Weekend Wanderings: A combined birthday party

We had a joint birthday celebration for Junior J and one of his good friends over the weekend, and invited their homeschooling buddies for a picnic party. We had planned to have it over at Bay East Garden (someone suggested the place as it would be less crowded compared to other parks during the weekend). However, the area had very little shady areas and it was really hot, so we ended up setting up our picnic under the expressway, near the visitor center. 

Look at all the space! Junior J had a great time zooming about.

The area turned out ideal, since it was shaded and cool, and there was lots of space for the kids to run about. Also, it was near the visitor center, which was where the only toilet in the area was located. The kids spent most of their time chasing bubbles and running about, and we squeezed in a "hunt the dinosaurs" game where they went to look for hidden dino puzzle pieces and had to sort and piece them together. 

Sorting out the puzzle pieces after they found them.

We had a feast, mainly cooked up by the other birthday boy's mummy, E. She had prepared all sorts of yummies, from biscuits with spinach cheese dip, baked dinosaur pasta, gyoza, curry, fishballs and sausages. We brought pineapple rice and konnyaku jelly (which my mum kindly made), edamame, salad, fruit, and drinks. Since we swung by to get E, it meant our car was packed to the brim with food!

Spinach dip: this was by far the most popular with the kids!

Lil J caught stealing salad. Or rather, the raisins in the salad.
Photo courtesy of Sze Siang.

Our spread of food.

E also baked the cakes for the party. Yes, you read right, cakes, one big one for everyone, and two small ones for the birthday boys. These were eggless and dairy-free (save for the Nutella), since we had to account for the kids with food allergies, and it was really moist and yummy!

The big cake. 

We kept the party packs simple: small paper bags containing a fossil cookie (baked by E), a small toy ball from Penang, and a little bear-shaped measuring tape. Initially, I was wondering if we would be able to pull off the party, since there was so much stuff to lug to the location, but I'm so glad we managed to pull it off and I think the kids had fun! (Even baby J enjoyed himself. He spent most of the time crawling around everywhere!)

Photo courtesy of Sze Siang.

PS: Some of the photos in this post were kindly taken by one of the daddies attending the party. He's a photographer (view his portfolio here), and I can't wait to see the rest of the shots!