Eager to find out, we organised Azur’s birthday party at the marina, with no other plan B than using Obelix and the marina lounge for shelter in case of extreme weather. Needless to say that as the week-end approached, and, with it, its sub-optimal forecast, the weakness of our plan B kept me up all night, worrying about how to handle all these kids’ energy on a rainy day, and coming up with ideas of activities that could be done in the rain, keeping kids warm and entertained. Parents were also warned to bring rain jackets as we would hold the party outdoors not matter what (no way I would stay indoors for two hours, in a confined area, surrounded by thirteen kids!).
Fortunately the sky gods were with us and not a single drop fell between 2 and 4pm, which allowed us to make the most of the marina settings and offer our thirteen Padawans, aged 5 to 10, a rather unconventional program.
We started with trolley races on the green, which took an unexpected turn when us parents raced each other and the excited kids begged us to be next to jump in our trolley given how much faster we were going compared to their friends. However the fun was cut short due to both our limited level of fitness. Then we took a walk on the wrong pier to look for Obelix (I had mentioned to Zephyr we might have moved the boat for this), and after finally spotting the boat from behind, the kids ran to the correct pier for a brief visit of our floating home. One Padawan required a bit of convincing to jump onboard observing that it ‘moved’. After taking a few pictures as proof, we invited the kids back on the green for a scavenger hunt where they had to collect clues, drawings by Azur carefully slid inside ziplock bags and behind which I had written where to meet next: the marina lounge. We then had the much expected afternoon tea where a Yoda green apple and an Ewok coconut were safely guarding the rest of the Star Wars-themed snacks that Thomas had spent his Friday off preparing. Red and green grapes light sabers disappeared in a flash, the somewhat overcooked Wookie cookies didn’t deter the kids, and there was a queue to paint jumbo marshmallows with chocolate sauce and turn them into edible Storm Troopers. When everyone was sweetened-up, we had a crazy pinata session outside the lounge, with a pinata so full it was already bursting open and needed to be taped before proceeding, followed by fair and square distribution of the lollies, and finally opening of the presents.
Trolley race 
What’s that? 
Azur inspecting the afternoon tea 
Star Azur cake 
Blowing the 8 candles 
Destroyed pinata 
Don’t mess with a Jedi 
Obelix full of Padawans
The entire afternoon was a great success which didn’t warrant any of the worrying of the night before. A worthwhile investment considering Zephyr comment “I can’t believe how quick two hours can go”, and Azur who had “his best birthday party ever” and has been busy since, building his Star Wars lego kits while wearing his new Jedi outfit.
The evening was spent winding down in front of a movie: Star Wars episode III.
