BuddyJane Singapore - Party Planning Guide

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2011-06-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

We are glad to announce our new website with added details of what we do best and better, check us out now and drop us a note with your requirements!

www.buddyjane.com.sg

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eFeatured: APB "What's Brewing" Nov/Dec 2010

2010-12-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

Theme Posters - Visual Arts

2010-09-28T22:51:00.001-07:00

Visual Arts with the likes of Posters play an important element to create specific themes for parties. These high-impact visuals can effectively transform the venue setting to emphasize the theme (afterall, pictures tell a thousand words).

High-resolution images can be easily accessed and purchased from stock images web portals. After digital imaging works are completed, the "touch-up"art files can be printed on foam board across various sizes:

(1) Giant party backdrop - useful for grant reception/photo-taking purposes,
(2) Standard posters - useful for decorating the party premises
(3) Small postcards - which can be clothspin along strings to create a unique touch

Here are some of the popular theme requests:

Hollywood Theme

Olympic Theme

Fashion Theme

Classy Theme

Vintage Theme

Father's Day Special Report

2010-06-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Father’s Day is a special day dedicated to honouring fatherhood and paternal bonds around the world. It is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June every year in Singapore, this year it is on 18th of June. This day is especially meaningful to express our love and appreciation of our fathers’ guidance in our lives.

Fathers have a special place in our heart and we can take this special day to express our love for them which may be a little awkward to do so usually.

Our take on celebrations and gifts for 5 of the common types of fathers:

1. Mr. Passive
2. Mr. Mentor
3. Mr. All-About-Work
4. Mr. Experienced-In-Life
5. Mr. Friend

1. Mr. Passive

He leaves the decisions to the Mrs. (your mum) at home, and prefers a laidback approach in matters of the house. He does not ask you many questions but you know he is always concerned about you; he does not express his love and feelings to his family verbally but shows his love through the simple actions like buying you a packet of your favourite food when he happens to pass by your favourite stall.

A simple but not over-whelming family celebration for this father will bring him lots of smiles and he will really appreciate it. You can arrange a gathering of the entire family such as going to the movies, organising a party, rent a chalet and have a barbeque party, making a home-cooked meal, have a fun day out with the family and even go on a short day-trip to Malaysia for the whole family. The perfect gift will be something hand-made, such as a hand-made sketchbook of the family’s significant moments for him.

2. Mr. Mentor

He is your guardian in life and he always gives the best advice to you. He expresses his love for you through giving you his take on matters and makes it known that he wants only the best for you. He may be a little demanding and hard on you at times, but you know he meant it in a good way.

As he is taking the lead most of the time in your life, why not reverse your roles this Father’s Day? Planning something thoughtful will touch his heart and it shows your sincerity as well. Take him and your family out for a meal at his favourite restaurant, make an order of his favourite items on the menu beforehand, and engage a violinist or mini-band to play his favourite songs if possible. For gifts, we suggest getting him something practical and inexpensive (you won’t want him to nag at you too much), such as a new shirt, wallet, tie or work bag.

3. Mr. All-About-Work

A little like Mr. Passive, this father is very focused and passionate about his work. He seems to be at work most of the times and even at home, he is often checking his Blackberry or emails. This father is most probably also very IT-savvy and loves gadgets in his day-to-day.

For this dad, you will definitely score points if you get him the latest IT gadget in town, be it a new touch-screen laptop or handphone or a new executive briefcase to lug his laptop and documents around. If he loves golfing, you can also get him a new golf tee or a book on his favourite golfer.

To celebrate, think of relaxation as the key word, bring him for a surprise spa treat or book a KTV family room so the whole family can have fun with him. If you have the budget, you can also sponsor a holiday break for him!

4. Mr. Experienced-In-Life

His favourite phrase is: “When I was your age…” and you have heard it umpteen times. Although it may bore you a little, you know he meant the best for you. He has the most practical advice and you can count on him to answer the most difficult questions you have or know the fastest route to a really remote place in Singapore.

