I did it right this time!!!

What you ask?

Throw a surprise birthday party for M!

Remember that post I had written about my surprises end up becoming pseudo surprises?! Well Poppy remembered. Told me on chat "Don't forget your keys this time!"

Ofcourse this time there was no question of needing keys because I was throwing the party on Sunday, a day before his birthday, which falls on 25th May. It was a simple lunch do since there was IPL final in the evening and we have no cable TV at home for enthusiasts who didn't wanna miss it!

My way of surprise party isn't taking the surprisee out and bring him into a house screaming SSUURRPPRRIISSEE! WE stay at home and let people walk in surprising M over and over again! :)

I decided the whole thing on Monday and sent sms to my small guest list of around 15 and everyone confirmed by evening. Next tip was to figure out the food and drinks. Since it was meant to be a surprise party, I possibly couldn't have cooked anything or even bought too much of stuff and kept at home.

I did what I am best at without being a MBA, delegate and then delegate some more. BIL and SIL were given responsibility of getting biryani. Buddy S was to get beer and dahi (as odd as the combo sounds!) and Puja was to get juice and soft drinks.

I had to order the cake. My SIL was maha excited about getting some sorta naughty cake. But then I didn't find anything interesting enough. But i liked the other stuff on this website and opted for something called Edible Photo Printing which I had seen at a birthday just the previous weekend! M is a BIG Amitabh Bachchan fan. AB bhakt one can safely say. So i decided on that to be the theme.

I pulled in Puja to help me again and she did seriously good job with it once i sent her the raw material - the pictures! This was the first time I ordered cake ONLINE! I had no clue where the heck this baking institute was or how their cakes were. I followed my dictum of "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained!" and went ahead with it.

The owner, Manish, was extremely helpful and quick on take. Mails and smses would be responded to promptly and he helped do the final photoshopping of the image too. I told him that they can deliver the cake by 1pm and kept my fingers crossed! :p

Meanwhile, M being the total people person that he is, kept wanting to know whom were we meeting on Sunday. I had to refuse to meet a distant relative with help of some more lying. Finally I told him Puja and family are coming for lunch.

Murphy would have loved the moment when Amma asked for chhutti on the very same Sunday! How does one have a party without help. But there was no way i was cancelling the plan. I knew we had some biodegradable (made with dried leaves) plates and katoris and those would be used for khaana. Apart from that there was no cooking to be done really! I did jhaadu pocha afta AGES and I still do a good job of it! ;) Ofcos it's not something I would like to prove time and again! :p My other worry was the cake getting delivered when I was in the bathroom or before guests had arrived. But the guy was delayed just enough.

Thankfully as per what M knew was our plan, Puja & A arrived minus Diya (grrr!) arrived first. I had told M they were getting biryani because he kept asking me "khaane ka kya karenge?" They had also got along juice and sprite as requested and M thought it was l'ilw eird but didn't suspect much.

Next his bro called on my phone and M picked it up! he made some bahaana and told him we are coming over. Even till now M was clueless. Then my office pal walked in and he STILL thought it was a happy co-incidence though he was getting worried about about food and drinks! :p

Then when Ooi Bua, her hubby Sunil and Isaiah walked in is when M realised ki daal mein kuch kaala hai and arrival of Dee and her DH assured him that poori dal hi kaali hai! :)

Buddy S walked in wifey G and their adorable son Vikrant whom we hadn't seen since his birth and by now M was totally kicked and genuinely surprised. S bua was the last guest to walk in and the party was well under way!

Chilled beer and juice was being served. I was so preoccupied with catching up that I forgot all about offering some starters and bites! :( By now I was also calling cake guy who said "bass aapke ghar ke paas hi hai medam!' I saw the cake being delivered on one of them TVS mopeds and shuddered wondering whether I had pushed my luck a bit too far. But this time I couldn't go wrong! :D

Here's the cake;

Best of Amitabh Bachchan on one cake! With Us added for the corny factor! ;)

M wondering whether to cut "Mard" or "Hum"! :p

Neither M nor me were dressed for a party. M was like "Puja log hi aa rahe hai" and was in PJs and tee and me, i couldn't get dressed either in fear of arousing suspicion! So the birthday boy and organiser were the only badly dressed of the lot! :p

Cubby actually refused the cake! Ofcos he made it up later by having many pieces! :)

Puja and G! Two pretty ladies and one adorable Vikrant sleeping peacefully in the mayhem!! :)

Newly married Ooi bua serving drinks while SiL & BiL cozy up!

The whole afternoon went off in such a blur that I really don't recollect any specific events. There was no time to click too many pictures either. I think i am putting ice in the glasses in the background!

While M hold on to his most precious gifts! :)

Genius Miggu bhaiyya doing a wooden puzzle at home and getting it right within no time! I was maha impressed! :)

While Cubby fooled around! :p


Cubby was in a bad mood thanks to lack of sleep and food, but was still manageable and had fun once some chocolate and sugar went into his body! ;) Miggu bhaiyya is a bundle of energy and lot of time was spent in just watching the kids in action!

A quickie family photo just for records!

What was left of the cake by the end of the party!

I could ask M if he wanted a piece of me in front of 15 people! ;)

I was not sure how the whole thing would go since i was mixing lot of different people together, but it was like everyone always knew everyone else.

Dee and her DH are among the sportiest couple I have known and Dee even made DH take off his shirt and show us his very cool tattoo on his back! :D

Puja and A are good friends now, as if we have known them foreva! And ofcos she did and redid the collage as and when I kept finding better posters of nicer movies! Thanks Girl! :)

Ooi Bua bought some seriously yummy kheer and nobody can say that her hubby Sunil is a new addition to the family!

Blog pals recognized Isaiah as the guy who straightened my hair and wished he had got the straightener with him! :p

S, G and Vikrant are people who are very close to our heart and M spend lot of time with em when they were in the US and he was visting. S helped me LOADS even at the last attempted surprise party! :)

M & Chits (Bil & Sil) took charge of the whole party and were more the hosts than we were!

S bua is always a calming and pleasant presence! :)

Thanks people for making this day so special and fun! :)

And M, my best pal, hubby, father of my child and an amazing human being, Happy Birthday yet again! May this year bring you everything you wanted and then some more! Love ya lots! :)

Hugs! :)