HELLO, 2017
As mentioned in a previous blog post, as much as possible it is very important to plan out your birthday parties 6 months in advance. The net effect of this on event stylists such as I is that while everyone right now is looking forward to Christmas and the holidays, I am tediously concerned with the execution of my parties for this coming weekend and also with the planning of parties for next year 2017! Even as we speak the Party Magic crew is busy conceptualizing, booking suppliers, and preparing for parties from January to June 2017.
This type of looking a few steps in front of me and looking a mile away at the same time can sometimes be downright confusing and disorienting. It also has the effect of feeling that time is always slipping through your fingers. Which is why I cherish my “family time” very much and the attitude of “living in the moment”. Definitely a philosophy in tune with Party Magic and event styling as well!
A KUNG FU SPECIAL
In line with the recently celebrated Mooncake Festival (hello dice games and prizes!), here’s a treat I’d like to show off to you: Lucio’s Kung Fu Panda Birthday Party!
A mascot Po doing some funny poses in Lucio’s party
Credits for the photos goes to Mayad Beginnings
I can’t say enough how much FUN it was to design this birthday bash. It was a total deviation from the usual of Party Magic’s works, and I mostly had to figure out ways on how to combine oriental design elements with the Kung Fu Panda character universe.
Now, do me a favor and close your eyes. Imagine that you are entering a strange new land, and with the song Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting (Oh oh-oh-ohhhh…) playing in the background. Then you see this:
Po and the Furious Five. Can anybody spell, AWESOME?
Just look at that stage! This was specially built extra tall, to make the Chinese temple seem extra-looming. And of course, front and center is Po and the Furious Five in full martial pose (hee-yaw!!!) This was the first thing the guests saw, and what a sight it was.
The next thing they noticed was The Furious Five Academy:
The Furious Five Academy. Definitely not for the faint-hearted!
While thinking about what in the world would put for Lucio’s photo area, I had this crazy area: what if we put a sort of “training room”, kind of like that scary training hall where Po started off as a kung fu novice:
Po looks on in amazement as Tigress prowls the obstacle course, completely unfazed
But I didn’t want it to be as dark and scary as the one in the movies, of course. So I thought it would be nice to put in those cute-looking punching bags Po used to practice with!
Po bringing on the “thunder” against this poor punching bag
Here’s our own version:
Kung Fu Panda-style punching bag looking worried as he waits for the next punch
What’s more, I thought it would be totally cool if I could put in these inspiring posters with captions such as, Your real strength comes from being your best you, or:
This one from Master Shifu is my personal favorite (“shifu” is 师傅 in Chinese, which literally means master, so his name is actually “Master master”!):
For the dessert station, a great idea would be to create your own version of Mr. Ping’s famous noodle shop!
This is where bakers get to showcase their creativity, by creating delicacies such as yin and yang cookies, and Po the Panda cupcakes!
Lucio’s birthday cake was tastefully designed as well, with Po against all odds balancing various objects on his head, hands, and legs:
The most fun part of the party however, were the guests themselves. I always contend that birthday parties are best celebrated when guests come in full character:
These boys are really feeling their kung fu!
Watch out for that fireball!
The girls came in style as well, all dressed in the traditional Chinese dress cheongsam.
Now here’s the program of the party:
In the above picture, the party’s adventurous host is totally feeling her kung fu!
Given all those juggling acts that Po clumsily did in the movies, I think it was also fitting to showcase a juggling act in Lucio’s event. Just take a look at stacked table!
And here we have a concert act where there’s a sing and dance segment. Look at those transfixed kids!
A most adventuresome and awesome birthday to you, Lucio!
Love,
Michelle
All these games = fond childhood memories . Nintendo had so many quality games . The 90s was the golden age of gaming. Damnit makes me want to hunt down a snes now .I do have Roms but it’s not the same . … Btw Eye of the beholder was one of the greatest rpgs released for SNES.