He may not express it much, but he loves that he is being respected by his family. A heart-warming gift such as a recording of personal video messages from each family member describing their favourite moments with dad – you can include family vacations, celebrations, and your favourite phrases from dad will be perfect.

5. Mr. Friend

He is your best friend and you know you can always count on him for anything. He loves to hear your stories about school and friends and never hesitates to lend you his arms to cry on. Maybe you love him even more than your mum!

The perfect celebration for Father’s Day is to engage him in a day of ‘His Son/Daughter’s Life’, which includes him in all activities that his children are involved in everyday. He will love to be involved in all his children’s lives and he will enjoy knowing her children’s friends and favourite activities.

Special and alternative surprises can be an invitation to your favourite band’s concert, or doing something completely different from the usual days such as having a party in the Zoo, Bird Park, Fort Canning Park or Botanic Gardens with the entire family. Additionally, you can have innovative ideas like making a set of ‘Redemption vouchers’ for your dad to redeem his ‘days off’ throughout the year.

Written by Ms. Shirley Toh (Party Planning Expert) from BuddyJane Singapore

Mother's Day Special Report

2010-05-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mother’s Day is a special day dedicated to honouring mothers around the world. This day is especially meaningful to express our love and appreciation of our mothers’ hardship and guidance in bringing us up.

All mothers wish for their children to be filial and be morally upright and a reunion of the family on this day will definitely bring joy to all mothers. Children also wish for their mothers to feel happy and appreciated on this special day. Thus, with these points in mind, we have put thoughts to your questions below:

What are the ways to celebrate Mother’s Day?

· Throw a thoughtfully-planned house party for mum
· Give mum a treat at her favourite restaurant
· Take mum on a vacation with the family
· Rent a chalet for a small get-together of the family

Are there certain must-dos? Be it due to tradition or just for the fun of it?

Must-dos/haves:
· Carnations - we prefer to use white and pink carnations particularly in our party decorations, as these colours have great significance to a mother’s love
· Gifts which hold significant meanings, such as a hand-made sketchbook of memorable family moments
· Ang-baos - in Chinese tradition, a token of our appreciation is shown through giving an ang-bao as a small gift. Furthemore, receiving an ang-bao is considered very auspicious for the recipient.

Fun of it:
· Popping a bottle of champagne for the modern mum
· Nostalgic games to relive the past, such as ‘The Eagle Catches the Chicks”
· Mimicking the dance routines of popular celebrities during the get-together as a form of entertainment

Ways to give surprises for mothers

· Announcing a piece of good news during the get-together, eg. Wedding news, news of pregnancy, Promotion, Engagement, Graduation andetc
· Hold a unique and memorable party for mum
· In our party-planning, we like to bring out the ambience of the celebration by decorating the venue with posters of significance. For Mother’s Day, we suggest to decorate with a range of photos of mum in her most memorable moments – such as her wedding day and the birth of her children, Children’s graduation etc
· Having a giant billboard of mother’s portrait with personalised messages signed off by all family members will also bring a lovely touch to the decorations
· Putting together a video montage with children and grandchildren putting their well wishes for their mum in the video
· Children who are busy professionals and overseas can give their mum a pleasant surprise by returning home during Mother’s Day or even by surprising mum in a web conference
· Think of special gifts for mum, which they will appreciate most. An idea that can be hand-made is by making ‘thank-you redemption vouchers’ for mum, with each voucher indicating a special note which mums can ‘redeem’. For example, we can have ‘A Day Off all Housework’, ‘Watch Movies with Me’, etc vouchers for mums to take time off and enjoy herself.

Are there different ways to celebrate for different cultures, etc?

With reference to Singapore, there seems to be the same kind of celebration requests among the different races and religions. Emphasis is placed on get-togethers of families and having a good time.

Any things to take note of when planning such surprises?

