[Media Invite] Barney’s Jukebox Party ‘Live’ Meet and Greet at City Square Mall

So if like me, you have two kids who are of different genders, you will know how hard it is to find an activity that is a perfect fit for both or a cartoon character that both adore or can relate to. Actually scrape that, if you are a parent with at least 2 kids, you will probably be able to relate to that anyhow. The constant competition to either go for the exact same toy or both deciding that they want to do something totally different for the weekend. :p

Have you seen our house? It’s like a toy shop because we basically had to cater to both their preferences. Kids 1 Parents 0

Which is why I get very excited when there shows or appearances by cartoon characters which they both love. Of course even better when they are free for them to catch. Yes I admit that I’ve had to exclude Bella from watching Peppa Pig Live because it was just not economically viable to bring both kids with 2 adults and pay top $ for good seats. We had to pick who we thought would enjoy it more and the jury is still out on whether we made the right choice.

So it was fantastic when we heard that City Square Mall had Barney and Friends over for the June Holidays! City Square Mall has always been known to put up a good show so we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. 🙂 The last time JahBella ‘met’ Barney and Friends it was over Christmas and Bella was so much younger. This time around she knew all of the Barney songs that were played while we waited and she sang and danced along to them.

Oh my goodness!!!! I’m really going to meet him!!

The wheels on the bus!

Is that barney???!!!

The show seemed to feature very new/ original tunes which maybe I wasn’t familiar with :p If anything I wished that there were more sing-a-long tunes like the ones they played before the show started. But of course there was the all time favourite “I Love you, You Love Me” at the end of the show. What I do love about these character performances at Ctiy Square Mall is that they are always of a decent length. Not to short that you feel silly queuing or waiting for it and they almost always have some fringe activities to entertain the kids with before or after at their City Green (outside the mall). More on their Uncle Ringo Carnival (happening till the end of this month), in our next post.

So if you have not been done to City Square Mall yet for their latest show or if you are still wondering where to bring the kids this weekend, this might be a good reason to head down there. Take note that this is the last weekend it is happening!

Oh yes and don’t forget to grab your meet and greet passes for the show too! With a minimum spending of $60, shoppers can redeem an exclusive pass for the Meet & Greet session and a carnival ticket one hour prior to each show. Limited to 50 sets per show and terms and conditions apply.

Barney’s Jukebox Party ‘Live’ On Stage

Date: 6 – 21 June (Daily except Mondays)
Time: 1pm & 7pm (Tue – Fri); 1pm, 4pm & 7pm (Sat & Sun)
Venue: Level 1 Atrium

Smile! it’s still the holidays! 😉

JahBella’s Mummy

22Dec2014

Fire Station Open House – JahBella’s first visit

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

I have always wanted to bring Jah for a fire station visit but figured we will wait till he is a little older to ‘get it’. So when we were looking for a ‘quick morning outing’ this Saturday, we thought why not the fire station. A quick morning outing for us = one that will allow us to be home by 12 noon for a nap and is usually required when we have an early evening commitment planned.

We found out that most fire stations in Singapore conduct Open House tours every Saturday from 9am to 11am. We weren’t sure if this meant that we could go in at 10am? 1030am? So we headed out bright and early and arrived on the dot at 9am. We later noticed that tours were being held as visitors came in, some tours fuller than others and I suppose it also depends on the manpower at the station at that point.

We were given a tour of the station, well more so of the vehicles and equipments which the Firemen use. The highlight for the kids was of course when they were allowed to use the equipment to fight the ‘fire’/orange cones. As always Jah took a while to warm up to new activities and was abit hesistant to fight the fire or to sit in the vehicles for photos. He decided post tour that he would ‘do more’ the next visit.

Bella on the other hand was super eager to get her hands dirty. We really didn’t think to offer her a chance at fighting fire, I mean she is only 19 months old but she actually ‘asked’ to do it. She is well and truly our little no fear fighter.

We didn’t quite know what to expect from the fire station visit but I would say it was a rather educational tour especially for the adults and it was good fun for the kids. Every kid was given a little SCDF plastic fireman helmet which Jah and Bella loved and yes this is definitely an activity that we would do again.

