Hunky surf instructors, the kids out at sea (and out of your hair) for an hour, coffee on the beach… the Kite N’ Surf/Park House birthday party combo on Nessnass beach in Dubai is pretty much the dream.
My daughter Leo requested a Pokémon theme for her sixth birthday party this month (I mean, it’s better than Barbie, and I suppose 20th century feminist icons might have been optimistic for a five-year-old. I’ll work on that).
Leo and her friends heading to the sea at Dubai’s Nessnass beach
Having agreed to the Pokémon-ness (not my vibe), I took the venue into my own hands. Our favourite beach café, Park House on Dubai’s Nessnass beach has partnered with Kite N’ Surf to offer kids’ parties that combine stand-up paddle boarding with Park House’s yummy catering (so my vibe).
As Dubai’s still pretty hot right now we held the party from 9-11am on a Saturday. The kids were welcomed with a safety briefing and fitted with life-jackets before heading to the sea with two mega-SUPs that each seat around 15 children. At this point they took to the ocean with two surf instructors (who, I can’t lie, made a nice change from the usual kids’ party entertainers). There followed an hour of peace for the parents as we found ourselves blissfully child-free while the kids were paddled around the shoreline, playing games on the giant boards. Tip: bring a cool box of water bottles to take down onto the sand with you. When they returned to shore, the games continued with foam water pistols, deployed with glee on each other and the instructors and used for competitive bucket-filling. Kids love buckets, what can I say.
After games, the party transitions back to Park House, where the team put up balloons in our (well, the Pokémons’) colour scheme, for food and cake. You can choose from mini burgers, hot dogs, crispy chicken, mac & cheese or fish fingers with fries and the kids also get a juice and a rainbow ice lolly. As the kids were eating around 10.30am, we opted for mini pancakes with banana and nutella for more of a breafasty vibe. We also had an incredible cake from Maison Sucre in Abu Dhabi - they do the best lavish creations and managed to make the Pokémon theme as aesthetically pleasing as possible (which takes serious skill). With three sugared Pokémons piled on top of each other, it was a total show-stopper. The amazing team also made complementary cupcakes and cookies adorned with Evee, Pikachu, Squirtle and the gang. On top of that, Maison Sucre sent their legendary cheesecake and banana cake for the grown-ups to enjoy (see, I told you it was an adult-friendly friendly party).
There are few things as good for the soul as a morning on the beach, and off-setting all the sugar-saturated craziness of a kids’ party with the soulfulness of getting on the sand and into the surf feels like the perfect balance. Let’s just hope that next year we don’t have to have the Pokémon bit too.
Price per child Dhs180, for between 10 and 40 kids . Email events@parkhouse.ae
LNx
