#XmasWithSporeMomBloggers

I host Christmas parties annually but none like this one with fifteen children amongst nine mothers. Not to mention a Christmas social gathering for Mom Bloggers who will probably be photographing everything for the social media. I had better get my act together to host an Instagram-worthy jamboree! We went with the hashtag XmasWithSporeMomBloggers. Hmm... come to think of it, I should have included 2015 in it. 

This was a Friday morning rendezvous because we are a bunch of moms who are available for a weekday meet. As we chatted the hours away, I conclude that blogging moms have a lot in common. We survive on very little sleep, we dedicate all our time creating memories with our children, we appreciate good food and pretty little things, we aren't just mothers but entrepreneurs (or potential entrepreneurs) and we photograph excessively because photographs mean the world to us. Ah.. and our children are always camera-ready.

How to stage a successful children's Christmas party? We need desserts as welcome treats, toys to keep them entertained, possibly live entertainment of some sorts, a piñata filled with milo and raisins and Christmas presents! Lots of them! Oh but I need to keep those #BloggerMoms happy as well don't we? How about a photo booth, great food, gorgeous stationaries and practical gifts that'll make a mom extremely happy! There, I've got everything planned out. I must admit I was a little worried I couldn't get everything set up by 1030 hours. It was after all a morning party and I didn't have the whole day to prep. Moreover, the husband and I had an early morning appointment with Housing Development Board to get some paperwork settled with our first matrimonial home. It might be a mad rush if we were held back at the HDB so... I did my setup the night before and covered it with throws. That was the best decision made because I had only thirty minutes left to get things ready for our guests' arrival that morning. Took the throws off the tables, placed the perishables in style and took out the drinks. Aha! I still had ten minutes to do product shots!

DESSERTS
THE ICING ROOM
Our little cookie monsters crowded around the dessert table as soon as they laid eyes on them, gobbling down cookie after cookie from The Icing Room. I did not count but I bet there were 30 cookies to go round 15 kids. Not a single one left that day and I did get to try any to give my two cents worth about how it tasted. Some of the designs were too tacky for my liking but some were pretty as a picture. The verdict was decided by the children: None Left.

BREADTALK
BreadTalk has three log cakes available at its stores namely The Enchanted Snow Cheese, Santa's Choco OverLog and Hazelnut Heaven. In all honesty, the former two were pretty ordinary. I wouldn't pay for them or bring them to Christmas parties. However, the Hazelnut Heaven managed to barge into our respective conversations and we had only, "Mmmm this Hazelnut is really good!" in the room. It was so well-received that no one else took a second bite into the other log cakes. It is a velvety chocolate chiffon filled with light hazelnut cream, topped with fresh strawberries. Writing about it now makes me want to sink my teeth into a slice of this Hazelnut Heaven log cake. BreadTalk has them sold in slices at S$6.10 or in whole at S$54.80.

The cake boxes that held the log cakes were cleverly designed with reindeer antelope handles and perforated cardboard pieces that can be pieced together into a snowman mobile phone stand. I must say it is a brilliant idea to bring people together at the table, constructing a piece of useful prop while savouring their log cakes.

BreadTalk Promotion:
• Enjoy two Christmas sliced cakes for $9.80 (Now – 25 Dec)
• Receive a 15% BreadTalk Christmas cake voucher with minimum $6 purchase (14 Dec – 25 Dec)
• UOB cardmembers exclusive: enjoy 20% off any Christmas cakes and 6% SMAR$ rebate for the first 5,000 transactions (Now – 25 Dec)

*Only applicable to Christmas log cakes only. UOB SMAR$ terms and conditions apply.

The moms were also treated with BreadTalk's Butter Crisps and Choc & Salt cookies on the table. We were too busy with everything else to take pleasure in them at the party but when I sat down over tea that evening with my husband and popped in a couple of Choc & Salt, we were blown away. I am surprised that BreadTalk could even come up with such a combination but it is a unique blend of Himalayan Rock Salt and Dark Chocolate. Meyer said that it was lip-smacking good and had to stop himself from finishing one canister in one seating. The Butter Crisps were the usual butter cookies and did not stand out for us.

BREAD SOCIETY
I bet you didn't know that The Icing Room, Bread Society and BreadTalk are three different arms of the same company, catering to the tastes and needs of different markets. We didn't get to enjoy Bread Society's Christmas collections at this party but I want to give it a mention here because they impressed us with its designs and quality - Rudolf and Merry Berry.

Rudolf, S$2.50 each, is a delightful brioche dough that takes after the most beloved reindeer of the festive season. It is filled with cream cheese, chocolate chips, orange zest, and topped off with a red cherry and raisins. I loved it! Great for filling up the table beautifully and received full marks in the Taste department.

Merry Berry, S$8.80 each, is a flaky and buttery Danish pastry with creamy smooth custard within, decorated with a bounty of fresh strawberries, blueberries and red currants. The husband agrees that it didn't taste or look like a pastry baked out from a regular bake shop. It surpassed our opinions of the kind of pastries Bread Society can produce.