JahBella’s Mummy

19Dec2014

Hard Rock Food – Room Service, Kings Club and Restaurants

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, penang by jahbella

Penang is definitely the haven for good food and I am always complaining that there is just never enough days on our Penang trip to eat everything we want to eat. This is made even worse when your hotel also serves fantastic food!! Yes it is a torture to be spoilt for choice. :p

We started our trip on a really good note – awesome Italian food at the Hard Rock. We were rather tired by the time we arrived. After an hour long car ride and kids nearing their nap time, I was very worried that waiting for lunch would be a nightmare. However the food was served really quickly and the good service and bubbly staff were really infectious. You can tell from JahBella’s big smiles that they had forgotten about the long journey here already and a nice nap was awaiting for our full bellies.

We over ordered!!! The portions were huge even for the kids meal!

She doesn’t smile when waiting for her food anymore…:( She screams!

First of many mocktails during the trip

We had the standard buffet breakfast at their main restaurant during the first half of our stay (when we were staying in the Lil Rock Star Suite. Given that the hotel was on full occupancy, there seemed to always be seats available at the main restaurant. The variety of the buffet was also really good – from Asian (Hawker fare) to Cereals to Western to their own ‘pau’ section. Kids were also given their own cutlery which made the experience extremely kiddy friendly.

Appetizer?

During the second half of our stay, we enjoyed our breakfast at the Kings Club (when we were staying in the Rock Star Suite). The Kings Club breakfast offered a very limited buffet spread with the standard cereals, fruits, muffins and a small selection of hot food. The real star of the Kings Club breakfast is their ala carte buffet menu that you can order from. Having your food served to you is always welcomed when you have kids to take care of. We were so spoilt for choice and we had to stop ourselves from over ordering.

Its almost like he had breakfast in bed…

Hot breakfast served at your table

Breakfast Menu! Hungry yet?

Staying at the Rock Star Suite also allowed us access to the Kings Club to enjoy teatime snacks and evening cocktail. We were there for a quick evening cocktail before heading out for dinner and Jah was extremely happy with the chocolate tarts and mocktails. 😉

Want to share? 😀

While room service is often a last resort, Hard Rock’s Room service is one of the best I’ve had. The kids were too tired after their morning swim to head anywhere so we settled for room service and discovered a gem! Jah loved his Fish & Chips while we were very very pleased with their Nasi Goreng. We were not expected much but found their Asian fare to be pretty authentic. We also tried their lamb with pea mash and I can tell you that I have never tasted such a good pie before. The room service meals were so good that we actually had it for two days.

So if you are concerned about what to eat in Penang (hmmmm..) especially if your kids might be too tired to head out or if like me, you had a little one with a fever on the last 2 days. Then Hard Rock is the perfect place to base yourself out of and enjoy their wonderful yummy treats.

Next Up – Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!!!! (Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

JahBella’s Mummy

18Dec2014

Hokey Pokey – Seletar Mall

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

JahBella have been to several indoor playgrounds before but they have never visited Hokey Pokey. So when we found out that they had open an outlet near to us and even nearer to our upcoming new place, we were keen to find out if it could become one of our regular spots.

We arrived at the newly opened Seletar Mall at 10am and there was no lack of parking space (although I heard from my sister that the parking gets very full towards the evening). Hokey Pokey is an indoor playground for babies from 6 months old to young kids up to 6 years old. None of the tedious climbing and crawling through tunnels for us old bones but I was worried that the activity level would be too mild for my active 3 year old.

The entry fee on weekends are $26 for 2 hours of play and upon a quick survey of their environment and facilities, we decided to ‘invest’ in a member’s package. The annual package cost $58 and it consists of 2 free sessions (day of purchase and during birthday month). It also included 1 free soft drink per visit (perfect for the thirsty parent) and discounted rates of $16 on weekends for 2 hours of play. We were also given a sibling discount for our 2^nd package at $38! As we signed up during their Christmas promo, we bagged an additional session + a free Christmas goodie bag and a nice box of cupcake and Christmas cookie. It was a really really nice gesture!

