Step right up – Little L is turning 2!

Long time no see! I have to admit that, in the last weeks, I didn’t find any time to write on the blog AT ALL – not even half an hour… Having a 2yo toddler and a baby at home really is a full-time job!

Anyway, I spent the few time I had in the evening preparing a circus-themed birthday party for our little L who turned two this year. Last year, we didn’t really celebrate his birthday with our Dubai friends because he was still a bit small to enjoy a proper birthday party. This year, however, he fully understood what his birthday was all about (I mean he got it quite quickly that birthday equals cake and gifts and lots of attention!). So, we decided to organize a fun afternoon for Luca and his friends at Kidz Venture in JBR.

The kids had a lovely time! Rather than many words, I should probably let Racha Hallak’s beautiful pictures speak for themselves but I will still share some info with you in case you’re planning to organize a birthday party any soon 😉

THE THEME
We went for the circus / carnival theme. For several reasons: it’s colorful. There are animals. There are clowns. And there are lots of fun games to play. Oh, and you can find great inspirations online, especially on .

THE INVITATION
I am one of these persons who has everything on her mobile (yup, I would be screwed if I lost it.. which is quite scary… arg, really scary actually but ok, that’s not the topic of this post…). I lose all kind of papers including invitations. So, for Luca’s birthday party invitation I wanted something nice but easy to create and to send out via whatsapp.

I came across www.lilfaces.net and really liked their printables. Choosing a circus-themed invitation layout and personalizing it was super easy. The price was quite affordable and I received the high-resolution picture via email some days later. Well, that was one thing sorted 😉

THE LOCATION
To be honest, I would have preferred to celebrate outside but September is still a bit too hot… So, we opted for an indoor play area (I admire mums who host birthday parties with over 15 kiddies + parents at home but this would stress me out so much that I would probably not enjoy anything…).

There are plenty of great indoor play areas in Dubai where you can celebrate your kids’ birthday parties, including Kids HQ, Play! Town or, why not, the newly opened Fabyland, amongst others. One of Luca’s preferred play areas however is KidzVenture in JBR. Jenni, their Events Manager, did a great job accommodating all of our requests. We met about one month before the birthday party to discuss what will need to be done in terms of food, decoration, games etc. and who will take care of what. Very useful to make sure everyone knows what to do 😉 The KidzVenture team who was there on the day of the event was also great. Super nice and helpful! Would definitely recommend this place (and no, I am not sponsored in case you were wondering 😉 ).

THE FOOD
For the kids, we ordered mini cheese pizza, French fries and fish fingers as well as chocolate-coated fresh fruits from Hilton Double Tree, where KidzVenture is located. Of course, it was not the healthiest food but it was super yummy! I added some watermelon triangles (super easy to make and to hold for the little ones) to throw a little bit more fruit in and – voilà 🙂

To go with the theme, we also added some animal-shaped biscuits (you can find the Leibniz ones at Spinneys, for example) and I tried to make some “weights”, which were basically chocolate-covered marshmallows.

For the adults, we didn’t really bring a lot of food. Some crisps, some bretzels (we parents always end up finishing the food of our kids anyway, don’t we?!).

A big hit however was the caramel-flavored popcorn that was freshly made in a real popcorn machine coming from Sweet Surprises. Ask for the caramel flavor specifically or you will get salty / cheese-flavored popcorn.

THE CAKE
The cake.. Well, the cake.. No birthday party without a birthday cake, right? Ok, so, I will be very honest with you. I chose the date of Luca’s birthday party according to a very special Dubai-based cake designer’s availability (as she is so so booked!!). Crazy? Not really. Wait until you see Rasha’s cakes (check out her Instagram account @rasharmeily and admire the artist’s work).

Rasha is one of these persons who are just passionate about what they are doing. She is not only talented and very creative but also genuinely nice. And she has two kids, so she really knows what makes a child’s eyes sparkle with excitement. For Luca’s birthday cake, I basically gave her “carte blanche”, as we say in French. I just told her the theme, the color scheme and Luca’s favorite animals (elephant and lion).

The result is stunning. Rasha, you’re my absolute star :-*

THE GAMES

Luca loves singing and dancing, so there was music all around (Super Simple Songs are our favourite in case you’re looking for great kids songs to sing along. Just search for it on Youtube).

To get the kids in the mood, we started with the parachute game, which is perfect for Luca’s age group.

Once the kids were sitting in a circle, we let them fill a printed popcorn bag with “popcorn” (cotton balls). Very easy but the kids enjoyed it 🙂

There was also a photo booth stand with circus accessories and clowns noses, which every child (and parent hehe) could take to clown around 😉 I bought them in Switzerland but you might be able to find them in maybe.

DECORATIONS
One beautiful decoration idea I’ve seen on Pinterest were the animals with party hats. I loved this idea. So, there were big stuffed animals and small plastic ones with party hats all over the place 😉 In case you’re looking for the small pompons for the hats, they are available at Daiso.

For the table decoration, we went to in Al Barsha. Definitely worth to go there as they have plenty of different themes and everything you would need for a dream kids birthday party.

THE PARTY FAVOURS
OMG, you can’t tell but these party favors took me ages to make haha I am definitely not very talented when it comes to arts and crafts… (midnight fight with a glue pistol anyone??). BUT I have to say that Luca was very excited when he saw them and that’s what really counts.

The jars (which are plastic jars, bought at Carrefour, so that the kids can’t break them) were filled with sweets and small toys. Check out Partycamel.com for the best party bag fillers and for a quick delivery.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER
I promised myself that, from now on, I would create a photo book for every special occasion so that the kids will one day be able to go through these books and see all the great things they have experienced as kids (Riot Photobooks have a great and easy-to-use tool by the way). No photo book without great photos. And no great photos without a great photographer 😉

For us, it was pretty clear that we would ask Racha to take pictures of Luca’s birthday party. I know Racha and not only respect her as a photographer but also appreciate her as a person. And it is nice to have someone at your son’s birthday party that you appreciate.

Racha knows how to work with children (her beautiful daughter Naya has recently turned two, just like Luca). So, I knew that she would manage to capture the happiness in our little L’s eyes. The excitement. The glow.

I love looking at the stunning pictures she has taken.
Thank you, Racha, for such nice memories :-*

FRIENDS
Last but not least, Luca had a great time because so many of his friends came to celebrate with him! Thank you all for having made Luca’s day so so special! It would definitely not have been the same without you.

PS: I would like to underline that this post is in no way a sponsored post. All companies and persons mentioned in the post are truly worth recommending.