· Avoid inauspicious words or gifts
· Avoid insensitivity with words and actions, by not bringing up unpleasant past incidents
· Avoid overly exciting or exerting activities, such as rollercoaster ride at theme parks (due to potential health risks)

Personal experiences for such Mother’s Day celebration planning? The most memorable or most successful one?

BuddyJane’s most memorable party event on Mother’s Day was for a Double-Happiness celebration on Mother’s Day itself for a mother and her family last year. The mother’s daughter had just given birth to a baby boy and Mother’s Day happened to be the baby’s 1st month celebration. We were engaged to decorate the venue with memorable posters, video montage and also a giant greeting card for both grandmother and baby. There was a large turnout of 60 family members as it involved everyone in the 3-generation families. Everyone was touched and in tears while watching the montage which was very close to their heart.

Is it possible to tailor-make surprises? For example, housewife mums, working mums or classy mums, etc?

Sure, we can always tailor surprises for all mothers. Adding to point 3 above, we can customise gifts, ambience and decor, games and montages to fit into the preferences of any mother in mind.
Our take on celebrations for these 5 types of mums:

1. Perfectionist mother : Typically, an over-controlling, fearful and anxious woman for whom appearance is everything.

She will appreciate an elegant and classy approach and planning something thoughtful but not too different from her routine life will put her at ease. Flowers are a must, but we think we will give her a bouquet of her favourite flowers instead of carnations (as you may want to give her a break off her usual mother role). Take her out for a meal at her favourite restaurant, make an order of her favourite items off the menu beforehand, and engage a violinist or mini-band to play her favourite songs if possible. For gifts, we suggest getting her something elegant, you can make a hand-made card or if you have sewing flair, you can sew her something in a classy design. If your mum can take a laugh, you can sew a classy grocery bag for her. If you have the budget and want to buy her something, you can choose an item from the classy brands (like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior).

2. Unpredictable mother : Anxious, angry, excessively emotional, she is overwhelmed by feelings so her parenting style is based purely on mood.

Relieving her of her duties at home and towards the children and not letting her do anything at all is the key. She needs to have her fun this Mother’s Day! You can hold a house party and decorate the entire venue with a theme of her favourite things, if she is into the Korean craze, you can have an All-Korean party; if she likes to sing, you can bring her out to the KTV or even rent a karaoke system at home so she can sing all her favourite songs to her content. For gifts, we think that this mother will appreciate a personal video message from each family member describing their favourite moments with mum – you can include family vacations, celebrations, and your favourite dishes by mum. If you have the budget, you can also sponsor her on a holiday break, which may be the best thing she needs to soothe her moods.

3. The best friend mother : Enjoys treating her children as equals.

Engage her in a day of ‘Her Son/Daughter’s Life’, which includes her in all activities that her children are involved in everyday. She will love to be involved in all her children’s lives and she will enjoy knowing her children’s friends and favourite activities. Special and alternative surprises can be an invitation to your favourite band’s concert, or doing something completely different from the usual days eg. Having a party in the Zoo, Bird Park or the Botanic Gardens with the entire family. Additionally, you can have innovative ideas like making a set of ‘Redemption vouchers’ for your mum to redeem her ‘days off’ throughout the year.

4. The me-first mother : Unable to view their children as separate individuals and tend to be self-absorbed and insecure.

Anything that you are planning for her needs to make her feel included, and you must pay extra sensitivity to her feelings. A complete day of relaxation will be the perfect way for her to unwind and thoroughly enjoy the day. Make it a special ‘her’ day – arrange beforehand a luxury spa appointment for her, together with a facial and a manicure & pedicure package to go with it. If you have the budget, you can make it really special for your mum by renting a limousine to pick her up and let the day start with the ultimate pampering.

5. The complete mother - Emotionally balanced, she can see her children as individuals and help them achieve their own independence. She isn’t necessarily perfect herself but whatever her emotional circumstances, she is committed to motherhood - regardless of other responsibilities outside the home.

