Pigg's 21st Pokeball Birthday Party

Its going to be a slightly different post today as its not about one of our food posts but a celebratory post where Pigg recently celebrated his 21st Birthday at Changi Aloha Chalets. 

Hosting a 21st Birthday party is really hard work as lots of planning, preparation and of course, lots of money is involved.

I would like to share with you guys the nitty gritty that's involved and how to successfully throw a 21st Pokeball Birthday Party 

First up, is the LOCATION!

 A place is certainly needed to host the event, and of course, we needed a place big enough to host a group of 60+ people including friends and relatives. Who would want to attend a party that is so crowded with no ample walking space. Hence, Pigg's parents booked Aloha Changi Chalet for the event. A downside of the location is that it is a little bit out of the way if one do not have any car and there is only one bus service that directly reach the chalet. However, the place is really spacious with 4 air-conditioned rooms, a kitchen and 3 toilets with a nice seaside view. We also managed to get a good deal as being a government chalet, civil servants get cheaper rates. Pigg's Uncle had a niece who was working as a teacher and she managed to help us to get the chalet.   

And yes, we settled the most crucial location at:

 Changi Aloha Chalet F, 

30 Netheravan Road, 

Singapore 508521 

Second, is the DATE!

 It was important to settle on a date where most of the people will be able to make it. And of course, since Pigg is still serving NS, he can only book out on Friday evening and so, we decided on 23 April 2016, Saturday. His actual birthday falls on 27 April but we have to celebrate in advance since he will be in camp then.

Third, is the THEME!

 21st Birthday parties are always interesting with a unique theme. Having a theme also makes the planning of the table decorations, backdrop and also the cake design easier. Since Pigg is a major fan of Pokemon, we decided to have a Pokeball themed party! For those who do not know, Pokeball is one of the iconic symbol of Pokemon. And since most of our friends whom we invited are from the 90s generation, we can surely relate to the theme just by identifying the Pokeball. Having a theme revolving around the Pokeball is also made simple with three basic colors (red, white and black) and also not that childish unlike having different Pokemons which is too colorful and may turn into a kids party.  

Fourth, is the GUESTLIST!

Pigg did not want to invite too many people as he was worried that he would not be able to attend to everyone. Hence, we settled on only invited 15 friends, from secondary school, work to his BMT and Navy mates. The rest of the guests are made up of relatives and family friends.

Now that we have the theme, how do we let people know about the event details and the theme? Of course, we send out INVITES to them so they can save the date! 

For the invite, I got inspired by a pokeball invitation that I saw on Pinterest (which I referenced a lot during the planning of the party decor). Using Adobe photoshop to design, it is easy to convert to JPEG file so Pigg could easily send the invite thru Whatsapp to his friends.

The pokeball as the icon and also the phrase "I choose you" would communicate the theme clearly to guests (for those who know about Pokemon). It is also important to indicate the date,time and location clearly. And also the date to RSVP so we can have ample time to order enough food to cater to those coming. It is also important to send reminder messages one week prior to the party to confirm again the number of people coming. 

Next up, is the highlight of the party which is the TABLE DECORATIONS AND BACKDROP.

 Pinterest became a good friend of mine during the planning of design for the decorations as I had to DIY as much as possible since it is quite hard to find ready-made decorations that I want.

This is the first draft of the design

Then I made modifications to the design, and settle on this second draft instead. 

For the backdrop, which to me is the most important as it takes up the biggest area and is the focus when it comes to the phototaking. I wanted to have something to be easy to make and gives a nice effect in pictures. Hence, I settled on a pixelated pokeball design (which reminds me of the old school gameboy). 

The materials for the backdrop is easily available at Daiso:

3X Foam Board

1X Red Color paper 

1X Black Color Paper 

1X Black Color Paper 

For the dimensions of the pokeball, each tile measures 8x8cm and we individually cut out the tiles and colored paper before sticking them together. 

This is how it looks on the chalet wall. For the wordings, I referenced the pixelated Gamergirl font.

Making use of the black colored paper, I drew out the wordings on the foam board before cutting them out using penknife. Then I traced the cut letters on the color paper before cutting them out and sticking on the foam. 

On the day before the party, we used Blu-tack to stick the backdrop so I would not leave stains or ruin the wall paint. Felt so good to see the completed backdrop beautifying the wall and it gave me a sense of achievement seeing all my hard work come alive.  

Work in progress: piecing the tiles together like a puzzle. 

Celebratory photo after we finished putting up the backdrop.  

#HappyBoi95

With Junior who helped with the sticking of the blu-tack. And many thanks to my sister and also Zhenyue who helped with the blu-tack too. And also not forgetting Pigg's Godma who helped to supervise making sure that the pokeball is not crooked. 

As we ran out of blu-tack, we waited till the second day to put up the wordings. 

Tadah! Mission accomplished, here's Pigg acting like a satayman as he was sweating buckets after putting up everything. It was really warm in the afternoon. 

Also inspired by Pinterest, I wanted to do a Pokeball string art for Pigg which he could after that put up in his room as a memento. 

