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Fun and games! Party Time

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Throwing a party for kids need not be a headache-inducing trauma or a junk-food bonanza. It can be a blast! Kate Farr reveals how it’s done

PHOTOS COURTESY OF Pexels

If there’s one thing guaranteed to turn the most Zen of parents into a frazzled mess, it’s the annual stress-fest that is a children’s party. From invites to cake, there’s a whole host of elements that need to come together to make a birthday bash run smoothly. Happily, for those of us who weren’t blessed with superior organisational skills, just about every element of a children’s party is ripe for hacking.

So here are a few tips, tricks and downright sneaky cheats to help hack the hassle and swerve the stress during your next birthday bash.

THE INVITES

Ever found a party invitation crumpled at the bottom of your child’s school bag many weeks after the event? We’ve all been there, and so for the sake of your time and sanity – not to mention the environment – seasoned party hackers should avoid paper invites at all costs.

Choosing an electronic invitation service, such as Paperless Post, keeps the process straightforward and makes your guest list easy to manage digitally. Take it a step further with Hong Kong-based Twopresents, who not only sends virtual invites to all your guests, but also gives them the option to send money in lieu of a gift. The funds are then split into two portions, with one for the birthday boy or girl to spend as they choose, and the other donated to a charity of their choice. This simple site cuts down on the amount of plastic junk you have to home, saves your guests shopping time, and is the ideal solution for the time poor parent with a party to hack. Consider too that the number of guests at your child’s party doesn’t matter. Children will be happy with a small gathering as long as it feels special to them. And by limiting the invites to just best friends and family, you’ll find the whole experience a lot easier.

THE ENTERTAINMENT
Throwing a kid’s party isn’t the jelly and ice-cream affair of times past. Even a clown doesn’t cut it unless he can pull a few seriously cool stunts out of the bag. So as party planning gets more competitive, it’s worth thinking seriously about what you really want to achieve, and all the exciting alternatives on offer.

Firstly, pick a theme that works with you, not against you. Your child may beg for an outlandishly complicated theme but that can be hard to carry off convincingly. Remember timeless classics, like jungles and wild things, or pirates and princesses, never go out of fashion. And whatever style of party you go with, be sure to make it magical. Parties can be so much more than just pass the parcel. Try holding a treasure hunt for wannabe pirates, playing wave music at a mermaid party, or setting off magical firework ‘spells’ at a Potterbased bash.

While there’s no shortage of professional party entertainers available to delight your little guests, those balloon animals come at a pretty steep price and have to be booked weeks in advance, making a dent in your party budget and upping your planning time. Happily, there are plenty of alternatives for parents wanting to keep a gang of kids amused, and Discovery Bay is the ideal spot for them.

Unless the weather is truly dreadful, hold the party outdoors. This allows kids room to let off steam… without destroying your home. If you have a garden then a water party is great fun, as well as being incredibly easy to organise. Ask invitees to bring spare clothes and a towel, fill a few large storage bins with water and then allocate your guests into teams. Timed wetsponge relay races, water balloon fights and squirt battles are all sure-fire crowd-pleasers that can easily be refereed by a parent.

Don’t have a garden? Check in with your village management office to see if your local playground is available for hire, or head to EpicLand in DB North Plaza – it’s a great one stop-shop party option, catering for groups of 10 to 20 plus. Kids can take their pick from various party themes, including glow disco, slime, epic-nerf and laser-tag. All party packages at the 14,000-square-foot indoor entertainment centre include two hours’ use of the party room with balloon and table setup.

The Birthday cake is everyone's favourite part of a party
The Birthday cake is everyone's favourite part of a party

THE MAIN EVENT
What’s a party without yummy treats? Unfortunately, while the additive packed, sugary snacks that the majority of us picture when it comes to birthday celebrations may go down well with small people, the majority of parents would probably prefer to jettison the junk, keeping things healthy (and avoiding the dreaded sugar-crash tantrum on the way home). Fortunately, festive food is extremely easy to hack while keeping all the fun and flavour.
While Mum and Dad enjoy their celebratory glass of bubbly, children can get in on the act with some sparkles of their own. Add citrus slices to sparkling mineral water for a refreshing tipple, or try infusing whole jugs with mint, cucumber, apple chunks and strawberries for a carbonated cocktail. Meanwhile, swap salty crisps and pretzels in favour of crudités and veggie-based dips and, assuming no age and allergy restrictions, switch salted peanuts for almonds, walnuts and cashews gently toasted without oil in the oven.

And let’s not forget the main event – birthday cake is everyone’s favourite part of a party, but if inch-thick icing transforms your little angel into something you’d prefer to see caged then there’s a hack for that too. If you’re paying a professional, then ‘naked’ cakes – where the sides remain un-iced – are currently all the rage in the world of baking and look just as good as they taste. Complete Deelite in Central is a top go-to for children’s birthday cakes, and it also hosts baking parties, where kids decorate prebaked cookies or cupcakes and then bring them home for their guests to enjoy.

If you’re brave enough to DIY then it’s easy to find instructions for a low-sugar cake online. Simply search for diabetic friendly recipes; you can add natural sweetness later with fruit toppings. Alternatively, for a fun sugar-and-fat-free option, make a watermelon ‘cake.’ Slice off both ends of a melon then pat dry, leaving a bright and beautiful base for the sweet-treat toppings of your choice. Whipped cream, berries and, if you’re feeling just a little indulgent, rainbow sprinkles all look and taste fantastic! So there we have it; perfecting a party is easy with just a few sneaky shortcuts. Now pour yourself a drink – you’ve earned it!

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