Any time spent with the family will bring her enormous joy. You can arrange a gathering of the entire family through going to the movies, organising a party, rent a chalet and have a barbeque party, making a home-cooked meal, have a fun day out with the family and even go on a short day trip to Malaysia for the whole family. The perfect gift will be something hand-made, such as a hand-made sketchbook of the family’s significant moments or bake a cake, cupcakes or cookies for her.

Bar Set-up (for House Parties): Glasswares, Equipments & Mixers (+ Garnishes)

2010-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

To offer cocktails for your house parties, first you will need to ensure that you are sufficiently equipped in bar. The basic set-up of the bar consists of 3 primary components: Glasswares, Bar Equipments as well as Mixers & Garnishes. Before you get started with identifying the neccessary items, it will be ideal to define the cocktails you would like to offer during your party (the bar set-up will very much be dependent on your Cocktail Menu). Here are some of the tips which may be useful in your set-up

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(1) Glasswares

Beer Mug - The traditional beer container (Typical Size: 16 oz)
Brandy Snifter - The shape of this glass concentrates the alcoholic odors to the top of the glass as your hands warm the brandy (Typical Size: 17.5 oz)
Champagne flute - This tulip shaped glass is designed to show off the waltzing bubbles of the wine as they brush against the side of the glass and spread out into a sparkling mousse (Typical Size: 6 oz)
Cocktail glass - This glass has a triangle-bowl design with a long stem, and is used for a wide range of straight-up (without ice) cocktails, including martinis, manhattans, metropolitans, and gimlets. Also known as a martini glass (Typical Size: 4-12 oz)
Collins glass - Shaped similarly to a highball glass, only taller, the collins glass was originally used for the line of collins gin drinks, and is now also commonly used for soft drinks, alcoholic juice, and tropical/exotic juices such as Mai Tai's (Typical Size: 14 oz)
Cordial glass - Small and stemmed glasses used for serving small portions of your favourite liquors at times such as after a meal (Typical Size: 2 oz)
Highball glass - A straight-sided glass, often an elegant way to serve many types of mixed drinks, like those served on the rocks, shots, and mixer combined liquor drinks (ie. gin and tonic) (Typical Size: 8-12 oz)
Hurricane glass - A tall, elegantly cut glass named after it's hurricane-lamp-like shape, used for exotic/tropical drinks (Typical Size: 15 oz)
Margarita/coupette glass - This slightly larger and rounded approach to a cocktail glass has a broad-rim for holding salt, ideal for margarita's. It is also used in daiquiris and other fruit drinks (Typical Size: 12 oz)
Mason jar - These large square containers are effective in keeping their contents sealed in an air tight environment. They're designed for home canning, being used for preserves and jam amongst other things (Typical Size: 16 oz)
Old-fashioned glass - A short, round so called "rocks" glass, suitable for cocktails or liquor served on the rocks, or "with a splash" (Typical Size: 8-10 oz)
Parfait glass - This glass has a similar inwards curve to that of a hurricane glass, with a steeper outwards rim and larger, rounded bowl. Often used for drinks containing fruit or ice cream (Typical Size: 12 oz)
Pousse-cafe glass - A narrow glass essentially used for pousse cafes and other layered dessert drinks. It's shape increases the ease of layering ingredients (Typical Size: 6 oz)
Punch bowl - A large demispherical bowl suitable for punches or large mixes (Typical Size: 1-5 gal)
Red wine glass - A clear, thin, stemmed glass with a round bowl tapering inward at the rim (Typical Size: 8 oz)
Sherry glassThe preferred glass for aperitifs, ports, and sherry. The copita, with it's aroma enhancing narrow taper, is a type of sherry glass (Typical Size: 2 oz)
Shot glass - A small glass suitable for vodka, whiskey and other liquors. Many "shot" mixed drinks also call for shot glasses (Typical Size: 1.5 oz)
Whiskey sour glass - Also known as a delmonico glass, this is a stemmed, wide opening glass, alike to a small version of a champagne flute (Typical Size: 5 oz)
White wine glass - A clear, thin, stemmed glass with an elongated oval bowl tapering inward at the rim (Typical Size: 12.5 oz)

