Hubby's 33rd Surprise Golf Birthday Party

The birthday boy!

Hubby turned 33 last Wednesday.

Coincidentally, Deepavali fell on the same date, hence he kept telling everyone that the Malaysian government granted everyone a holiday in conjunction with his 33rd birthday *ppfftt*

If last year we had a quiet celebration at The Majestic, this year it was the complete opposite!

I had always wanted to plan a golf party for Hubby. This year, I was determined to make it happen. I told Hubby of my intention to invite a few close friends, neighbours and family to celebrate his birthday, and he agreed. Little did he know that I was hatching a plan behind his back. During one of my business trips away from home, I contacted one of his colleagues and requested for his help to secretly invite 50 of hubby's best buddies to the party.

Back home, I made sure that my phone was with me at all times. I didn't want Hubby snooping through my phone and discovering my secret messages with his friend. Knowing that we wouldn't have have enough space to fit all his friends in our humble home, I secretly arranged for a khemah to be erected the day before the party. I also ordered his favourite kuih melayu from our favourite Akak Kotak; she makes the best Bingka Ubi and Pulut Panggang! Close neighbours who were helping me bake/cook were given strict instructions to not tell Hubby that we were baking and cooking for 50 pax.

Tuesday came and the khemah was installed in our garden that afternoon. Meanwhile, occupants of the house (read: moi and maid) plus my super duper friendly and pandai masak neighbours, were running around like headless chickens; cooking! Okay fine, they were cooking, I was busy icing the cake, covering the cake with fondant, putting buttercream on the cupcakes. Thankfully I had prepared the Macarons, Red Velvet Cake, Congo Bars and Tiramisu well ahead. The house was filled with multiple aromas; vanilla cupcakes from the oven, and kari tumis from the kitchen. That night, the talented neighbours also made Singgang Daging for dinner (meat from the recent Kurban) whilst I ordered Dominos Pizza for the kids. Hubby returned home that night all confused - there was so much action going on in the house, not to mention a khemah in the garden! (I had to tell a white lie; that I was worried it would rain the next day hence the khemah. And phewwww he bought it!)

Wednesday!

Finally, Wednesday arrived and I woke up bright and early to prepare breakfast in bed for Hubby (separate post coming up on this). Then I immediately got to work, putting the final touches on the dessert table and plating dishes on the buffet table.

Printables from yours truly. Each table was decorated with two frames which showcased golf themed posters.

Golf flags in a vase full of golf tees.

So before we get to the food and the party, let's have a look at the dessert table. I decided on a green and blue theme for the party. I tried to incorporate as much golf elements as I could; green grass, golf balls, golf tees, grass cupcakes...

The dessert table.

Wooden letters from Typo.

The birthday cake! We stayed up till close to 3am putting the finishing touches on the golf bag. Did you notice that it is the exact replica of Hubby's actual golf bag?

Here's a close up of the fondant golf bag; front, side and back view. The golf bag even incorporated the flap at the back of the bag. Also a Scotty Cameron putter with the famous three red dots.

My version of the golf range. Green buttercream "grass", green crystal sugar "turf" and biscuit "sand".

A fondant golf ball for each terrain, and of course, the 19th hole!

Personalized chocolate. Since this was an adult party, I didn't bother including Hubby's name. I simply used his age as the signature for his party.

Green grass cupcakes and buttercream swirl cupcakes adorned with matching golf flags.

Water hazard! Tied a striped paper straw and a golf tee together with a piece of string to decorate the cute water bottles.

Hole-In One mini doughnuts! Turf grass from Daiso.

Tee-ramisu! Look at those layers... *drool* Golf paper plates from Oriental Trading.

I didn't have time to dip the pretzels into chocolate. But they were good nevertheless. The Garrett popcorn was a hit too!

I also made matching green and macarons. They looked really good in my brand new apothecary jars!

And the final touch to the golf decorations - golf sticks filled with candy as door gifts for the kids to bring home. Each came with a favour tag with Hubby's age, of course!

Okay, let's get back to the party. Party was due to start at 3pm so Hubby and I started getting ready half an hour before. After performing Zuhur prayers, Hubby was hanging out near our bedroom window whilst waiting for me to dress up. Suddenly he saw a car drive up to our house, and he became intrigued because he didn't recognize the vehicle. Meanwhile, I was coaxing him to go downstairs because I didn't want him to see his friends from, of all places, our bedroom window! But he insisted on looking outside the window, and the minute he saw his friends piling out of the car, his jaw dropped. "Yang, you jemput my friends??!!" Hmm... to be honest I wasn't sure whether he was angry or excited! He ran downstairs to greet his friends, and on his way down, I yelled "Surprise!!!" from the top of the staircase, silently hoping that he wasn't pissed that I invited his friends behind his back.

So here's what my neighbours and I cooked for the day: Mee Kari, Nasi Goreng, Roti Jala and Kari Ayam, Pulut Kuning and Rendang Ayam. I also ordered Satay and Kuah Kacang from our local Bukit Jelutong satay shop. Oh and you know, those fabulous catering equipment below? My neighbours and I collectively purchased those. So anytime any one of us wants to have a party, we'll just pool the sets together to make up a buffet line. Brilliant idea, right?

The scrumptious food. Ooppss, the condiments for the mee kari were missing.

Much better picture; cling wraps removed, condiments included.

My favourite corner, the dessert corner! Bingka Ubi, Pulut Panggang, Akok, Karipap and Temosa for the Malay palate. Red Velvet cake, Tiramisu and Congo Bars for your sweet tooth.

Look at that deep red colour... *swoon*

We used Aiden's junior golf bag as a prop at the buffet line. Hubby generously contributed effort for cementing the pole.

Cheeky Aiden posing with the door gift.

That adorable grin!

Hubby hanging out with some of his friends.

Alhamdulillah it didn't rain. Nice weather too, not sunny but cool.

Oh this boy cannot be left unattended! He actually tried stuffing a golf ball into his mouth!

Aiden's afternoon playmate. Testing his swing skills.

Hubby posing with some of his colleagues .

Right after his friends left, his sisters got into action. They initially wanted to surprise Hubby with the birthday cake when his friends and colleagues were still around, but I declined. Save face lah!

Posing with the birthday cake.

Hubby surrounded by the neighbourhood kids who sang "Happy Birthday Uncle Siddiq" numerous times, as requested by the birthday boy.

See how short the candles were? That was how long the kids had to sing before the birthday boy finally agreed to blow the candles and cut the cake.

Family photo, without Ian yet again.

Aiden and his Uncle Darwish. Aiden is certainly taller than his uncle!

Last picture for the party. Aiden walked in, saw the balloons and said "Eh, Darwish forgot his balloons" and actually ran out barefooted to deliver the balloons. Unfortunately Darwish declined the balloons so Aiden walked dejectedly back home. So cute!

Finally, we waved goodbye to our last guests and started packing up for the night. And also pose for pictures with the dessert table. Check out our tired faces below.

Selfie!

So happy that the kids wiped the dessert table clean.

Identical, no?

Happy 33rd Birthday Hubby. I hope you had a great surprise party. Now let's see how you're going to top this for my birthday in exactly one month, one week and one day!