SingaporeMotherhood | Preschooler & Up
October 2013
The Best Kiddy Birthday Parties
Once they are old enough to understand what having a birthday means, children start to dream about how they are going to celebrate their next one. Some are content to celebrate with their classmates in school. Others ask for more elaborate ‘happenings’, from action-packed laser shoot-outs with their buddies, to intimate tea-time concoctions with a few BFFs (Best Friend Forever).
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Katarina Devi, mother to two boys aged five and two, thinks that Changi Beach is the perfect spot for a picnic party. “It is less crowded than the East Coast Park, and boys can spot aircraft flying to and from the airport, and identify them using the Flightradar24 app,” she suggests. Roni Tam, mother to two girls aged seven and four, is planning a cookery-cum-sporty party at the Sengkang Sports Complex. “I like the setting. And after doing Doughworkz at Pastamania, the children can swim,” she says.
Sounds like fun? Here are 12 more birthday celebration ideas – one for every month of the year! – to try.
Wintry Wonders
Age range 3-12 years
Sure it’s hot here in Singapore but you can still have snowball fights if you know where to go. Birthday packages at Snow City start from $35 per person for a one-hour party, including fun in the snow, activities with a Party Host, lunch (choice of hotdogs, nuggets, fish fillet or tulip chicken with potato wedges and a drink), and souvenirs. Come in long pants, a long-sleeved sweater, and bring along a pair of gloves. Snow City provides jackets and boots, but bring your own if you have them as these may not fit your little ones perfectly. No cameras are allowed in the snow chamber but Snow City has its own professional photographers and guests can buy photos at the end of the party, with a discount for five pieces and above.
Crafting with Clay
Age range 4-12 years
At Clay Cove, little ones can build a candy pot with a lid and decorate it (with figurines including a car, a dinosaur or a tiger). The 1.5-hour party package ($500; 10 children) includes firing, glazing and a second firing of pots. Finished pots are delivered to the birthday child’s home two to three weeks later. No meals are allowed in the workshop, but you can do the cake-cutting ceremony there. Alternatively, you can arrange for the clay art party to be held at your preferred venue, at no extra charge.
Bubbles and Splash!
Age range From 4 years
At Soap Ministry, kids can have a really clean(!) birthday party. The hour-long basic package ($48 per person) lets children create between five and seven hypo-allergenic and eco-friendly soaps in various shapes (flowers, animals, etc). The ‘upsized’ package ($86 each) has double the amount of soap base, two colors, and a layering technique. Soap Ministry can provide a table for food, drinks, and the cake. Kids get to bring home the soaps that they have created, plus an additional piece from Soap Ministry. For eight to 25 children. You can also request for the workshop to be conducted at your preferred location, for an additional charge.
Sweet Tea Parties
Age range 2-12 years
Little House of Dreams at The Central offers a variety of workshops from $500 onwards. A three-hour one (from $700) includes a custom-designed invitation card layout, decorations according to your theme, a savoury and dessert selection, a birthday cake, a pastry workshop, and Thank You gifts. This cosy spaces seats only 20 so it’s perfect for a small, intimate gathering, or a drop-off party.
Imagining The City
Age range 2-7 years
Learning stations – with scenes of a supermarket, health clinic, café, nursery, post office, classroom, beauty salon or fire station – let children indulge in imaginative play. The children can also pretend to be superheroes or road and traffic police. The City has two birthday party packages, one with 45 minutes of guided activity (where the children are challenged to solve “problems” by being creative and working in a team) at $750 and one without ($650; 15 children). You get exclusive use of the playground for two hours, party food (a McDonalds Happy Meal or Pizza and juice), balloons and stickers, and a gift for the birthday child. Adults and babies under one year old have free entry. Socks are a must.
Kidz Amaze
Age range Infants-12 years
This is one of the many indoor playgrounds in Singapore. What makes it different? Ms Sharmila, the Asst Director, tells us that its sophisticated play elements are carefully designed for purposeful play, from infant to adult. Indeed, kids do enjoy its two playgrounds in Jurong and Toa Payoh. Packages start from $449.40 for 20 children ($417.30 for SAFRA members), or $396.45 for Kidz Amaze members (No Frills package without a party facilitator). At Toa Payoh, the Frills package ($759.70) includes McDonald’s Happy Meals with Ribena and an ice cream sundae. You can arrange for your own caterer, cake and drinks, or let Kidz Amaze plan and take care of the goodie bags, the catering and a party host to organise the party. Depending on the chosen room, you can host between 50 and 80 people (children and adults). Children under four must be accompanied by a parent or an older sibling at all times.
Build-a-Bear
Age range 3-13 years
With at least five friends, your child can have an unFURgettable birthday party at a Build-a-Bear workshop. Each guest gets to bring home their own huggable companion. Parties, from $150 for six people, last about one to two hours. The cost includes goodie bags and invitations which can be printed from the Build-A-Bear website.
4D Thrills
Age range 8-9 years, at least 90 cm tall
Thrill-seekers can opt for heart-thumping excitement at Sentosa’s 4D Adventureland. Kids get unlimited goes on all three rides, from Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (journey to the centre of the earth in 15 minutes), Desperados (6 minutes of saddle-riding, Wild West shooting, and outlaw-chasing), to the Extreme Log Ride (a 10-minute rollercoaster-like virtual simulation ride between cliffs, over plunging waterfalls, and in croc-infested waters). The package ($468; 10 children) includes food, drinks and goodie bags. Parents have to pay a walk-in price of $38.90 (excluding food and drinks).
Timezone Thrills
Age range 3-8 years
Party guests use the Party Room for two hours, with unlimited play on yellow and red swipes for 1.5 hours, 6 blue swiper games, 300 e-tickets and a birthday present for the birthday child. Different coloured card swipers differentiate game categories like Simulators, Video, Prize Vending, and Redemption. The premium party package ($300; 10 children) includes balloons, candies, goodie bags, napkins, party utensils, and a present for the birthday child. Check with any of the 17 Timezone outlets for details and availability.
Forest Adventure
Age range 6-9 years, between 1.1 m and 1.45 m
Fancy channeling an inner Tarzan and Jane? Your child and up to 25 friends can swing from tree to tree four meters above the ground at the Forest Adventure Kids Course ($865; 20 children). It includes 90 minutes of adventure, two dedicated instructors, birthday cake and drinks. The birthday child will get a Forest Adventure T-shirt.
K Box Pop Stars
Age range 6-9 years
Let the kids channel their inner One Direction at K Box. Not a singer? The outlets at Orchard Cineleisure and Marina Square have pool tables, the one at Cineleisure has X Box, and at Choa Chu Kang there’s a PlayStation 3. A 1.5-hour party with 20 people (from $828++) includes magic, confetti, balloon sculpting and games with prizes. Add-ons such as face painting and candy floss are available. A minimum four-hour room rental duration applies.
Crafting Fun
Age range From 3 years
Arts and craft enthusiasts would enjoy having a party at Eat PLay Love Cafe. Packages start at $12.50 per person. Add another $5 per child for the privilege of unlimited access to craft materials for two hours.
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