(2) Bar Equipments

Can Opener - Useful for opening cans of fruit and syrup.
Corkscrew - For opening wine and champagne bottles.
Cloths - For wiping surfaces and equipment. These should be damp and not wet.
Cutting Board - For slicing fruit and other garnishes. This should be heavy and laminated.
Bar Towels - These are 100% cotton and have sewn edges for durability. Use these along with cloths to keep things clean. Make good use of times where you have no guests to clean bottles and wipe surfaces.
Bottle Opener - For opening screw top bottles.
Bottle Sealers - For keeping liquors and other bottle contents fresh.
Cocktail Shaker - Essential for blending ingredients in cocktails and mixed drinks. Use a short, sharp and snappy shaking technique unless otherwise stated. There are many cocktail shakers availablemostly all get the job done. Choose one that's right for you. Always pour the least expensive ingredient into the cocktail shaker first, then if you find you've made a mistake, you've not wasted the expensive liquors.
Electric Blender - Many cocktails require a blender to blend the ingredients smoothly together. Useful for drinks with fruit pieces or ice cream etc.
Grater - To grate spices like nutmeg and others.
Ice Bucket - A metal or insulated ice bucket keeps your ice cold and clean.
Ice Tongs and Scoops - Use these to add ice to drinks. Never handle ice with your hands, it's not only unhygienic, but the heat from your hand will begin to melt the ice. Don't use glassware as a scoopit'll break or chip at best, then you'll have blood and glass in your ice.
Jigger - A measurement tool.
Juice Squeezer/Extractor - Needed for getting the most juice out of your fruits. It helps to soak citrus fruit in hot water before squeezing.
Bar Spoon - A bar spoon with a long handle and a muddler end will allow you to mix and measure ingredients as well as crush garnishes.
Measuring Cups - Normally glass or chrome with incremented measurements imprinted up the side. These are needed for accurate measurements. They usually come with a set of measuring spoons which are needed for the smaller quantities.
Mixing Glass - Useful for long drinks where it is required to mix the ingredients without shaking.
Sharp Knife - For cutting fruit and garnishes.
Strainer - Removes the ice and fruit pulp from juices. This may come with a cocktail shaker.

(3) Mixers & Garnishes

Mixers

Carbonated water (also called soda water, seltzer water, or sparkling water) - Basic

Cola - Coca-Cola, Pepsi, etc. - Basic

Ginger ale - Basic

Lemon Sour

Lemon-lime soda - 7-UP, Sprite, etc. - Basic

Tonic water - Basic

Apple cider

Coconut milk

Cranberry juice - Basic

Grape juice

Grapefruit juice

Lemon juice - Basic

Lemonade

Limeade

Olive juice

Orange juice - Basic

Pineapple juice

Tomato juice - plain or flavored (V-8, Clamato, etc.)

Wheatgrass juice

Cream

Half and half

Ice cream

Milk

Honey

Hot sauce - Tabasco sauce, etc.

Worcestershire sauce

Grenadine - Basic

Garnishes

Lemon slice, twist, or wedge - Basic
Lime slice, twist, or wedge - Basic
Salt, coarse (applied to the rim of glasses) - Basic
Sugar, granulated or powdered - Basic
Carrot sticks
Celery stalks (usually with leaves attached)
Cherries
Cinnamon, grated
Cocktail olives (often stuffed with pimentos)
Cocktail onions
Mint sprigs or leaves
Nutmeg, grated
Orange slice, twist, or wedge
Pineapple slice or wedge
Pepper
Shrimp
Strawberries
Watermelon wedge

With reference to DrinksMixer.com

A Perfect Cocktail Bar for House Parties

2010-02-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Cocktails, Wine, Beer & Mocktails are inevitable for any mature parties. There is little surprise how much people would love to bring the bar concept in their regular clubs into their homes. Amidst the spectacular bar set-ups we have provided in our capacity, here are some of the tips to create a perfect bar setting for your cocktail parties:

(1) Using the current bar counter to portray a magnificent bar layout

We have the privilege to have planned some of the parties where the venues have build-in bar counters. Equipped with all neccessary bar equipments, our bartenders will find a setting with extreme similarity to a preferred club setting. Needless to say, there isn't much work to be done when we set up for these venues except familiarizing ourselves with the bar layout and finding the perfect spirits.

