Sunday, January 3, 2016

December - Month of merry, joy and give

December, usually a favourite month for all and that applies to me as well. Holidays are much more busier than usual school terms. During school terms, we worked hard but during the holidays we played equally hard too. It has been a fun filled and meaningful December. I am going to jot it down in memories before I bid goodbye to 2015 and welcome a brand new year !

We had a 2 weeks break travelling to Bangkok and went on-board the Carribean Cruise (To be blogged later) the very next day after we touched down the night before, with my in-laws before the week of parties followed suit.

In 2015, I am thankful that my network of mummy friends expanded through these years be it via the blogging community, through social media pages, my oiling business and old friends from the SMH Forum since 7 years ago. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you for your beautiful friendship and the effort in keeping our friendship going.

Allow me to share some of the happenings during the jolly December. During the third week of December, the parties that were planned like a month or two ago lined up on my calendar, back to back. The first Christmas social gathering, warmly hosted by May at her place with a group of 9 Singapore Mom Bloggers + 15 kids !


Photo Credit : Liang May

Look who greeted us at the gate ? A really adorable snowman piñata from May.


A table, which was beautifully set up with personalized cups for the guests, invitation cards and a matching bunting.


These thematic stationeries definitely helped in time saving if you have no time to DIY, go check out The Joy Troopers and support our very own local designers ! Now I know who to do to if I do not have the time to DIY !


Vera could not resist checking out the chrismassy themed bunting.

With compliments from The Joy Troopers

A backdrop from The Joy Troopers as our photo booth, coupled with the really fun props by Give Fun that specializes in party props to sizzle up parties for all occasions !

We had a really good time posing with the props !

Photo credit : Liang May

Even the mommies were having a ball ourselves !

Photo credit : Liang May

See the #angkong aka tattoo (designed by Ducky Street) on my arm. I could not resist sticking one on my arm. The tattoos were of really good quality, it did not come off easily after several washing but it can be easily removed if you slightly rub on it with a little soap. Totally safe to the skin and non-toxic ! Grab these tattoos at S$3 for a sheet of three 6x9cm from Little Playroom !


The cookie monsters were in for a treat with thanks to The Icing Room Singapore. The cookie monsters ate them all ! I was even told that Vera was spotted to be nibbling on the cookie by the coffee table ... (sssshhh don't tell mummy). In fact, she was not allowed to touch sugary food due to her recent eczema flare. I will share more about it in the future posts.

This day, the kids broke all rules and I allow both to indulge in this treat which I usually do not allowed sugary stuff and cookies on normal days. Oh well, it's a party alright, hence I close one eye to it. Let's party on !


Very unique flavour I must say, this tin of Choc and Salt! It's mildly sweet with a tinge of dark chocolate bitterness. I could not stop popping them into my mouth, they seemed to have melted in my mouth. I really didn't know BreadTalk actually carries these cookies !


Christmas party would not be complete without a logcake ! BreadTalk® Singapore had generously sent 3 log cakes for us to indulge in and the winner goes to Hazelnut Heaven ! If you like velvety chocolate chiffon filled with light hazelnut cream and topped with fresh strawberries, you gotta choose this !

The winner among the three logcakes - Hazelnut Heaven

The kids were enjoying the treats while the mommies were treated to a nice spread from Royal Catering.

We had their Santa's Party Set which was catered for 10-12 pax. It was approximately about $22 per pax and it was definitely far more than enough for the 10 moms and 15 kids with their generous portion.


I have already submitted Royal Catering as one of the choices for consideration for my Chinese New Year gathering with my poly friends.

Why will I go for Royal Catering ?
1. Quality of food- All the dishes were delish and I gave my two thumbs up to their Lamb Bourguignoon. I am a no-lamb person and no one can made me take it due to the smell of it. This dish was surprisingly good. I managed to take a few pieces of it.

Lamb Bourguignoon

Fragrant Butter Rice with Raisins

2. Halal Certified - You can even invite your malay friends to join in the party !!

3. Reasonable price with its generous servings. Some of us even got to help pack some of the food back for dinner ! And if your opt for self collection, you can save $30 on the delivery fee.

