I’m still recovering from the aftermath of Happee Day. You know what event planning and giving birth have in common? They’re both hardcore – the adrenaline you get from the experience is totally intense.

Also, if you think about it, the actual event is very much like delivering the baby and all that post-event coverage, that’s like delivering the placenta. Unless you had a c-section, then that’s just like taking a nap while getting high.

It was all worth it, though, and so heartwarming to see everyone going all out to make it happen for the kids. The event ran like clockwork because everyone worked together in perfect symmetry, some arranging tables, others blowing bubbles, giving out ice-cream, sharing brownies and slapping hi-fives. I know I’ve said thank you many times but if it’s worth saying once then it’s worth saying again.

At one point while we were up to our eyeballs in all the planning and coordination, we did wonder if one day would actually make a difference. We’re not curing cancer or anything, and some might just call it mucking around.

But I think having fun is underrated. If life is made up of a series of moments, then these are the moments that we’ll look back at and remember.

Like there was this little boy in a beanie hat at the Rockband gaming booth. He was on the drums and the music from the DJ console was so loud he couldn’t hear a single note from the gaming console. But he was rocking out like he was drumming for U2 at Madison Square Garden. It was just a bunch of tiny flashing lights on a TV screen but he made it look so awesome.

And the kid who felt like he was a real pirate for a day, in a world where he was fighting baddies next to Ironman. And the kid who chased down The Flash and caught him so he could go to school and tell everyone how he ran faster than The Flash (come on, that’s some serious street cred right there). And the girl who made the prettiest cake in the whole wide world.

Some of you asked if we’re doing this again. At first, we weren’t sure if this first one would even take off but having met the kids, if just one of them went home feeling like a superstar, then hell yeah, we’re doing this again. Maybe not in the exact same way because we’re already thinking of how to up the ante for the next one.

If there’s one thing I learnt from this, it’s that people have heart and they want to make a difference. I’m truly awed to have done this together with you.

First of all, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came down for Happee Day. You guys made it a huge success and to all the families from CCF who took time to be there, I hope you had as much fun as I did. Thank you for letting us be part of your world.

The turnout was spectacular, with 50 kids from CCF (and 34 accompanying adults) and over 150 volunteers who came by to Hort Park yesterday. It was like a year’s worth of awesomeness packed into 3 hours, with mascots, superheroes, a bouncy castle, the best food, desserts and a whole host of activities for the kids. And apart from the 20 minutes of slight drizzle, we also had the most amazing weather for the event.

Ok, I’m just going to show you the pictures instead.

Apparently, the superheroes were a phenomenal hit. By that, I mean the kids were either in awe or terrified. That’s why they made large guns to protect themselves. I tried explaining that Batman was supposed to be the good guy but I don’t think they were convinced at all. Some kids were still intent on maintaining their distance even after we unmasked the very dashing Batman.

Indoors, the booths were all seeing a lot of non-stop action. I think it was a tough call between running wild out on the lawn and checking out all the cool activities indoors.

At 1130, the dancers from O School put up an Ironman dance performance that got the kids all excited. I mean, Ironman. Dancing. And fighting baddies at the same time.

Nuff said.

For the grand finale, Jimmy the Juggler got everyone oohing and aahing with his nifty moves. Due to some constraints, he couldn’t juggle fire but he ended up juggling machetes instead, which was far more badass. If he had caught fire, it would have been easily put out with our on-site extinguishers but if he had sliced off his arm with a parang, that kind of thing is permanent, y’all.

I managed to speak to some of the mothers from CCF and it seems like the kids had a wonderful time. Looking at all the smiles yesterday, all of us felt like it was all worth it.

A final word of thanks to all the amazing partners who helped make Happee Day the success that it was.

1. Hort Park, for the lovely venue. It was the perfect place for the day.

2. Chili Api Catering. The spread was superb and they even had 2 menus – 1 for adults and a separate non-spicy version for the kids. The next time you have an event or if you just need your dose of Peranakan food, give them a call. Trust me, it will be a hit.

3. Lian Yick, who sponsored the logistics.

4. Baby Online Shop for the balloon decor.

5. Bernard Loh, the best emcee and DJ ever.

6. JQ Ong, the man who made the artistic design pop.

7. Hendra Lauw, for taking all those beautiful portrait shots for all the guests.

8. Calvin the Mage, for his balloon sculpting magic.

9. Queenie, who did an awesome job with the face-painting.

10. Kamal and Ruoshi, for their mad caricaturing skills.

11. Brenda, for the amazing cookie art.

12. LPN Art, for the art and crafting.

13. Chai Lee, for the cake decoration booth.

14. Evelyn, for supplying the onsite photography printing.

15. Ice3 (Ice Cube) cafe, who sponsored the yummy ice-cream.

16. Charmaine, for the delicious brownies and cupcakes.

17. Tracy, who made all the stunning journals and photo frames by hand.

18. Global Mascot, who sponsored the Bugs Bunny and Pooh costumes.

19. O School, who drove the kids wild with their Ironman item.

20. Jimmy the Juggler, who literally risked his arms to juggles machetes for the kids.

21. Expressprint, for printing all the stickers and invites.

22. The Wan and Ong families for sponsoring the bouncy castle.

23. Leonard and Mingfen, for sponsoring the busing.

24. Jason and Verlyna, for the welcome Happee Bag.

25. Corsage and her friends, who put together the Activity kits.

26. Newlyweds Tianwei and Jo, who contributed their PS3 Rockband gaming set.

27. My brother, Justin, who loaned me his TV and Wii gaming console.

28. All the volunteers who gave their time to make all this possible.

29. Most of all, THE HUSBAND, who rocked this event because I made him do most of the work. While I stole the credit.

PS. As you can probably tell, I’m still putting up photos progressively. If you managed to take some pictures of the event, send them over at daphne [at] motherinc [dot] org and I’ll update the page.

PPS. Donations will still be open till 7 November.  If you weren’t able to make it but would still like to contribute, donate directly to the Children’s Cancer Foundation. Just click on the donation button below and select Happee Day.

PPPS: Photos thanks to Sean Lee, James Lee and Andy Lee. Not related.