(2) Integration of the kitchen in the party venue (which is usually the living room)

With the living room usually as the main party venue, most of the hosts will "hide" the kitchen to create an elegant setting. Rather than doing that, what a better way to do so than to integrate your kitchen into a mini bar. If your home setting can provide a natural and seamless integration between the living room and kitchen, the kitchen table can well be the bar reception. Washing and cleaning can be done conveniently and the fridge will be easily accessible as well.

(3) DYI "Bar Counter" - for an unique bar set-up

Most of us will probably be thinking where to set up a bar (with no budget to invest in a magnificent bar or our kitchen is not suitable to be converted into bar-setting.) We can simply rent or buy a temporary foldable bar counter or just a table with decent skirting. For a simple set-up like this, the tips to create a presentable bar will be the use of crystal clear glassware and showcase your variety of spirits to create a good impression. You may also customise a drink menu as well as place emphasis on other details (such as simple flowers and candles to beautify the ambience to capture your guests' attention.

In any way that you prefer, any house party can have an impressive bar set-up. In most parties, we observed that the small and meticulous details matter the most in creating a long-lasting impression.

DIY Flower Decoration Ideas

2010-02-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Flowers have long been admired and used by humans, mainly to beautify their environment. With their vibrant colours & scents, it is little surprise that flowers are commonly used in parties & events to bring out the theme as well as the "liveliness" of the ambience.

Question: How to present flowers in their most impressive lasting arrangements without paying big bucks to the florist?

Here are some bright DIY ideas to turn ordinary flowers into impeccable & elegant decor:

(1) Using Fruits to "punch" out the colours of the flowers

(2) Using Fishes to enhance the natural habitat concept

(3) Using Ribbons to add a soft touch to complement the flower arrangement

(4) Using Simple Arrangements to bring out the vibrancy in bright-coloured flowers

...

Party Planner . Singapore

2010-02-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

"Strolling along the sun-kissed beach, you feel a gentle breeze across your cheeks. You take a sip of your tropical Pina Colada. You are immersely embraced by the serenity of the sunny nature - today is a beautiful day. This is the way life should be: carefree, relaxed & tranquil. Your Birthday party is lined up in the next hour. You can rest easy through. because BuddyJane has taken excellent care of all your party arrangements ..."

...

... every moment in life is worth celebrating ...

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The birth of your first child, your 10th wedding anniversary, your mother's 60th birthday, your 1st home, a promotion at work. All these moments deserve to be captured in their most beautiful memories.

...

To celebrate and host any special event, it is an uphill task. Here is where BuddyJane can help you set everything in place. We understand your difficulties in planning an event. The responsibilities are immense and there can be no rewond of any special day. BuddyJane wants to be your dependable and dedicated party planner to help with all the arrangements your need, all that's left for you to do is just enjoy being a perfect host on the day itself!

...

BuddyJane Singapore is a dynamic party planner well-equipped with all party expertise & resources to assist on planning varied events for organisations & individuals.

...

BuddyJane Singapore

http://www.buddyjane.com.sg/

enquiry@buddyjane.com.sg

40C Hongkong Street S(059679)

(65) 6696 8601

Our take on a Chinese New Year (CNY) Celebration Party

2010-02-13T12:00:00.001-08:00

1. Theme
The traditional colour of CNY is red as it is a very auspicious colour. We decided to stick to 3 colours of red, yellow and white (a base colour to neutralise the bright colours).