JahBella were the first kids there and they were blown away by the variety of toys there! There was a section with huge trucks, cars and Starwars characters which Jah could not tear himself away from. He alternated between that corner and another section with cars and ramps. Bella, on the other hand was all over the place, from the ball pit to the princess corner, from Thomas the train ride on a ramp to the kitchen corner. She played with everything!

Not a huge space but the variety was huge and the toys were so new!

Jah’s favourite area – he picked an orange Porsche from there and it never left his sight until we left

A wonderland of car ramps

His own Star Wars Battle

Boys can play with doll houses too 🙂

Whee!!

Where’s the baby?

Spoilt for choice

There were so many rides available – personally I find this Crayola ride super cute!

For the hungry parent or kids, there is a small café with a few tables and bar counter that overlooked the play area so you are never too far off from your child.

The two hours past really quickly and while the kids were not totally exhausted and thank goodness neither we were, they really enjoyed themselves. The ‘mild’ activity level was not a concerned because they were kept so occupied. The only problem would be prying them away from their newfound favourite toy or finding a way to say no to their request to buy a certain toy.

Jah declared that he would like to come back soon and yes I am pretty sure we will be.

JahBella’s Mummy

12Dec2014

The Chuggington Winter Snow Party – City Square Mall (Meet & Greet Dec 2014)

Posted in Media Invite, Reviews, Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

JahBella’s first encounter with a mall’s Live Show/ Meet & Greet was almost a year ago. My then wide-eyed babies were thrilled at meeting a ‘live’ cartoon character that they recognized from TV however the experience itself was somewhat underwhelming, with the live show being only 10 minutes long. Safe to say, I have been very hesistant since then to bring them for any Live Shows/ Meet & Greet.

After almost a year since their first rather disappointing encounter, we finally mustered enough courage to brave the crowds and take a ‘leap of faith’ :p We were invited to attend City Square Mall’s The Chuggington Winter Snow Party and I have to say it was awesome fun! There was song and dance, playful banter, a light-up and even a snowy finale! Both Jah and Bella were in their own little world and while Jah is still pretty shy when it comes to following the dance moves, he was really transfixed on the show. What I really liked about the show was the fact that the cast came on stage to engage restless kids, 10 minutes before the actual showtime. Consider it a pre-quel but it was very helpful for kids who have been waiting for almost 45 minutes to an hour. A useful tip which I just ‘discovered’ yesterday, is to provide your kid with your own pre-quel. We let Jah watch an episode of Chuggington on Joel’s handphone and he was able to be kept entertained. He only switched it off when Lorie appeared on stage during the pre-show warm up.

Waiting for showtime!

Its showtime!!

Live shows are not just for the big kids! 🙂

This is his focus face, not angry face 😉

Meet & Greet Photo time!

Lots of Chuggington photo ops in the mall

I also have to say that City Square Mall probably has one of the better Christmas experiences this year. Apart from the Live Show/ Meet & Greet that other malls may also do, City Square Mall has a host of fringe activities which is happening outside on the City Green (just outside the mall). The activities include Kiddy Carnival Rides, Christmas Light Show and Snow Playtime and the Choo-Choo City Express. We were fortunate that the rain settled down while we were watching the live show and ended just in time for JahBella to enjoy the Choo-Choo City Express and the Snow Playtime. JahBella really enjoyed their train ride and while I didn’t think much of it at first, I could see why the kids were so taken by it. The train with a real driver and not just a kiddy train ride on little tracks, would take you round the entire City Green (3 times!) and JahBella were happily taking in the sights and people-watching, even I enjoyed it! While I didn’t allow Jah to play in the ‘snow’/foam (sorry mummy is a bit of a control freak with these things) but I saw tons of kids enjoying the ‘snow’ and Jah was equally happy and contented to have me carry him and get ‘snow’ on our hair, face and eyelashes. 🙂

Baby its cold outside!

Lights and Snow Play time

A real driver? Wow!

Say cheese!

Taking in the lovely sights!

Event Details

The Chuggington Winter Snow Party will run from 6 December to 21 December (daily except Monday) at City Square Mall. Fans can also get up close and snap a family photo with their favourite characters by redeeming a Meet & Greet Pass with $50 spent in the mall (terms and conditions apply).