and dashed all around the parents, throwing the balls incessantly at us - it was a matter of time before the parents were fatigued although the kids were imbued with boundless energy levels! That was truly uproarious.

7) The finale was truly dramatic - but befitting Little Bee's gregarious nature perfectly. She was made to walk down a long red carpet to a little raised platform (where I was seated with all the presents for the little kids). As she strode regally along the red carpet, to the tune of another Disney princess movie theme song, holding a big bunch of balloons and surrounded by her closest friends and family around her, her smile had never looked more radiant nor luminous.

As she perched on the raised platform, calling out the names of each of her friend with gusto, giving them their presents and extending her arms to hug everyone, I could see how Miss Extrovert was enjoying being the centre of the party.

She might become more shy as the years grow on her, she might prefer much smaller parties, but for now, I am happy that she was elated with her 4th birthday party, hoping that this is a gem that would be indelible in her little mind.

Happy 4th birthday, my little one. Time is swift indeed, as I see you growing up from the baby we all fussed over to an (almost) big kid now. And to Little Bee's friends and cousins, she was ecstatic that everyone could join her to celebrate her 4th year in this wonderful world.

All the adorable princesses and princes at the party!