Ewan turns Five: Trollific Treasure Hunt in Sentosa
I only found time to think about Ewan's 5th birthday two days after Faye celebrated her Miffy birthday with her cousins. Well, of course we decided it to be themed Trolls but other than having Trolls wigs which we got MyMini-Me to help source, I did not have anything planned for the day.
Ewan and Faye shared the same EDD. He was born on the 39th week and she, 37th. When I was pregnant with Faye, I wondered if I would prefer them sharing the same date. It would definitely make birthday planning less hectic on my part. Then again, I thought no. Even if they were born one day apart, they should still get their own birthday cakes. There is only one day in the whole year to feel special and I shan't take that away from them. Oh the luxuries of being born our children.
I am thankful they are born two weeks apart. Enough time [not exactly] for me to catch a breather before I work on the next party. Went through body-changing transformations to birth them and now, putting every ounce of my energy to throw them memorable parties to last each year before the next. I still believe that Moms should be celebrated more than children on their birthdays. After all, we went through all the pain to give them life! So don't forget to always think about your mother on your birthdays and give them a word of Thanks. I got my Thank Yous from Ewan already and that was all I need to make me smile.
We were in a car ride back home when I had this lightbulb moment to throw a Treasure Hunt for the kids! An island-wide hunt in Sentosa would be so cool [at the same time overwhelming]! Until the day comes when they tell me who they would like to invite, I am sticking to tradition to have only family at the party. Managing five kids with the help of Meyer sounds manageable and so I went full-on with the planning.
GAME CARDS
Daddy's been away the whole week before Ewan's birthday and I had been busying myself with well, everything a SAHM should be busy with. Only thing was an impending birthday that I needed to tie together. Instead of going to sleep with the kids like I had been doing ever since I returned from Project Babyless Sri Lanka, I dragged myself out of bed last Wednesday night and started drawing! I hatched this idea in my head to draw different Trolls characters onto game cards which the kids are required to read to find out where their next destination would be. Only problem is, I am a C student at Art. But look what motherhood and love can do to a woman! I drew Branch, Poppy, Cloud Guy and their friends! I'm impressed with myself really because all I could ever draw are stickmen. Googled HOW TO DRAW TROLLS STEP-BY-STEP and I had these game cards all done in 2 hours. The best compliment I received were from the five children who said, "Wow! You drew this? How can you draw so nicely?"
PLANNING THE HUNT
Going on a treasure hunt to look for sweet treats are the best kind of hunt any child would like. However, I don't like Baddy Bags [bags with sweets and chocs are Baddy Bags. Goody Bags are filled with nothing bad for the kids' teeth]. I cannot bring myself to send the children on an hour-long hunt for sweets and chocolates!
So I thought, how about a hunt that will bring them from one attraction to another and let them play to their hearts' content? That would be awesome! I won't deprive them too much either and added some treats at two stops just to watch their faces light up at the sight of junk.
I was walking aimlessly and found myself in Candylicious. Surprise Surprise! There was a whole range of Trolls plushies and sweets, Ninja Turtles, Frozen, Tsum Tsum, Marvel, Disney Princesses and more. It's Baddy Bag haven for birthday parties!
From a simple one hour hunt that I had in mind, I extended it to five hours including lunch! I hoped [not a religious person who prays] with all my might that the weather on Tuesday would hold up so the kids can make good use of the adorable handheld fans that I hid in the sand. I emptied the candies from the fans though because too much sugar is disgusting!
The Game Plan:
1. Be led to Trick Eye Museum with the first game card
2. Take a monorail to Sentosa Merlion
3. Walk to MacDonald's for Lunch
4. Board a Beach Tram and find Siloso Beach
5. Locate Mosh! and spend a good time in the edutainment centre
6. Find their way to the Cable Car station where the Trolls Party will be held
** A big thank you to the above establishments for sponsoring Ewan's birthday party and materialising this game plan for the kids
So I thought, how about a hunt that will bring them from one attraction to another and let them play to their hearts' content? That would be awesome! I won't deprive them too much either and added some treats at two stops just to watch their faces light up at the sight of junk.
