Thursday, October 3, 2013

EatPlayLove Cafe

Welcome to EatPlayLove Cafe!


Cafe

Hunting for a Cafe where you can relax, while the kids can use the imagination to do craft? Running out of ideas to bond with your family? Missing the old school charm you had? Love to do handicraft but find it cumbersome to get all the materials?

If it's a 'YES' to one of the above answers, EatPlayLove Cafe is one stop that you cannot miss for your next outing with your family or friends.

The Cafe is situated at Aliwal Street, off the buzz from Bugis. It serves Thai delights with simple western fare at affordable prices.   The cafe also sells old school snacks and toys like Ding Dang & aeroplane.





Kids Craft Corner


Craft ranging from coloured beads, coloured pasta, strings in rainbow colours, crepe paper, crayons, markers, glitter glue, cardboard egg trays, bottle caps (plastic and metal), paper plates, Yakult bottles, coloured furry balls, feathers, confetti and a whole lot of others! The cups used are the old school metal cups and the water at the water station is stored in an old school thermos flask!If you're a big fan of retro stuff, you difinitely cannot miss this place too~




Think that it will cost you a bomb to use the craft corner? Then you are wrong... Simply $5 is  enough to fill up your kids for 2 hours during the weekdays & 1 hour during the peak period, on weekends. 


Some handicafts which you can do with the kids include DIY dolls, shrink art, necklace, handbag, key chain, puppets, rings, and the list never ends.






Get inspired! Browse though the Crafty Books before getting started.  

Party Packages


A unique and fun way to celebrate your kid's birthday party at EatPlayLove.You can book the entire craft corner or even the whole cafe for your party! Isn't it great to get the kids to DIY something on the spot for the birthday kid?

As kids are charged only 50% of the adult package price, and kids craft are charged separately based on the no. of pax joining in, this is very attractive and fair to the client.

Decoration packages are also available for your party. Although own decoration is allowed, their client is only allowed to set-up & remove within the party slot of 2.5 hrs. It seems like restricting their clients to have their own preferred decorations and kind of 'force' them to get the Cafe's Decoration Packages. We do know of some restaurants where helium balloons are included in the party packages. Moreover, they also help their client to helium-fill the balloons the client bought and add into the party too. Hence, this is a point they might want to review on, in order to remain competitive in this industry.

Personally, we think that there should also be more Helium Balloons included for the higher-priced packages, then it will be more attractive to their clients and a better way to up-sell their decoration packages. They should also print their Cafe's logo on the helium balloons, for marketing purposes, as the kids can bring home after the party.

Party host is also not included in the package. We think that a party host is important in this kind of setting. As least the client and their guests will have someone to attend to whenever required. Cake-hosting is also what most parents would require in a party, rather than simply 'renting' out the venue. 

EatPlayLove can also up-sell their party packages by including Shows like Magic Show & Science Show and Fringe Activities like Balloon Sculpting, Face Painting & Caricature, which Mr Bottle's Kids Party can offer.

The Cafe only opens at 12pm, even on weekends and PHs, we think that they should open slightly earlier, e.g 11am on weekdays and 10am on weekends. On top of that, with their kitchen closed from 3pm-6pm on weekdays, parents will think twice before going into the restaurant, as they and the kids will not have something to munch on while the kids are doing the craft.


28 Aliwal Street
#01-07
Singapore 199918
Tel: 6444 6400
Email: eatplaylovecafe@yahoo.com
Open 12pm to 10pm Daily, Closed on Tuesdays
Kitchen closes 3pm to 6pm, except weekends & PH

Monday, September 23, 2013

Kids Friendly Restaurant: Stuttgart Blackforest - Boutique S-Cafe


What is Stuttgart? Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, in the southwest Germany.

One uniqueness of S-Cafe is the showcase of art, culture & innovation of Stuttgart and the Black Forest. Slow down your foot steps to take some time to experience the cuckoo clock wall, art gallery and wine vault. 














Other than the ground floor, S-Cafe also provides event space for rental, including Mezzanine and Private Room.




Thinking that S-Cafe is only suitable for adults but not kids? Wrong! S-Cafe is also an ideal venue to hold your kids party. The cafe is spacious and have different parts that caters to different party sizes. When I first stepped into the Cafe, it gives me a mystic garden kind of feeling. It even comes with a 'flowing river'. So if you are having a Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood or forest theme party, I think the venue will be ideal! (Add some balloon animals and microfoils for the forest theme.)