2. Invitation
Using nostalgic photos provided by the family, we started them on a ‘Guess Who’ game right from the first stage when sending out invitations. Every of the 30 guests received a postcard-sized invitation with a different portrait of a childhood photo (of random family members) on each invitation. The guests were intrigued and were very excited to find out who was on their invitation card during the party. The invitation created a positive vibe to the party where everyone has the photos as a conversation-starter; it became an unusual form of CNY gathering and brought the family members together to understand each other better.

3. Ambience & Decor
We decorated the party venue (which was held at a private residence) with traditional Chinese paintings, lanterns created from ang-baos, cut-outs of various auspicious Chinese words, poems and sayings, and also red, yellow and white balloons. In addition, we created posters made out of more nostalgic photos given to us as a resource, to create a familiar and coherent theme. We created a giant billboard with portraits of everyone’s ‘Then and Now’ photos, and every guest had an opportunity to write a message to each other on the billboard. We also made a video montage which put together every guest’s wishes for the family which made a wonderful memory for the family’s keepsake.

4. Food & Beverages
The family had many young guests who requested for a different kind of CNY meal. Thus, apart from having the traditional steamboat, we had a Fusion buffet menu created for the younger generations. Collaborating with our caterer, we especially ordered in ingredients imported from Taiwan to create unique CNY dishes for the family, such as 貢丸湯 (pork balls soup), 魷魚羹 (cuttlefish thickened soup), 魯肉飯 (stewed pork rice), 菜脯卵 (white radish omelette) and 芋仔冰 (taro dessert). We also created phoenix and dragon carvings made out of carrots to add a wonderful touch to the food decorations. To the family, they regarded tasting new cuisines very auspicious to kick off the New Year and the unique menu added a great cheer to the party.

5. Entertainment & Games
For entertainment, we rented and set-up a Karaoke system for the entire night, including a wide selection of English, Chinese and Hokkien songs which the family thoroughly enjoyed. At the family’s request, a lion dance troop was brought in at 8pm (the most auspicious time of that evening) to ‘bring in’ luck to the family. Wrapping up the event, we revealed the answers to the ‘Guess Who’ game and gave an ‘auspicious gift bag’ (which includes chocolate ingots, many sweets, and a Singapore Sweep ticket in an ang-bao) to every guest.

BuddyJane Singapore Social Networks

2010-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

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"U Weekly" (January 2010 - issue 216)

2010-01-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

BuddyJane Singapore featured on "U Weekly"
January 2010 - issue 216

Free BuddyJane "Car Decal" Giveaway!

2010-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

E-mail your name (with your postal address) to enquiry@buddyjane.com.sg & we will mail the decal to your doorstep :)

"Lianhe Zaobao" (X'mas 2009 edition)

2009-12-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

BuddyJane Singapore featured on "Lianhe Zaobao"
X'mas 2009 issue

Guide to Planning a Perfect Party

2009-12-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

A party is a joyful event to bring friends and family together to celebrate a significant and special occasion. To host a successful party, it is best to have an objective and feel of the party in mind. Once you have decided on an idea of the party, the rest of your planning work will be naturally an extension of the idea. For example, Valentine’s Day is a romantic celebration to make your special someone feels loved and cherished, and it is best to have an intimate and romantic time together between a couple. Chinese New Year is a reunion of relatives and friends to have a get-together in the most joyous festival in the Chinese calendar, it will usually involve a large group of people. Once you have the objective of the party in mind, it will be easy to plan and make the necessary arrangements for a perfect party. With these points in mind, we have put together our thoughts below:

To-Do list (General party)

1. Theme
Start by thinking of a coherent party theme which will leave a deep, long-lasting and positive impression on your guests. Think of the things, hobbies, people, colours, characters, etc that you or the celebrated person likes and you will have many ideas for your theme. You can ask yourself: Do you want everyone to come dressed in extravagant costumes or have a fanciful cocktail party? You can have anything from an Italian party (where maybe everyone can come in Mafia black and white colours), or Old-School Prom (where your guests come dressed in a prom outfit like school days), or even extreme costume parties such as dress up as Anime, Star Wars, Sanrio or Disney characters. People love a good fun but bear in mind to make sure your guests attending understands the theme well and will know how to dress accordingly.

