Party @ McDonald's

Over the weekend, I attended my nephews’ birthday celebration at McDonald’s that featured a professional entertainer (magician, clown, balloonist all in one). Both of them shared an express party (2 hours) as their actual birthdays are less than a month apart. How appropriate for our lifestyles today. If you fell asleep like my younger nephew did, you would have missed the whole party. By the time we left, the next birthday kid was waiting outside the door. So you have to give McDonald’s credit for having perfected the art of mass production.

I was looking forward to a McDonald’s birthday cake with sugar figurines of Ronald and the gang. But, my sister-in-law ordered special jelly cakes for both the boys (1 jeep and 1 sports car). She also spent the night before wrapping party packs to entertain the kids with when they arrive (McDonald’s hands out their gift packs at the end of the party).

I couldn't help drawing comparisons with my own McDonald's birthday party which was held over 2 decades ago. The food is the same (love the French fries). The location and decor similar. The service world’s apart. Back then, you just paid for the food and they let you have the party for more than 2 hours. Nowadays, its $7.50 per kid in addition to food and limited to 2 hours (the staff will start chasing you out 15min before the end of the time slot). The games and entertainment by the McDonald’s staff wasn’t too good, so it was good thinking on the part of the parents’ to hire an all-in-one entertainer for an hour. There just wasn’t any time left to open the presents or have any other forms of entertainment. The birthday boys had to wait until they got home to open their presents. We even caught some parents buying food for their kids after the party as there wasn’t enough time to finish their meals.

This week’s happy meal toys will drive some of my friends nuts with a range of pink & sparkly Hello Kitty stuff.

Tips for a fuss-free party:
- When dealing with kids, its best to leave it to the professionals.
- You can get everything you need from Toys’r’us. They even provide free wrapping.
- Heard those party stuff shops at The Concourse will be moving to Tekka Mall.