Your guests will definitely enjoy the authentic German food on the buffet spread, which is very uniquefor a birthday party! 


Book some children entertainment and the adults can have their own relaxing time; drinking S-Cafe's signature beers! 




Smacked right in the city, with Bugis and Bencoolen MRT just a stone's throw away, it is convenient for guests who don't drive. Ample parking lots are also available at the HDB carpark at Queens Street.

I guess the only con is that you do have to pay a separate charge for the use of the venue space on top of food. If S-cafe can do away with that, then I am sure that it will be a very popular place for birthday parties! 


In summary, S-cafe is definitely a great place for birthday parties and families. Drop by and have a meal, they even provide tablemat with kids activities to occupy your children while waiting for the food to come!


Here's some details.


Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café

141 Middle Road #01-01, Singapore 188976
Telephone:6336 8675
Fax:633 68713

Monday, September 16, 2013

How to Host a Birthday Cake Cutting Ceremony

by Kien
Although most party companies usually provides this service free of charge, I decided to put this out online so everyone can do the cake cutting ceremony themselves without sweat. 

But first, I think we have to discuss the objective! It's a must for every birthday party! Cake cutting ceremony is a great time to take photos with your guests and naturally, you want to freeze this special moment with your cameras, especially with your family.
1. Schedule – Most of the cake cutting is done towards the end of the parties but I have seen a few parties doing it at the beginning. There is no right or wrong but I guess you have a find a suitable schedule, when the most important guests are here or right after the magic show when you have most of the guests attention.

2. Preparing the cake
  • Find a place to take the photo. It can be a nice backdrop that you already decorated. (Not against the light if you have glass walls)
  • Take the cake out of the box first (duh!)
  • Put the candles on the cake
  • Some cakes will have this plastic transparent thing covering the side of the cake. Remove that.
  • Have the lighter ready with you. (But do not light the candles yet.)
  • Put the knife on the table beside the cake. Remove it from the plastic cover first. (Most cake shops will provide a safe plastic knife.)
  • For 2D cakes, prop the cake plate up with a plate or small bowl underneath. Face the cake in such a way that it shows the words the right up way when the photo is taken.
  • Have the plates and forks ready
Want everyone to see your 2D cake? Prop it up with a small bowl or plate so your guests can see it!

3. Birthday Kid – Get the birthday kid to stand behind the cake. Take a few photos of the cake with the kid alone. (if there is a chance!)

4. Guests – Some may want the family to be in the photos, and some may prefer to have the kid guests to be in the photo since it’s the child’s birthday. Getting all the kids to stand properly for the photo taking is an art. Kids usually crowd in the front or side where they have the best view of the cake. If you use a long table, it is easier to line them up at the table; behind the cake.
5. Getting the kids to smile – I usually like a few photos before I light up the candles. Because once the candles are lit, the time to take photos is short especially with certain fancy candles. You can get them to shout the birthday child’s name or simply ‘cheese’ at the count of 3. (So everyone says it at the same time!) Remember to ask them to look at the camera. You can ask them to do certain actions like hooray, yay, funny faces, etc. 

6. Light the candles – I recently found some wind-free lighters which is great for birthday candle lighting! If you use a normal lighter, it tends to get too hot after a while. Using a spare candle to light the others may get wax all over the cake. After the candles are lit, I get them to pose for a few more photos.
7. Singing the Song – I count to three so everyone starts the song at the same time. In school, kids are usually taught different versions (Eg. Mandarin) I may let the kids take control of the different versions they want to see. 

8. Blowing the candles – I may remind the kids that ‘it’s ______ birthday today, so let ______ blow the candle. Ask him to make a wish first. (Great photo opportunity when the kid shuts his eyes for this.) Blow the candle. Your camera should snap non-stop during this step.
9. Cut the cake – Get the kid to cut the cake while smiling at the camera. 

10. More photos? – There may be guests who want to take photos with the birthday child and family at this point of time too.

11. Serve the cake – That’s it! Ask the kids to queue up while you serve them the cake. I think it will be great to ask the birthday kid to serve the cake too and thank the guests at the same time.

