My Boy is 8!

Nicky celebrated his 8th birthday last March 19, but treated his closest school buds and Friends of Jesus playmates to a one-of-a-kind "Pokemon camp" the Saturday before right here in our front yard. It was a huge success despite my doubts that Allan and i could actually pull it off. I had never ever planned a kiddie birthday party from scratch (read: conceptualized, cooked, decorated, planned the games and craft activities, entertained guests). It was actually fun, but VERY TIRING!

Here's a brief summary of the activities that we planned and succeeded in executing for Nicky's party:

1) Pokemon trading tent - This was the highlight of the party. Kids brought their trading cards and did the "official trading" of cards inside the tent. Nothing extraordinary about this but they seemed to be thrilled with the idea that they have some sort of hideout to do their card trading.
2) Paper clay arts and craft station
3) Thomas the train toy station - We set up large Thomas the train tables with tracks and a scenic mat of Sodor. Kids loved it!
4) Ball swim station - The younger kids loved this. They dived into an air-filled tent with colored balls all over where they could "swim" in.
5) Fishing game - We filled a kiddie pool with tons of chocolates and snacks, and the kids tried to fish them out using fishing rods with magnets attached to them. I never thought I would get these kids to follow the rules, but they did! They filled their lootbags with the goodies they fished out!
6) Chocolate fondue station - This was an instant hit with both the kids and adults. I've never seen children go gaga over eating fruits until that day! They ate everything they could cover in melted chocolate. Kudos to my mom for suggesting this yummy treat!
7) Street food vendor stop - Everyone lined up to get free freshly cooked street food-on-sticks! Kikiam, squidballs, fishballs, crab balls all deep fried and dipped in sweet and sour sauce! Yum!

I was worn out and my legs were throbbing by the end of the day. But hearing Nicky's heart-warming "this was the best party ever, mom! I love you and dad so much. thank you" words made it all worth it. My baby boy is now a young man. It was a party he definitely deserved :-)

Nicky's Mr. Bean cake. I couldn't find a Pokemon cake. Nicky didn't seem to mind.

Nicky's blows the candle.

Entrance to the Pokemon trading tent.

Kids "fishing" out their goodies.

The star of the buffet table - the chocolate fondue fountain!