I was walking aimlessly and found myself in Candylicious. Surprise Surprise! There was a whole range of Trolls plushies and sweets, Ninja Turtles, Frozen, Tsum Tsum, Marvel, Disney Princesses and more. It's Baddy Bag haven for birthday parties!
From a simple one hour hunt that I had in mind, I extended it to five hours including lunch! I hoped [not a religious person who prays] with all my might that the weather on Tuesday would hold up so the kids can make good use of the adorable handheld fans that I hid in the sand. I emptied the candies from the fans though because too much sugar is disgusting!
The Game Plan:
1. Be led to Trick Eye Museum with the first game card
2. Take a monorail to Sentosa Merlion
3. Walk to MacDonald's for Lunch
4. Board a Beach Tram and find Siloso Beach
5. Locate Mosh! and spend a good time in the edutainment centre
6. Find their way to the Cable Car station where the Trolls Party will be held
** A big thank you to the above establishments for sponsoring Ewan's birthday party and materialising this game plan for the kids
THE FIVE TROLLS
With a map in hand, we sent them off on the game at 0930 hours. Here is a video clip of our 6-hour hunt in Sentosa, condensed into 6 minutes!
1. TRICK EYE MUSEUM
PROMOTION: To celebrate Trick Eye Museum AR app launch, they are offering 50% admission tickets from 27 May to 26 June 2017! Admission Tickets can be purchased at Trick Eye Museum and Sentosa Ticketing Counters.
BIRTHDAY PRIVILEGE: If it is your birthday, enjoy free admission either on your actual day or the day before/after your birthday. Ends 31 December 2017 and proof of birthday with a Photo ID is required for verification at the ticket booth.
It was the first time the children were visiting the Trick Eye Museum and they did not know what to expect. They trolled into the museum, running from exhibit to exhibit and got extremely excited when we showed them the new Augmented Reality app on the phone. At first, they were clueless about how it works but later, every kid was calling out to us, "Come here! Photograph me! Take a picture! Take a video!" We had to tell them to calm down because there were only two of us to photograph them and couldn't split ourselves into five! There were even fights on who goes first.
Meyer and I agree that the fun factor was topped with the AR app from the last we visited when it was only photo opportunities. The children could see their backgrounds moving and found it fascinating that the elephant or Merlion they sat on could move!
I had expected the app to be used merely as a window to watch the paintings come to life. However, it gives us more than that! Not only can it be recorded and saved directly into your phone, expect sound effects too. The app offers fascinating glimpse of how digital technology can change our experience of art in the future and even the concept of viewing art in a new dimension.
Before your next visit to Trick Eye Museum, remember to download TRICKEYE APP available on Google Play and App Store.
Awesome! I was so excited to have everything finally tied down and this idea of celebrating Ewan's birthday in the sky is taking place! I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that line.
Logistically, it was going to be rather challenging. I did not know what is the best way to get this going and had to wait till Meyer return from his business trip to brainstorm.
I would have to leave the Sentosa cable car station on my own to get to Mount Faber station where my bag of 14 Trolls plushies were kept. We also decided to get Cupplets to help with cake delivery [instead of picking it from their store] to the Mount Faber station where I would pick up the cake and bag of trolls before hoping back into a cabin to pick Meyer and our five trolls from Sentosa station.
As it would be peak period at 1530 hours, it was not feasible to get a dining table set up for the purpose of our 15-minute party [Sentosa to Mount Faber]. I thought about stacking wine crates up in the middle of the cabin for the cake but that was later dashed because we forgot the crates!
A quick check with Mohd from Spuds and Aprons for wooden crates availability and he said, "Why so flimsy? I will just get a table set up for you in the cabin! I can do it now and you have to call your husband to stand-by at the Sentosa station now. We will communicate with our host on the other side and pop them into cabin 22."
This is why working with veterans of the industry makes things work with just a snap of a finger! I was most thankful for this last minute arrangement.
Did you know you can dine in the cable car and it is called Dining on Cloud 9. Their latest meal is Singapore Delights where your family will enjoy the best of Singapore onboard the Singapore Cable Car with a Bento Set filled with seven of Singapore's favourite dishes!
