Kids parties that is. I'm afraid my clubbing days are long behind me. After Covid restrictions finally started lifting, I was excited to be able to plan the first big proper birthday party for my daughter, who was turning 5 at the time. It had been 3 years since she had a real birthday party. So I probably went a bit overboard. Can be tough to find something affordable and that will keep the kids entertained. My husband's one ask was that it would be hassle free for us parents - no need to cook, arrange decorations, etc - which I was very much in favour of. So I've set out a few of the ideas and venues I explored, and what I liked about them. Hope it helps!
*Note below prices are up to date as at the date of this post.
K's Cheat Sheet
Places I looked into:
Impression Kids Club - Bukit Timah (https://www.impressionskidsclub.com)
Newton Show - can be in your own venue (https://www.newtonshowcamp.com/birthday-party)
Polliwogs - VivoCity (https://thepolliwogs.com/parties/)
Kaboodle - Katong Square, East Coast (https://www.kaboodle.com.sg)
Powerkids Gym - UE Square, Clemenceau Avenue (https://powerkidsgym.com/birthday-parties/)
Other places my daughter went to for a friend's party, which looked good:
Rhythm in Me - Depot Heights Shopping Centre (https://www.rhythminme.com/celebrate)
Tiara Society - East Coast Park (https://www.thetiarasociety.com/celebrationourvenue)
Impressions Kids Club
Location - Impressions Kids Club, 100 Turf Club Road, #01-02C Horsecity, Singapore 287992. They also have another location in East Coast, but I've never been there so not sure what it's like.
Price - $990 for 8 kids, and $85 for each additional kid for the Ultimate Playground Party package. They also offer cheaper packages if you just want to use the playroom, and they also offer kids spa parties, glow in the dark parties, and arts and crafts parties.
This is where we ultimately chose to have our daughter's birthday. We chose the Ultimate Playground Party package (2.5 hours of play), which included use of the indoor playroom, pony feeding, pony riding, kids meal (or cupcake decorating), plates and cutlery, and decorations. Everything was taken care of - only thing we brought with us was the cake and giveaway bags (although Impression Kids Club could also provide this if you chose and paid an additional fee).
We had about 12-13 kids attending (including the birthday girl). The playroom is a small playroom, but with lots to do to keep them occupied - slide, ball pit, small ride cars, a swing, rope course, small trampoline, etc. And easy for us parents to keep an eye on them, with comfy chairs surrounding it. Cake cutting and food was in a private room in the back. The food we selected was ok - pretty basic. Not the prettiest layout of food, but the kids didn't care. Private room at the back to feed the pony with carrots, and give them a pat throughout the entire 2.5 hours. And the kids took turns to do pony rides, whilst the others played in the playroom.
The party was a hit overall. Not cheap - but totally worth the price, considering we had pony rides included!
Newton Show
Location - Venue can be anywhere, as long as indoor with an aircon, and a table.
Price - $640 for 1 hour involving at least 12 experiments, with 1 professional actor / entertainer. An additional 30 mins for cake cutting done by the actor / entertainer. If more than 20 children, then additional fee of $200.
For 1 hour, they provide a cool hands on science experience for kids from 3 to 14 years old. They also do themed ones, like Harry Potter, Paw Patrol, Frozen, Minecraft, Star Wars, Fairies, etc. The host dresses up according to the theme, and also helps with the cake cutting. It includes around a dozen or more experiments, like creating fire on a spoon, making slime, dry ice, etc.
We were thinking of doing a Paw Patrol themed Newton Show in our condo's function room.
This was a very close second choice for our daughter's birthday. I really wanted to do this one in our function room, but we ultimately decided not to, as it would mean a bit more organising on our part. We would have had to book our function room, arrange food separately, and think of how to keep the kids entertained for the rest of the time. If I could've fit a bouncy castle in the function room, then maybe I would have still gone for this one. But I'm definitely still going to consider it for her next party.