Once again, I purchased the items from Daiso, 

1X Gold Thumbtacks 

1X Square Corkboard 

1X Red Cotton Lace Yarn

1X White Cotton Lace Yarn 

First step, cut out a piece of black colored paper and staple the sides down to the corkboard. Then draw a circle (which I used a pot lid to do so) and another inner circle (with a bottle cap). After that, pin the thumbtacks following the outlines and also two lines in the middle. 

Second step, weave the red lace yarn back and forth the thumbtacks and secure it before weaving the white yarn the same way.

Last but not least, cut out a smaller circle using white colored paper for the middle part of the pokeball. There you go, the string art table decoration is completed. 

Next up, is the making of Pokeballs. 

Yet again from Daiso, I purchased: 

1X large styrofoam ball

2X 4's small styrofoam balls

I had to DIY these balls as the ready-made ones costs $7 each which were too expensive and not worth it. I could get these balls at only $6 in total and the time and effort taken to make them weighs more sincerity than ready made ones. Thanks to Waiching's red, black and white poster color paints, I am able to paint a nicer pokeball.

First, I outline the inner circle of the balls.

Then trace the lines with a permanent marker. 

And its ready to be painted. It was quite tough painting on styrofoam balls as the paint do not absorb well especially when mixed with water. Hence, many layers are required in order to achieve the wanted consistency. A hairdryer is also used to blow dry and to achieve the shine

Tadah! After many layers and days of hard work! Presenting to you 9 designed pokeballs!

The right side of the table decoration will be Kanto Badges Jell-O Shot Glasses. I figured that the shot glasses will be a good gift for Pigg as he enjoy collecting alcohol and he can use them in the future when he drinks. We went all the way to IKEA to get the shot glasses.

Using styrofoam blocks from Waiching, I intend to make a stage for the shot glasses since I could not find a stand for them. 

Tadah! Conquered all 8 gym badges with one white painty marker by outlining the glass with a printed picture on the inside.

A day before the party we made the Jello using Tortally jelly crystals. Thanks to Pigg Godma, we managed to make all the jello within half an hour. 

Final product on the day of the party!

Last but not least, is the Pokeball guestbook which is intended for Pigg's friends to write their wishes and then he could keep as a memento to look back in the future. 

The front view of the guestbook

The back view of the guestbook

The day before the party, I DIY-ed a papercup to hold the sharpie markers so I could easily pass them around to guests for them to write their wishes during the party. 

Oh and not to forget, the highlight of the cake cutting ceremony- the Customized Pokeball Cake which we got from Freshbakes. The price for the 3kg customized cake is quite steep, $335 but it is low in sugar and preservatives free which suits Pigg's family who are mostly diabetic. Another reason we chose this bakery is because of its location at East Coast which is near to our chalet which makes self collection more convenient. 

The final table decorations on the party itself!

Felt a great sense of achievement!

We also got the JEFF words for 4 for $12 at Typo and also balloons from Kidz Party Store in Westgate at 30cents per piece. We were also lucky to have Pigg's Aunt Amy to help sew the tablecloth as buying one outside is really expensive. 

Pigg and the party decor before the party officially starts.

Even though a lot of hard work is involved in the making of the decorations, I am really satisfied with the outcome.   

For FOOD, 

We ordered buffet from Stamford Catering and also prepared BBQ food which is proudly sponsored by Pigg's relatives. Even though the guestlist is around 60+ people, it is advised to just order for 40 pax since we will be also be having BBQ food. In the morning before the party, we drove down to Tekka Market and also Sheng Shiong to get the fresh beef and seafood. Really thankful to have Pigg's Godma and Aunt who spend most of their time in the kitchen busy preparing the food. 

For PHOTOGRAPHY, 

We are lucky to have Pigg's Uncle Tobby, who is a avid photographer by leisure to help us take pictures. It is important to have a good photographer to help take photos so that we can have nice photos to look back on. He also offered to help edit the pictures before sending to us. 

For now, I only have some pictures that are taken using my phone...

Pigg and his beloved parents who did a lot for his birthday. 

Auntie Stella who did a lot of the planning and Uncle Johnson who drove us around a lot to collect the ordered items and to buy stuff.

Pigg and his Godma 

who spend most of the time in the kitchen preparing the food and ingredients for BBQ. 

With Esther, Michelle and Paul whom we crossed paths when working at Arvato 

With my Mumsy and Birdie Sis, Dad have yet to arrived then.

With Kim and Yunqi 

Pigg with his NS mates that stayed with him throughout the 2 months of BMT and then 4 months in Navy. Felt a little bad that he forgot to take pictures with them until after the cake cutting ceremony is over. All the pokeballs that I made were also snatched up by the kids...

And of course, Pigg and me 

Another picture where he was told to kiss me by his Uncle Tobby

The party will not be made possible without everyone. Hence, on behalf of Pigg, I am really grateful to everyone who helped out in the process of his party and also those who attended and leaving good memories in his milestone.