Min. 4 persons: S$50 per person
Min. 2 persons: S$$59 per person
Duration: 2 round trips (approx. 1 hr)
I hopped onto cabin #22 with all my barangs and started working on the party decor. Meyer was skeptical I'd be ready with only the duration of a single trip from Mount Faber to Sentosa but I assured him I'd be ready by then. In fact, I was ready by Harbourfront and took photographs the rest of the way to the family.
As I was nearing the stop where Ewan and gang were, he started jumping off his feet! He couldn't control himself and started singing "I got this feeling! Inside my bones!" and ran into his Birthday Cabin like an excited troll would!
We sang birthday songs [twice] and Trolls song to mark the day. The kids had an amazing time, going on a ride in the sky [which was already a treat] and digging their fingers into the top of the cake in search for Hello Pandas, macarons and ice-creams!
Till next May.
1. TRICK EYE MUSEUM
PROMOTION: To celebrate Trick Eye Museum AR app launch, they are offering 50% admission tickets from 27 May to 26 June 2017! Admission Tickets can be purchased at Trick Eye Museum and Sentosa Ticketing Counters.
BIRTHDAY PRIVILEGE: If it is your birthday, enjoy free admission either on your actual day or the day before/after your birthday. Ends 31 December 2017 and proof of birthday with a Photo ID is required for verification at the ticket booth.
It was the first time the children were visiting the Trick Eye Museum and they did not know what to expect. They trolled into the museum, running from exhibit to exhibit and got extremely excited when we showed them the new Augmented Reality app on the phone. At first, they were clueless about how it works but later, every kid was calling out to us, "Come here! Photograph me! Take a picture! Take a video!" We had to tell them to calm down because there were only two of us to photograph them and couldn't split ourselves into five! There were even fights on who goes first.
Meyer and I agree that the fun factor was topped with the AR app from the last we visited when it was only photo opportunities. The children could see their backgrounds moving and found it fascinating that the elephant or Merlion they sat on could move!
I had expected the app to be used merely as a window to watch the paintings come to life. However, it gives us more than that! Not only can it be recorded and saved directly into your phone, expect sound effects too. The app offers fascinating glimpse of how digital technology can change our experience of art in the future and even the concept of viewing art in a new dimension.
Before your next visit to Trick Eye Museum, remember to download TRICKEYE APP available on Google Play and App Store.
2. SENTOSA MERLION
SINGAPORE CABLE CAR / SENTOSA MERLION / WINGS OF TIME PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, enjoy one free child ticket for every two adult tickets purchased. Click here to buy tickets with PROMO CODE <SCHOOLSOUT>
We have brought the children to watch the Merlion 3D video mapping several times with the most times clocked for when the whole of Sentosa was themed TROLLS back in November 2016! The Trolls edition of the Merlion Magic Light Show made these five kids fell in love with the cartoon and they danced to disco balls hung from the trees around the Merlion Plaza.
As much as we have "been" to the Merlion, none of us had entered it before!
Ewan told me, "I saw someone in the mouth of the Merlion! It means we can go in there! Can we can we can we?"
Oh it must be his lucky day! We entered the Sentosa Merlion on this birthday and learnt so much about it. There are 10 stories to the Merlion and 16 teeth in total. It is 37-metre tall and was built in 1995. I had always thought the inside of the Merlion was a lift straight up to the mouth where you will get a birds' eye view of Singapore but it isn't just that. We were treated to a five-minute show about Sang Nila Utama and how the Merlion came about.
An adult would probably find it rather boring but these five thought it was quite an experience. The oldest is eight years old this year and he reviewed it as his favourite.
At the entrance, each one of us were given a card which we were told not to lose because it redeems us a souvenir. Turns out, we were required to insert the card into Golden Merlion Statues placed majestically in a darkened room and a limited edition golden prosperity coin would pop out of its mouth. A real golden treasure for the kids to bring home with! [Well, I ran ahead of them to dropped some Trolls chocolate coins for them to search too]
SINGAPORE CABLE CAR / SENTOSA MERLION / WINGS OF TIME PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, enjoy one free child ticket for every two adult tickets purchased. Click here to buy tickets with PROMO CODE <SCHOOLSOUT>
We have brought the children to watch the Merlion 3D video mapping several times with the most times clocked for when the whole of Sentosa was themed TROLLS back in November 2016! The Trolls edition of the Merlion Magic Light Show made these five kids fell in love with the cartoon and they danced to disco balls hung from the trees around the Merlion Plaza.