2. Invitation
The invitations that you send out to your guests are your very first contact with everyone attending, so make sure your invitation leaves a very deep impression. A tip: Do your invitations in accordance to your theme, this will bring great coherence to your party. You can create an invitation in your chosen party colours or do a personalised invitation which is always lovely to receive; you can add photos of yourself, your family or your pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, etc) on your invitation to have a personal touch. Basic information to include: Date & Time of party, Venue, Theme of party, any colour theme or dress-ups. We always include a map of ‘How to Get There’ in our clients’ invitations to make sure no guests lose their way. Remember that the main objective of the invitation is to make your guests feel excited and come to your party well-prepared, so be creative and fun in your approach!

3. Ambience & Decor
The mood of a party is very dependent on how you dress up your party venue. Think of the 5 senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). These have never gone wrong for us:

a. Always have a colour theme (our clients find pastel colours very pleasing or you can decide based on the main colours of the holidays if you are having a festive gathering, for example, for Valentine’s Day, white, pink and a little red brings out the mood tremendously).
b. Party decorations such as balloons, streamers and banners (especially with birthdays, newborn parties, engagements, congratulatory parties) are the basic essentials. An additional idea you can add-on is giving each guest a party gift bag (with party poppers, party hats, sweets, chocolates, and it is very relevant if you can include an item that symbolises the theme such as maybe a small Lightsaber if you are having a Star Wars theme party). We also like to take instant Polaroids of each guest on the day of the party and add this Polaroid to their gift bag, this is highly suggested if you are having a children’s party as children love this activity very much. We also like to decorate the venue with flower petals if it is a romantic occasion, a simple way is to randomly drop flower petals around the reception and dining table. Do make sure that your decorations follow your theme as well to ensure consistency.
c. Flowers are extremely important and it is our favourite and key feature in any party, as they not only give a very elegant touch but we love that their scent creates a grand ambience. Decorate with your or the celebrated person’s favourite flowers or choose flowers in the colour of your theme. Frequently, our clients request for roses, lilies, gerberas and sunflowers.
d. Other than flowers, you may choose to add on aromatic candles to bring out the overall scent in the party venue. Place candles in proper holders and in high positions though, particularly if there will be children at your party to ensure safety for everyone.
e. Lighting can be created by many candles placed around the venue, or simply make some adjustments to your usual lighting at home if you are having a house party.
f. If you are having a reception area, this area must be decorated with the most of everything related to the theme, we like placing a big flower arrangement here to make an impact at the doorstep.
g. On top of everything, our expertise is to decorate the whole party venue with posters, banners and billboards to completely bring out the theme. Putting up posters all around the venue which hold significant meaning such as memorable photos of the celebrated person’s, having a giant billboard of the celebrated person’s portrait with personalised messages signed off by all party guests will also bring a lovely touch to the party atmosphere. Posters can also be customised according to the theme, if you are having a Star Wars theme, consider having posters of various movie screenshots or lifesize cut-outs of Star Wars characters placed all over the venue.

4. Food & Beverages
Remember your theme when deciding F&B as well, if you are having catered food, a simple addition will be to create ‘themed’ names for your food and drinks items. We suggest catering food if the crowd is anything more than 25, as this frees up your time in preparing for other party matters if you are doing the planning yourself.

5. Entertainment & Games
Your guests will love to be entertained during your party. To have a good party, consider engaging a live musician or 2-piece Mini-band (that plays jazz, rock or anything to your preference), street magician or tarot card reader (teenagers love this a lot). For children’s parties, clowns (but do take care in introducing him gently to young children as we have experiences of them being a little afraid of such a colourful and big stranger at first), animal shows, story-teller and puppet shows are always popular.

"Young Parents" (December 2009)

2009-12-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

BuddyJane Singapore featured on "Young Parents"
December 2009 issue

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2009-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

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