The brief
A second birthday at a Canggu villa with a wide paved forecourt and jungle on every side. The guest list ran from a baby in arms to boys of eight or nine, which is the real problem with a second birthday: the decor is for the parents and the toddler, and the entertainment has to hold children four times his age.
What we built
A set in powder blue and caramel rather than primary colours — <i>Happy Birthday Super Boy, 2 years</i> in gold script on a curved board, two aeroplanes hand-painted with their pilots leaning out, sculpted clouds, a vintage car cut out with a <i>2</i> on the door, and a tall terracotta <i>2</i> studded with bulbs. The balloon garland ran dusty blue, sand, caramel and white with silver foil stars pushed through it.
How the day went
We parked a fleet on the forecourt: a white Vespa, a red Jeep, a red motorbike, a small blue bike. The older boys rode them all afternoon and the two-year-old was carried through it. Two entertainers in racing suits handed out race numbers on lanyards and ran a scooter race between paper cups, and the monster-truck piñata went to the biggest swinger in the group. The family photograph, all five of them under the aeroplanes, is the one that went home.
What the parents got
A set soft enough to hang in the hallway afterwards, and an afternoon where the nine-year-olds were as busy as the toddler. Nobody was standing around waiting for cake.