As much as we have "been" to the Merlion, none of us had entered it before!
Ewan told me, "I saw someone in the mouth of the Merlion! It means we can go in there! Can we can we can we?"
Oh it must be his lucky day! We entered the Sentosa Merlion on this birthday and learnt so much about it. There are 10 stories to the Merlion and 16 teeth in total. It is 37-metre tall and was built in 1995. I had always thought the inside of the Merlion was a lift straight up to the mouth where you will get a birds' eye view of Singapore but it isn't just that. We were treated to a five-minute show about Sang Nila Utama and how the Merlion came about.
An adult would probably find it rather boring but these five thought it was quite an experience. The oldest is eight years old this year and he reviewed it as his favourite.
At the entrance, each one of us were given a card which we were told not to lose because it redeems us a souvenir. Turns out, we were required to insert the card into Golden Merlion Statues placed majestically in a darkened room and a limited edition golden prosperity coin would pop out of its mouth. A real golden treasure for the kids to bring home with! [Well, I ran ahead of them to dropped some Trolls chocolate coins for them to search too]
3. JUNK FOR LUNCH
It is not every day they kids got to have Junk for lunch. When they read that card for lunch with JUNK FOOD written on it, they screamed at the top of their lungs! We were on the head of the Merlion when this happened and they probably felt like they were on top of the world!
It is not every day they kids got to have Junk for lunch. When they read that card for lunch with JUNK FOOD written on it, they screamed at the top of their lungs! We were on the head of the Merlion when this happened and they probably felt like they were on top of the world!
4. SILOSO BEACH
After lunch, we took them on a ride in a Beach Tram in search for the word SILOSO. They have been to Sentosa many times in their short span of life but they have never noticed the large words sitting on the beach!
They kept their eyes wide opened as the beach tram trolleyed us along and when they finally found it, they ran for the words and started searching for goodies! I placed three Trolls Pez capsules and two Trolls handheld fans for five of them. Fastest hands wins!
After lunch, we took them on a ride in a Beach Tram in search for the word SILOSO. They have been to Sentosa many times in their short span of life but they have never noticed the large words sitting on the beach!
They kept their eyes wide opened as the beach tram trolleyed us along and when they finally found it, they ran for the words and started searching for goodies! I placed three Trolls Pez capsules and two Trolls handheld fans for five of them. Fastest hands wins!
5. MOSH!
CREDIT CARD SPECIAL: Click to see list.
I had written a review on MOSH! last year when they first opened. It has been a long time since February 2016 and we had to return for a re-visit! Ewan remembers everything about MOSH! especially the Paper Plane Adventure which he spent the entire time playing [alone]. His cousins and Faye planted themselves Doodle Aquarium and World of Wonder where they coloured and drew away for 45 minutes.
I never noticed the MOSH! cafe the last time we were there but looking at it now, it makes the perfect venue to host a Birthday Party!
CREDIT CARD SPECIAL: Click to see list.
I had written a review on MOSH! last year when they first opened. It has been a long time since February 2016 and we had to return for a re-visit! Ewan remembers everything about MOSH! especially the Paper Plane Adventure which he spent the entire time playing [alone]. His cousins and Faye planted themselves Doodle Aquarium and World of Wonder where they coloured and drew away for 45 minutes.
I never noticed the MOSH! cafe the last time we were there but looking at it now, it makes the perfect venue to host a Birthday Party!
6. CABLE CAR
SINGAPORE CABLE CAR / SENTOSA MERLION / WINGS OF TIME PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, enjoy one free child ticket for every two adult tickets purchased. Click here to buy tickets with PROMO CODE <SCHOOLSOUT>
SPUDS AND APRONS PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, a child dines free with two mains ordered.
This was our last stop for the Trollific Treasure Hunt and I gave them the last game card at MOSH! where they thought about their next destination.
Ewan exclaimed, "CABLE CAR!"
We were going on a ride in the sky and a Trolls Party would be waiting! Initially, I had thought to use the Cable Cars as a transportation tool to get from attraction to attraction. As I wrote my email to One Faber Group [they own Wings of Time, Sentosa Merlion, Spuds and Aprons and Good Old Days too if you hadn't known], my ideas got bigger and wilder!