Kien is a psychologist by training and decided to put what he has learnt to good use by performing magic, since graduating from NUS and NTU about 10 years ago. He changes into Mr Bottle when he is with kids and has been specialising in children magic for the past 14 years. He has since helped host about 2138 cake cutting ceremonies since he started his trade. (He think he should advance to start doing weddings ROM too.) He can find out more about his magic shows at www.magician.com.sg or email him for a chat at enquiry@magician.com.sg

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Preparing your 3-year-old (or younger) for a birthday party

by Kien

Recently, we have been receiving a quite a few enquiries and bookings for 3-year-olds so I thought I should discuss a little on this subject: Preparing your 3-year-olds (and younger) for a birthday party. Before I continue, I must say that every child is different so the following advice applies to most kids but you do have to use your own discretion to do what is best for your kid! 

Plan early – Nothing is worse than a stressed out mummy. You should how your own emotions can affect your children. Get professionals to do up your décor, food and entertainment so you have more time to take care of guests and kids.
Spiderman theme decor - Source around for different decorations packages suitable for your parties!
Think of who you should invite – Sometimes, your young kid can be overwhelmed with the sudden increase number of people talking to him or her.  Keep the party manageable for the birthday child and yourself. You can even also stagger the arriving time of different groups of people to keep the crowd manageable for him.

Do In a school – This is after all in his familiar environment so he will generally be more comfortable with his friends, teachers and parents.

Teachers and kids enjoying the magic show together in school.
Avoid their naptimes – For obvious reasons.

Do something suitable for them – Can a 3-year-old understand a magic show? Yes! But not all magic shows are suitable so choose one that you think three-year-olds can enjoy. Children of this age may not understand magic fully yet, so Mr Bottle focuses a lot on comedy and fun bits which is more important for this age group.
Lots of comedy for younger kids! That's what matters most to them!
Because of their short attention span, you can also choose fringe activities like balloon sculpting and facepainting. Mr Bottle’s Kids Party’s mascot service also includes games, sing-a-longs so if your crowd consists mostly of 2-4 years old, this can be an option too. Some 2-year-olds do get scared of mascot but some love them. We have many interesting stories of our mascots with 2-year-olds, maybe we will tell you next time about it in our future blogs!
Mascot are great for younger kids from 2 to 4 years old!
Facepainting is great kids of all ages!
Magic Show? – If you have a magic show with kids of various age groups, the older kids will ‘teach’ the younger kids how to react. For a 3-year-old, this is probably the first time he or she is watching a magic show so he is not sure what to do. Should he go up on stage when the magician asks for volunteer? Is it all right to laugh? With older children, the younger kids simply imitate what is appropriate.
Do you see the kids imitating what Mr Bottle is doing?
I would also recommend the parents sit with their 3-year-old kids during a magic show, especially if the crowd consists of ONLY 3-year-olds. The parents can laugh and participate in the show together! Mr Bottle’s magic shows are just like Disney movies; fun for kids and great for adults too!

Magic show is probably not the best for 2-year-old because their attention span is too short. I have discussions with magicians around the world on this, and MOST says that they would only do a show for children 3 years old and above. (Some even restrict their shows to an older age group.) Although we have several instances in which 2-year-olds sat down and even participate in Mr Bottle’s show without any problems, in 95% of cases, they would probably stand up and walk around. So again, if you want magic show for your 2-year-old, sit down and watch the show with them.

Warm Up – The younger kids tend to need a little time to warm up to what is happening around him or her. If you are booking a show, you probably don’t want it too early in the party.
Mr Bottle warming the kids up before starting the magic show!
Practise makes perfect – Bring him or her to a friend’s birthday party first so he knows what to expect at a party. Most, if not all, children love birthday parties so if your kid is uncomfortable at a party, the reason is not they do not like it, but they are just unfamiliar with it. You can explain to them what happens at the party like they get presents, cut the cake, play with their friends, etc.
It's okay to laugh out loud at parties!
Do not over-excite them – A lot of parents tend to get the kids overly excited for their big day, by repeatedly asking them about their party. But do not over do that especially for the younger kids. You can to treat it like a ‘normal’ fun day with friends.   Even for the older kids, I have seen quite a few cases of kids losing sleep and even getting sick because they are too excited over their party.
In schools, sometimes the teachers will get 2 year old kids to join in. This is not a problem as long as the magician knows how to arrange them to enjoy the show the best!
Do not put too much pressure on them – Let them be. If they do not want to greet strangers, do not force them. If the magic show needs volunteers, but your child is not comfortable participating then, let other kids have the chance.
Most of the kid magic shows have lot of participation!

