A Joint Bandit Birthday Celebration

There is this group of friends outside school that Ewan and Faye hang out with. Well actually, they get to play together because their moms organise playdates as an excuse to socialise over tea and gossips. 

It isn't always easy to agree on a date for a get-together. I am not the only mom with packed schedules every weekend. They do too! We finally found an open date where every one was free to meet. The 7th of May. A Saturday and where better to gather than at Timbre at Gillman where Saturday Social BBQ will kick off its first Saturday-of-the-Month with a Superhero theme! The best part of it all is I did not have to plan for a single activity for the children. All they have to do is turn up and play because Timbre has got the party covered.

Recently at an online shopping spree, two of us moms decided to purchase Rock Your Baby Bandit Boy and Bandit Girl tee for every child in our Mothers Unite group [we named ourselves Mothers Unite in our whatsapp group chat]. They are on 50% off [still available with ROCKYOURSALE discount code] and too adorable not to add them to our shopping carts. Each tee comes with a removable superhero cape, illustrated by Emily W. Martin and oh so very comfy. It was a surprise buy for our M.United kids and I suggested for us all to arrive dressed for the Superhero theme at Timbre in their Bandit tees. 

With full attendance in place [missing little Jamie *sobs*], I took the opportunity to organise a joint birthday celebration for Ewan and Faye with their bandit hero friends. In the month of May, Ewan turns four and Faye two. 

I was cracking my head with the birthday cake. Nothing tasteful came up when I googled "Bandit Cake" and I did not have a baker engaged two weeks prior to the party. I toyed with the idea of a cake illustrated with Emily W. Martin's bandit illustration on the tee [that is going to be tough] and a cartoony bandit design [kiddy cake bakers are all unavailable]. Eventually, I came to terms with a  simple cake decked with classy cake toppers instead. 

Rachel from Urban Li'l came to know of the kids' birthdays and made them a gift for their cake! We are feeling truly blessed by the love showered on us by talented moms like Rachel who designs laser cut creations such as cake toppers to celebrate milestones and plaques to adorn walls [or teepees - see Faye's actual birthday post soon]. It didn't take us too much time too settle on the wordings and font. Before I know it, I've got this elegant personalised gift delivered at my doorstep.

While I wrote to a few bakers, only one returned my enquiry confirming their availability - Inthebrickyard. A week before the joint birthday party, we visited Inthebrickyard's new premise at JTC Summit for their opening and tasted a couple of cakes. Daddy enjoyed the Choc Cherries with Salted Caramel cake thoroughly and decided we should have it for the 7th of May. A few correspondences had us confirming this design with their creative team. A black glitter bandit mask! How exquisite!

I told Jia Min, one of the trio behind the picket fence about my grand plan. I planned to do a mini photoshoot at their store on pick-up day. She said, "Sure! Help yourself from the props section." Aww how sweet! So I put together a rustic setup and was pretty happy with the outcome. The hardest part of the shoot was not about photographing this winsome cake but getting the children to co-operate. Still, we managed to bring home some truly momentous shots by mommy dearest.

Back at Timbre the same evening, the cake-cutting session with their friends was filled with amusement and some element of embarrassment. As soon as we had the cake on the our table, the live band announced, "Ah someone is celebrating birthday here. Whose might it be?" Before I know it, Ewan ran up stage to create a scene. I cannot decide if it was amusement or embarrassment really. The band invited him to sing a birthday song and he did a Bu-Bu-Bu tune throughout the sing-a-long *slaps hand on forehead* While other patrons found it funny, I wished he could have been more mainstream and sang the Birthday song in a civilised manner.

The Superhero theme at Saturday Social BBQ kept the children occupied with games like The Hulk Mighty Muscles, Captain America's Frisbee Throw, Batman Jumps, Spiderman Crawls and Superhero Mask-Making at the Craft Station. All these on top of their usual bouncy castles and bubble play.

We had an awesome evening as always. This was our third visit in six weeks so you can imagine we were at Saturday Social BBQ fortnightly. That sounds crazy but it seems like the best place to go to have the children entertained while the adults mingle amongst friends. That said, this plan is best suited for older kids who do not require supervision. Faye is still a little too young to be left unattended. So unless there is a responsible big brother or sister around to babysit her, we would still have to do the job of tailgating behind her every movement.

Happy pre-birthday celebrations Ewan and Faye. While we organised this birthday party to accommodate the presence of our dearest friends, you will both be presented with a tailor-made birthday party each on your actual days with your maternal and paternal grandparents. #ThingsYourMomDoesForYou

Thank you David, one-half of Life's Tiny Miracles, for capturing this family portrait so beautifully. We are most lucky to have you dining in on the same evening.

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Bandit Tees - RockYourBaby [Web | Instagram | Facebook]

Cake Topper - Urban Li'l [Web | Instagram | Facebook]

Cake - Inthebrickyard [Web | Instagram | Facebook]

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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.