The madness of birthday weekend has come and gone. All the wonderful presents are opened. It’s time to share some highlights. But first, a confession. Layla’s Unicorn birthday party was entirely themed to my personal juvenile fascination of the moment.
If I cared what my daughter really liked, she would’ve had a cars birthday party. But since cars is so 2016 (literally, it was Julian’s party theme last year) and Layla has yet to assert her preferences clearly, mummy gets to call the shots…
Behold, the very pretty unicorn cake from Corine & Cake. Even though I let the bakery talk me into upsizing it into a 9inch – which left us with plenty of leftovers – I genuinely enjoyed finishing up the densely creamed and moist chocolate sponge with tart berry filling over the next few days.
Pretty rainbow cupcakes to go with the Unicorn cake, also from Corine & Cake
However, my aunt did feedback that the cake was a little on the sweet side. An observation I found more true of the cupcakes, and perhaps due to the buttercream and cake ratio.
Of unicorn headbands, floats, balloons and more.
When shopping for party supplies, I realised how easy it was to go overboard (so much prettiness!) and also how happy indulging in my inner child could make me (so much cute!). But mind you, all these great DIY decorations that may seem like a bargain online are still, at the end of the day, DIY. It takes time and effort to inflate balloons and assemble tassel garlands, no matter how basic they are. If you are a time-starved, anti-Martha-Stewart mum like myself, you need to make the most of your village for assistance. And in this instance, my village consisted of my helper and good friends.
Also, when I saw how friggin adorable the girls were in their handmade Unicorn headbands from AliExpress, my heart unicorn-skipped a beat!
Blooms for my sweet.
Lucky Lay also received her first bouquet of flowers at her party, and they were the sweetest.
I first heard of A Better Florist through the office grapevine and when the kind folks made Layla a little birthday bouquet for her party, I understood why they were recommended. The blooms arrived super fresh, simply but artfully arranged, and best of all, in a neat burlap wrapped vase that answered my simple brief perfectly: One Year Old Girl’s Party.
If you’re looking for contemporary, super Instagrammable arrangements that are also affordable, do check A Better Florist out. With free, same-day deliveries plus a 90-minute express flower delivery service, I’m certainly bookmarking them for my next occasion gift.
And of course, what’s a unicorn party without some magic?
If you ask me what my least favourite thing about party planning is, it’s definitely arranging the kiddy entertainment. These little life suckers can be the hardest people to please. Thankfully, a mummy friend recommended LOL Party Animals and the1 hr balloon sculpting and 30 minute magician package did a pretty good job of keeping the junior guests occupied and entertained.
At one point, our ventriloquist magician even whipped out a unicorn friend called Jeffrey. And minutes of collective laughter ensued. I mean, just check out these faces:
Another thing that worked out was how close our function room was to the pool. Friends who brought their swimmers managed to squeeze in a nice dip. And those without swimmers had the option of enjoying some quiet time.
Thank you, Layla, for letting mummy get the unicorn out of her system. I honestly think I won’t have the energy to plan more of such “big” events in the future. But if I do, I pinkie promise you’ll get to choose the theme for your next one!