Bread Society Promotion:
• 10% off purchase of any 3 Christmas items (Now – 25 Dec)
• UOB cardmembers exclusive: enjoy 15% off purchase of any 3 Christmas items (Now – 25 Dec)

*Not valid for cookies bundle. Not valid with other promotions, discounts, vouchers and privileges.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS
We had the privilege of having The Magic Empire at our house to bring this group of #BloggerKids some tummy-aching entertainment. Sherman's a long time from from way back. I was only 12 when we were classmates. We've lost contact for a while. It was by chance and good fortune we got reunited again. He'd always been a smart one and I remember him fondly as the boy who plays the piano. He was an entertainer from when I know him, we laughed at his jokes and enjoyed his presence within our circle of friends. Striking a learned and serious conversation with him was also easy. However, we've never had the privilege to watch him perform any kind of magic tricks back then. So, as much as I wasn't surprised he could command hearty laughters from a group of children, I was left speechless when I found out that he bagged away with the championship title in the Magic Circle Close-up/Parlour Competition and People's Magician Choice Award in 2007.

After engaging him for Faye's Big One and knowing how crazy happy her little friends were, I had to have him back for this party. The children were treated with half an hour of magic fun with a special treat at the end! I didn't know Sherman was a ventriloquist as well? I had great time myself and hearing the children's chortles made me swell with pride that I got the right man to do the job.

TOYS
We are not short of vehicles for everyone to hop onto. We have a couple of train sets for the boys and a cardboard playroom for the girls. There is even a slide in the patio that kept the toddlers really happy! I am thankful that every room was well-played and even though it looked like they were in a terrible state of mess, I was kept happy. It meant, "The kids had a ball of a time!"

A few of them were reluctant to leave and Ewan was ready to skip his nap to play with his new friends. There were some tantrums, fights and shouting matches (sorry mommies if my son had misbehaved and thank you for your kindness) but nothing that the children couldn't iron out. They forgive and forget almost immediately and went out to be Best Friends again.

FOOD
I knew about Royal Catering from an event I attended some five years ago. They are halal certified, which means I can always invite my Malay friends for the party without a worry. I've engaged them three times after that and they've never disappointed me once. Each time my guests came to a party with food catered from Royal Catering, they had only praises and would ask me where the food was from. I believe they've gained the trust of their customers from the quality of food more than anything. You don't get run-of-the-mill kind of menus from them and that is why my guests leave my parties with only good impressions of Royal Catering.

They are reasonably priced and unlike many caterers, they provide for smaller parties when need be. It isn't all the time that we hold parties with 40 people and up? There are also occasions for intimate get-togethers and days when I do not feel like cooking up a storm. We had their Santa's Party Set for our lunch which caters for 10 to 12 persons. The price came up to S$22 per adult and we had more than we require for 10 moms and 15 kids! Their portions are generous and the last thing I need from a party is insufficient food.

Just look at this fabulous menu! For small parties, food are delivered in trays rather than a buffet table setup. We opt for self collection and it is available if you'd like to cut the S$30 delivery fee off your bill. There are also three other Christmas menus at their website for bigger parties available for consideration!

Royal Catering is my go-to. Whenever anyone asks for recommendations, I never fail to mention, "Go for Royal Catering. Trust me. I can be very critical when it comes to food quality."

PARTY STATIONARIES
To me, a party will never be complete without decor. I support local talents and local businesses so The Joy Troopers (formerly A.Muse Parties) naturally came to mind. They were the people behind Faye's Big One's hand-sewn door gifts and they shall grace my home with their Christmas-themed stationaries. The owner and creative director, Hanzhi, single-handedly designed every piece of bunting, food tags, invitation cards and Photo Booth backdrop for the party. No, I won't be supporting amazingly designed party stationaries from America or Australia because we've got our own people in this little red dot to give support to. As long as we think of them first and give them projects to design, we keep this local industry going. They will some day do us proud!

Give Fun is operated by a husband and wife tag-team. With a lot of faith and bravery, they took a leap of faith and quit their jobs as an engineer & banker respectively. Today, the company has morphed into a full-fledged business! I've been their loyal customer ever since I became a mother. None of their products had disappointed and the service rendered was exceptionally good. We picked up their pack of Christmas Party Props for the Photo Booth which made really fun pictures at the end of the day. Check out more Christmas Specials here.

GIFTS
The children were greeted with Ducky Street Christmas Temporary Tattoos on their very own dessert table! Based in Hong Kong and designed by professional artists, they are skin-safe and non-toxic. Don't you find them super rad as well? The moms couldn't resist putting them on their arms too! These are so affordable at S$3 for a sheet of three 6x9cm tatts from Little Playroom.

Piñata! I got the kids a papier-mâché Snowman for the occasion! Who wouldn't be high from glee with a candied-filled piñata? The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italian pignatta, was introduced. This was a very hard piñata to break! To a point, we had to assist by breaking it with our hands and toppling it over for the kids to get their hands on the treats! I was surprised that I had no leftovers by the end of the party!!

This we have the #BloggerMoms to thank! Thank you moms (you know who you are) who came with gifts for everyone. They were all very practical items that we all need to stay healthy and look pretty with! Our children even received a set of biodegradable cornflower utensils each from The Green Place.

Looking at the party itself, we had a great one. I'd like to thank my mommy guests for the lovely Christmas flowers that sit on my dining table today. Although it rained (and stopped) three times in the span of five hours, we managed to stay dry and happy. Also, I think I've grown to enjoy morning parties instead! By the time our guests leave, I still had time to clean the house up before resting for the night. A full day of accomplishment and merry-making. Nice!

May this Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright New Year. Here’s wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The #BloggerMoms From Left to Right [click names to follow blog]:
Top: Elizabeth, Mabel, Serene, May
Bottom: Florinda, Danessa, Estella, Janice, Natasha

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. 
We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.