The email read, "They will have to travel around the island and I know the Cable Car treat as one of the mode of transport would make them high on happiness. Hmmm or should we do the final destination in the cable car? *hmmmmm* I can decorate the cabin myself with trolls plushies and pass your team the cake. When it’s our turn to hop on, the kids get their eyes on the Prize and we celebrate it high in the sky!"
SINGAPORE CABLE CAR / SENTOSA MERLION / WINGS OF TIME PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, enjoy one free child ticket for every two adult tickets purchased. Click here to buy tickets with PROMO CODE <SCHOOLSOUT>
SPUDS AND APRONS PROMOTION: From 1 to 30 June 2017, a child dines free with two mains ordered.
This was our last stop for the Trollific Treasure Hunt and I gave them the last game card at MOSH! where they thought about their next destination.
Ewan exclaimed, "CABLE CAR!"
We were going on a ride in the sky and a Trolls Party would be waiting! Initially, I had thought to use the Cable Cars as a transportation tool to get from attraction to attraction. As I wrote my email to One Faber Group [they own Wings of Time, Sentosa Merlion, Spuds and Aprons and Good Old Days too if you hadn't known], my ideas got bigger and wilder!
The email read, "They will have to travel around the island and I know the Cable Car treat as one of the mode of transport would make them high on happiness. Hmmm or should we do the final destination in the cable car? *hmmmmm* I can decorate the cabin myself with trolls plushies and pass your team the cake. When it’s our turn to hop on, the kids get their eyes on the Prize and we celebrate it high in the sky!"
"We'll definitely be happy to be onboard the surprise!"
Logistically, it was going to be rather challenging. I did not know what is the best way to get this going and had to wait till Meyer return from his business trip to brainstorm.
I would have to leave the Sentosa cable car station on my own to get to Mount Faber station where my bag of 14 Trolls plushies were kept. We also decided to get Cupplets to help with cake delivery [instead of picking it from their store] to the Mount Faber station where I would pick up the cake and bag of trolls before hoping back into a cabin to pick Meyer and our five trolls from Sentosa station.
As it would be peak period at 1530 hours, it was not feasible to get a dining table set up for the purpose of our 15-minute party [Sentosa to Mount Faber]. I thought about stacking wine crates up in the middle of the cabin for the cake but that was later dashed because we forgot the crates!
A quick check with Mohd from Spuds and Aprons for wooden crates availability and he said, "Why so flimsy? I will just get a table set up for you in the cabin! I can do it now and you have to call your husband to stand-by at the Sentosa station now. We will communicate with our host on the other side and pop them into cabin 22."
This is why working with veterans of the industry makes things work with just a snap of a finger! I was most thankful for this last minute arrangement.
Did you know you can dine in the cable car and it is called Dining on Cloud 9. Their latest meal is Singapore Delights where your family will enjoy the best of Singapore onboard the Singapore Cable Car with a Bento Set filled with seven of Singapore's favourite dishes!
Min. 4 persons: S$50 per person
Min. 2 persons: S$$59 per person
Duration: 2 round trips (approx. 1 hr)
I hopped onto cabin #22 with all my barangs and started working on the party decor. Meyer was skeptical I'd be ready with only the duration of a single trip from Mount Faber to Sentosa but I assured him I'd be ready by then. In fact, I was ready by Harbourfront and took photographs the rest of the way to the family.
As I was nearing the stop where Ewan and gang were, he started jumping off his feet! He couldn't control himself and started singing "I got this feeling! Inside my bones!" and ran into his Birthday Cabin like an excited troll would!
We sang birthday songs [twice] and Trolls song to mark the day. The kids had an amazing time, going on a ride in the sky [which was already a treat] and digging their fingers into the top of the cake in search for Hello Pandas, macarons and ice-creams!
Till next May.
Read Ewan's other Birthday Celebrations:
- First Birthday, 2013
- Second Birthday, 2014
- Third Birthday, 2015
- Fourth Birthday, 2016
- Sixth Birthday, 2018
- First Birthday, 2013
- Second Birthday, 2014
- Third Birthday, 2015
- Fourth Birthday, 2016
- Sixth Birthday, 2018
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