Kaboodle
Location - Kaboodle, 88 East Coast Road, #02-06 Katong Square, Singapore 423371
Price - $1,280 for up to 16 people, and $50 for each additional person (kids and adults). You can also pay $2,680 for up to 45 people (kids and adults). Includes 2.5 hours playtime, exclusive use of the venue, unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, food, and 1 Kaboodle helium balloon for each child.
Kaboodle is a creative indoor play space, where kids can build their own play area using blue foam building bricks and other shapes. You can book the party from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., or 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The food is served either on sharing platters or in individual bento boxes (all vegetarian and healthy looking options). And you can pay for additional add ons that looked great. For example:
4 sensory tables (jelly, flour, noodles, ice sensory bins) - $150
Piñata set up and clean-up - $80 (but you ned to bring your own piñata)
Projector rental - $20 (but bring your own laptop and HDMI cable)
Bubble Show by CJ the Bubble Girl for 45 mins - $550
Mad Science Show by CJ for 45 mins - $550
Princess Games Party by CJ the Bubble Girl for 45 mins - $450
Princess character appearance with photo op by CJ the Bubble Girl for 45 mins - $350
Themed decorations - starting from $600
Party games - includes host, games, activities and cake cutting - starting from $650
Juggling Show for 30 mins - $500
Knives Juggling Act - $650
Juggling classes - cost depends on number of kids
Interactive Science Themed Party Workshops by Curiosity Kids (ages 3 to 9) - $40 up to 10 kids, $35 for 11 to 20 kids, $32 for 21 to 30 kids, and $30 for 30 or more kids.
Appearance of Marvel or DC Hero for 45 mins - $220 for 1 hero, $330 for 2 heroes, and $550 for 4 heroes
Appearance o Darth Vader and Storm Trooper for 30 mins - $300 for Darth Vader, and $500 for Darth Vader and Storm Trooper.
It seemed a bit pricey to us for what we were getting, and we would've ended up paying additional costs for add on entertainment. The venue also seemed a bit big for our party (only about 12-13 kids). So at the end of the day, we decided to give it a pass. But may consider it in the future if we ever want to host a really big party.
Powerkids Gym
Location - Power Kids Gym, 81 Clemenceau Avenue, UE Square, #02-12 Singapore 239917
A kid's gym that offers exclusive use of their venue, and 3 trainers to help lead all games and activities. They will also setup and decorate the gym too.
Note they only offer birthday parties on Sundays, at either 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., or 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For the standard package, you get the venue for 2 hours, up to 20 kids.
The venue was unfortunately not available on the date we were looking at, so didn't do much further research into this place. But heard it's good, and hassle free.
Polliwogs at VivoCity
Location - Polliwogs, 1 Harbourfront Walk, #03-12 VivoCity, 098585 Singapore
Price - $600 for 2 hours, inclusive of 10 kids. Each extra kid is $35. Adults are $12 each. Includes 2 hours use of the playroom, party room, some games hosted by the staff, balloons and e-invite.
Whilst we decided not to go with Polliwogs for my daughter's birthday, we did book it for my son's 3rd birthday. It was easy to book and organise. The kids had a ton of fun. It was an easy choice for us, as the kids had lots of free play in the playroom, and then we had the private room for food and cake cutting. The staff also included some games and little prizes (musical statues, rainbow parachute, etc), which lasted for about 20 minutes. And the kids loved it!
The party was from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. We brought our own cake and some snacks (goldfish crackers, fruits, crisps, etc). Polliwogs provided decorations, plates, and cutlery.
You can purchase add ons through Polliwogs, like:
Food
Magician - $400 for 1 hour (30 mins of balloon twisting, and 30 mins of magic art)
Face Painter - $198 for 1 hour
Balloon Sculpter - $198 for 1 hour
We decided not to book any extra-add ons for our 3 year old, since the playroom in itself was enough to keep the kids happy.
Note that you can't book your own separate entertainer to come to Polliwogs - you have to use their ones.