Involve them – I think it’s meaningful to let them to write their own invitation and thank you cards for their friends or do up their own drawings to paste on the wall. Treat this like another craft cum family bonding activity that everyone in the family can take part.
Let kids get involve in their parties!

Kien is a psychologist by training and decided to put what he has learnt to good use by performing magic, since graduating from NUS and NTU about 10 years ago.  He changes into Mr Bottle when he is with kids and has been specialising in children magic for the past 14 years.  Other than making sweets and presents appear in his show, he has also made 2 kids of his own appear in his life (and of course a wife). He can find out more about his magic shows at www.magician.com.sg or email him for a chat at enquiry@magician.com.sg

Friday, May 31, 2013

Kids Friendly Restaurant 3

Orchard Cafe

Walking into Orchard Cafe, the most prominent thing is the centre piece surrounded by the mouth-watering food. The center piece is also changed regularly to give the restaurant a fresh new look.

Orchard Cafe incorporates western and local flavours, buffets with a selection of made-to-order dishes at the live-cooking stations. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and Sunday brunch as well. For their Sunday Brunch, 2 kids (< 12 years old) get to eat for free with 2 paying adults. Together with a roving activity and another fringe activty at the kids corner from Mr Bottle's Kids Party, we guessed this is the reason why the restaurant is always filled with people of all age groups; from grandparents to their children and grandchildren.

The reasonably large kids corner comes with sofa for the parents/ grandparents to chit chat while accompanying the kids. There are also tables and stools for the kids activities like Easter Egg Painting on Easter, Face Painting, Arts & Craft, Air-brush Tattoo & Stick-on Tattoo.  

Kids Corner
 
Air-brush Tattoo

Face Painting










Arts & Craft

However, the kids corner is rather dimmed, with certain part very glaring and other area quite dark. It could be better if the lighting is more uniform. The stool is rather high for the low table. Hence, it's not very comfortable for the kids to work on. To get around it, some kids would rather sit on the floor. As the diners need not remove their shoes at the kids corner, and the kids are allowed to bring food to the kids corner to dine while having the fringe activity, we think it is quite unhygenic as their hands will come into contact with the floor mat.

To improve on the hygiene, the restaurant should, firstly, have tables with stools of suitable height. Secondly, make removing of shoes compulsory when entering the kids corner. Thirdly, add a hand sanitizer at the kids corner. Finally, the restaurant should not allow food to be consumed while the kids are having the fringe activity.

Comes to the roving activity - Close-up Magic, Balloon Sculpting, Mascot and Caricature. It is ideal for all age group and will definitely make your Sunday brunch worthwhile.
 
Balloon Sculpting

Mascot



Sunday, May 19, 2013

Kids Friendly Restaurant 2

Checkers Brasserie



The long opening hours (from 6am to 11pm) is the number one highlight of Checkers Brasserie International Buffet Restaurant @ Hilton Singapore. Other than phone bookings, online reservation is available to ensure a place before your visit.


The semi-circular restaurant stations its different categories of food at the sides, and as well as at the center of the restaurant in a systematic manner. Unlike other international buffet restaurants, at Checkers Brasserie, other than the self-picked buffet, one can order unlimited main courses of your choice, ranging from western food to famous local delicacies.

Checkers Brasserie's Sunday Champagne Brunch (12pm to 3pm), is the most popular of all, as kids under 6 years of age dine for FREE! In addition, the restaurant also offers a wide variety of Fringe Activities from Mr Bottle's Kids Party @ 12.30pm to 2.30pm, ranging from Close-up Magic, Balloon Sculpting, Face Painting, Caricature, Arts & Craft, Air-brush Tattoo, Stick-on Tattoo to Mascot. The restaurant also has a cosy and comfortable kids corner at the entrance of the restaurant. Kids movies and computer games are available to keep the little ones busy, and at the same time, to give the adults a break!





The ambience of the restauant is sort of romantic and suitable for couples. However, the restaurant markets by offering free dine for kids and fringe activities for Sunday Brunch. In addition, even on a Sunday afternoon, you can also see some businessmen holding discussions at the restaurant, hence it seems a bit contridicting who's their main target group.