Christmas is always so magical ! Highlight of the morning was, the lucky kids got to see a live entertainment from The Magic Empire ! Who does not love magic show ?! Lucky kids were in for some tricks by Sherman ! Fyi, Sherman won the championship title in the Magic Circle Close-up/Parlour Competition and People's Magician Choice Award in 2007 ! The house was rocking with the kids' roaring laughter.
 
Photo credit : Liang May

Had some piñata fun at the last part of the partying. While the mums holding the stick flexed their muscles, the children had great fun !


And we went home with some gifts from some of the mums.

Cornflower utensils from ThisGreenPlace

This highlighter is a very useful tool ! Trust me because I am a total noob to make up but I find this very easy to apply with it's brush. Thanks Flo !


Party was fun with great company and to the host, May, thank you again for your warm hosting !


Should you be keen to follow the rest of the Mom Bloggers, just click on their name to link you to their personal blog site !

From Left to Right
Top: Elizabeth, Mabel, Me, May
Bottom: Florinda, Danessa, Estella, Janice, Natasha

Thank you once again to the following sponsors :
Royal Catering Services Pte Ltd
BreadTalk® Singapore
The Joy Troopers
Little Playroom
The Magic Empire - Kids Entertainment/Magic, Puppets & Balloons

Continuing to the next gathering with my group of poly cca mates, no matter how busy, we will try to be present for the annual gatherings. My extended family has expanded with the addition of the little ones !


Next was a X'mas gathering cum packing date @Qian Wen's place for the volunteer work with Lions Befrienders on the 23rd December. It's another blogging moms' kind of gathering !

At the back (left ):Qian Wen & Me , Front (left) Veron, Lin Ying

A super meaningful day where we did our ration distribution. Read more about it HERE.


Next was with another group of mums who usually share their daily deals and home-cooked meals. We do lend each other our ears when we have our occasional rants. Started as online friends in the Singapore Motherhood Forum as April 2008 Mums till date we would at times meet up for kopi session in the mornings when our first born were in school.

Moms from my Buy, Buy, Buy Network

Community bonding was something which I have always wanted it to take place. Most of the time, our doors are close and how often do you interact with your neighbours. Am glad that everyone staying on the same floor as me are pretty friendly. 

The second half of the year, Xav was more in touch with our neighbour's boys. We met up for lunch and playdates after revision. This year's Winter Solstice was different from the past. I invited the boys to come over and make "Tang Yuan" aka Glutinous Rice Balls.


A Christmas playdate with the boys at Cool De Sac.


27th of December I have also purchased tickets for the Family Day Carnival 2015 which was just a walking distance from my block, where Fernvale residents get to come together and have fun. The kids had a blast from the game stalls and treats !


Highlight for that evening was, Xav managed to shake hands with our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong. He was pretty upset when he did not managed to have a picture taken with our PM but a smile appeared after I showed him this picture of a handshake between Mr Lee and himself.


Just two days before closing the last chapter of 2015. I went on a Johor Trip with my mum and managed to visit a long lost neighbour whom I have last seen in 2005 ? I really lost count. I was told that she has shifted to JB but due to my busy commitment, I did not have the time to pay her a visit. My mum visited her after she found her contact number and my mum brought me here,  a week later.

If you are wondering who she is :
- someone who saw us through our childhood but my elder sis is much closer with her. We had a good laugh as she recollected our childhood memories.
- another "mum" of us, we address her with her name plus a "Ma" at the end.
- a great seamstress who tailor made pants for her clients.
- I have her to thank for helping me with most of my Home Economics sewing projects during my school days.

I am so glad that I have managed to pay her and her sister a visit. Before we left, I gave her a big hug and felt the big lump in my throat when she told me that we are as if like her own daughters. Will visit her again when we can.


With this, I closed the last chapter of 2015, carrying all the pleasant memories with me and leave behind the unpleasant ones especially in the month of Nov. Having said that, it was a price to pay for being too trusting. Lesson learnt the hard way! It will be a greater and more rewarding 2016 !

Happy 2016 from my family to yours !! May this new year be a more rewarding one ! I do not want to list down any new resolution for this new year because I am not discipline enough to follow but I will try my best to make this year an even better one than the last. But just let me tell you the first goal am working towards : Lesser late nights to a better health ! No not that am always sickly but I need more quality sleep. =)


Thank you for reading and if you would like to stay tune for future updates, do follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram !










No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...