Of Cupcakes and Birthdays

(Daddy celebrates)

After Ayd's Angry Birds Birthday Party last year, I have been racking my brain to choose a theme for his 6th Birthday this year. Just when everything looked bleak, out popped Genius R Us who came to my rescue by offering to sponsor Ayd's Birthday party!

Established in 2002, Genius R Us is in the child enrichment business by specializing in Baking and Crafting Workshops for kids, and of course organizing Birthday Parties as well.

There are essentially 2 Birthday Party Packages to choose from - Superior and Premium. You can view the packages in further detail HERE. We got the Premium Package, and Ayd chose the Cupcakes Baking activity from its Kidz Can Bake! options.

When we arrived, everything was already set in place.

And I could tell that Ayd was immensely happy and raring to get started!

But first, all the kids had to be dressed in appropriate outfits. And so out came the aprons and Baker hats... the kids looked really cute in those outfits if you ask me. Heh.

When all of our guests had arrived, it was time to get messy!

The Birthday Party had three instructors for thirteen kids, which is adequate I thought. And though the kids were itching to get started, they had to listen to some of the instructions laid down by the instructors first.

The kids were then told of the Cupcakes' recipe and the various ingredients that go into a Cupacake.

Pretty straightforward huh?

And then, the moment that all the kids had been waiting for!

Most of the ingredients - butter, sugar, flour and ovalette (also known as sponge cake stabiliser) - had to be weighed accurately on a scale and the kids performed rather admirably on their own.

And if the kids needed help, the adults would be on hand to lend them a helping hand. To be frank, I think the parents were only to happy to get involved as it really looked the kids were enjoying themselves lots!

The eggs went in last, and it was the process of cracking the eggs that got the kids really boisterous. I figured it was due to the fact that most of the kids were cracking eggs for the first time. And the squeals of excitement whenever an egg cracked were quite a joy to hear actually.

When the final egg went into the mixture, it was done!

Then the kids took turns to use an electric whisk to turn their work of art into a gooey mixture.

Yup, it was really gooey all right.

The final step had to be the easiest (but messiest) part - scooping the mixture into the individual cupcake liners.

ALL done!

And while the cupcakes went for some tanning in the oven, the kids filled their tummies with some party food.

The pasta was especially popular with the kids. Ayd had THREE servings of the pasta alone, and he wasn't the only one. It must really have been tasty then. Either that, or the kids were extremely famished!

No wonder all the kids had such happy faces after they were done with the food.

And not a moment too soon, because the cupcakes were ready!

The second part of the party had the kids decorating their own cupcakes and as usual, they were given some instructions beforehand.

There were fresh cream in various colours and toppings for the kids to choose from, and each kid had 4 cupcakes each to unleash their creativity.

Just look at the intense concentration on most of the kids' faces as they proceeded to beautify their own cupcakes. Erm, except for one kid though... who was caught eating on the job.

OOPS.

But for the other kids, they were soon done with their respective cupcakes and to say that they were mighty proud of their own creation was an understatement.

All the cupcakes then congregated onto a cupcake stand which was placed next to Ayd's Birthday cake for the party's finale - Cake-cutting!

All the cupcakes look pretty together, no?

Ayd then got into position...

And the usual Birthday procedures got underway. :)

There was still dessert to be served, which came in the form of mini ice cream cones.

Happy birthday Ayd! Hope you had a fantastic time at your Birthday Party!

A special thanks to all our friends and kids who came to the party. I hope that you had a great time baking your very own cupcakes as well!

Thanks also, to Genius R Us for having us and accommodating such a noisy bunch of kids. All of us had a blast!

Visit our Cheekiemonkies Facebook album for more photos of Ayd's Party!

For more details on the baking and craft workshops that Genius R Us conducts, please visit their website HERE. For Birthday Party packages, please click HERE.