The restaurant also is more quiet than most other buffet restaurants out there, moreover Hilton Singapore is situated right along Orchard Road. We guessed the restaurant requires more publicity to make the restaurant more well-known.


Monday, May 13, 2013

Kids Friendly Restaurant 1

Asian Market Cafe


It is not easy to find a Muslim restaurant in Singapore, needless to say a nice Muslim buffet restaurant. Hence, Asian Market Cafe is a very good selling point to all our Muslims here, as it is a Halal-certified Buffet Restaurant. Now you will have a place to dine with your Muslims kakis!

Located at Fairmont Singapore, Asian Market Cafe is located right at the hub of Singapore and it's just a couple of minutes walk from City Hall MRT.

They serve Hi Tea Buffet on weekends for 4 hours, 12.30pm- 4.30pm! As compared to most other Hi Tea Buffet, which is only available from about 12pm - 3pm. This longer hours will attracts those who are working half-day on weekends or those who are only available to sit down to have a good meal during the later part of the afternoon.

The price is reasonable for the wide range of asian food; from appetisers, main course to DIY dessert stalls.

Asian Market Cafe is a kids friendly restaurant, they provide kids' utensils, baby chairs and xbox game. Previously, they also have a small playground for the younger kids. As they have 2 units of xbox, we think that it would be great if they can retain the small playground and have 1 unit of xbox instead. Or maybe they can bring in some physical hands-on kids play, which will meet the needs for both the younger and older age group of kids. In addition, some parents might not be very supportive of their children to be exposed to too much computer games.


The restaurant also engages Mr Bottle's Kids Party for Face Painting and Balloon Sculpting fringe activities every Saturday and Sunday from 1.30pm - 2.30pm. Not only the kids get entertained by our Twinkle Artist and N2, the Balloon Ranger, believe it or not, the adults and even the senior citizens also cannot withstand to the beauty of Face Painting and to get their favourite Balloon Sculpture from N2!

 


This is also a fantastic place to hold celebrations like Engagements, Birthday Parties as the restaurant has a large sitting capacity and also a private corner ideal for bookings. If your celebrations happens to be during the time where the fringe activities are being held, you and your guests will get to enjoy Face Painting or Balloon Sculpting absolutely FREE!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Innovative Approach to hold Celebrations & Gatherings 1

MINT Museum of Toys


When one mentions museum, what's the first thought that most people will have? An exhibition that is dull, boring, not interesting? And when's the last time you visited the museum? Is it during your school days when it's open free to the public.




Museum is not just an exhibition anymore! Will you believe that you can hold private or corporate gatherings in a museum? Yes, MINT (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys allows you to do so. And we believed that for most of us, the only museum we've visited is the National Museum. Many of us wouldn't even have heard or know that there's a Toy Museum in Singapore.



With the five-storeys high museum displays more than 50,000 pieces of vintage toys and childhood memorabilia from more than 40 countries, while having the fun, children and adults can get to understand more of the different characters during different periods.






It is good that their own restaurant serves buffet catering. However, it would be perfect if they could add in vegetarian and halal menu. As for muslims, halal certified is not indicated in the menu. Hence, one would assume that the food is non-halal. If their restaurant is doesn't serves halal or vegetarian food, they can consider engaging a halal/ vegetarian caterer for their events. This would not shun away halal and vegetarian clients from holding their function at MINT Museum of Toys.


Private events like Birthday Parties no longer limits to your house,  indoor playgrounds, restaurants and chalets. Create a different kind of ambience with all the toys surrounding everyone for this special occasion! Adding in other activities for your guests at the museum is definitely not a problem. Mascots are ideal to lead your guests to the different levels of the museum during the walkabout. Goodie Bags is a MUST for birthday parties, get it from Mr Bottle's Kids Party now!



Break out from holding your Dinner & Dance, Networking Sessions, Christmas and New Year Parties in a ballroom, Consider organising your next corporate event at MINT Museum of Toys. Experience the difference! An engaging Emcee and the music from the sound system will bring energy, fun and laughter to everyone.

The only slight drawback will be events can only be held after 6.30pm daily, after the operating hours of the museum. However, being able to throw a celebration at such a unique place, timing is not much a problem at all. Moreover, we supposed that's the time when most of us have put down our work and it's also a time to let our hair down to enjoy!

Photo courtesy of http://emint.com/