The Bub in the Belly

As you know, Ryan turned two yesterday, and we had a PARTY! It took quite a bit of planning, but I'm glad that we went ahead because Ryan (and we) had a blast!

I think I started planning this too early (about three weeks before) because the more time I had, the more ideas I came up with! I had to keep telling myself to keep it simple, keep it simple! And so, yes, we kept it simple. We rented the hall at Hort Park. Catered food for the adults. Rented toys for the children. Ordered a birthday cake. Put together some simple goodie bags. Bought balloons for the children. Hired a photographer.

We had no theme, no clowns, mascots, balloon artists, magicians, face painters or jugglers. Not that I didn't want any, I actually considered all these options but when I told the service providers that the children were mostly two year olds, I was advised that clowns, mascots, etc., are not really suitable for children under the age of 3 and that, even 3-year olds will usually only enjoy this sort of entertainment if there are older children in the group whom they can take the lead from.

We therefore had to come up with alternatives to keep the children entertained and occupied - we decided to turn half of the hall into a big playroom! We rented some toys, including an indoor bouncy castle and a slide, and we also brought some of Ryan's own toys to add to the mix. The room came with a projector so Richard screened some Hi-5 DVDs on the huge screen, which helped to put the children in the mood and gave the party the right feel - come on let's party!

It was amazing to see how all the children naturally gravitated towards the toys and the great thing was that most of them were happy to play without their parents near them, which left their parents free to relax and chat and eat. All the children yelling and screaming and laughing and having fun made the party so lively, which added to Ryan's excitement. Ryan had such a fantastic time, he didn't even need his nap!

Everything went smoothly, everything was delivered on time (the food, the balloons, the toys, the cake) and, from the feedback received, the food and the cake were delicious.

Quite apart from all the presents and red packets that he received, I think Ryan was so blessed to have so many people come to celebrate his birthday, and to bring him warm wishes and goodwill. So here's a big Thank You to all our wonderful guests - hope you had a good time and thank you for being a part of Ryan's 2nd birthday!

I don't have any photographs of the party to show you yet because I didn't take any - I left that responsibility completely to the photographer! I'll post some of the shots when I get them. I've only got some shots of the goodie bags which we packed a couple of days prior. Each child got one goodie bag plus a walking animal balloon to take home.

The thank you note on the goodie bags for the boys. The  background of the thank you note is a photo of Ryan

The goodie bags for the girls