
Futsal is a variant of association football that is mainly played indoors. Its name is derived from the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol sala/de salón, which can be translated as ’salon football’. In Madrid 1985 the name fútbol de saló and all other names the game was called were changed officially and internationally into FUTSAL.
that was the theme of jan’s 7th birthday party. technically, it was not futsal, just indoor football, having played on grass turf (artificial, i think, not unlike some of those bushy car mats) using a normal soccer ball. we booked an indoor soccer pitch at turf city, and it was just as well because it was rainy that day and the outdoor fields would have been muddy. and if it hadn’t been raining, it could have been scorching hot even at 4pm. we also booked a coach (and we were given two) from the little league to facilitate the warm up drills for the kids and referee a friendly match. i think the coaches did a fabulous job, introducing soccer basics to kids who were mostly beginners at the game. i wouldn’t be surprised if jan asks to enroll in soccer training soon (ka-ching!).
after almost two hours in the pitch, it was obvious that the kids had a whopping good time. they came out of the pitch sweaty, tired and hungry. we ordered a halal (at least one of jan’ buddies doesn’t eat pork) high tea mini buffet from delihub and a soccer-themed birthday cake from smiling orchid, which looked fantastic and tasted great, as always. in addition tothe ice tea we ordered, the pitch also provided ice-cold mineral water bottles and 100plus (a kind of isotonic drink for athletes) as part of the package, so we no longer had to cart most of the drinks to the venue; just added a couple of bottle of sodas and that was it.
it was a good thing that we were given the seating area at the back of the office. it was directly overlooking the pitch were the kids played so it was easy for parents to keep an eye on the game without having to appear like cheerleaders, hehe. the guests also naturally overflowed to the open veranda for extra seating and elbow room, especially after the game when the kids joined the parents to jostle for food at the buffet. after a “tea break”, the boys retreated from the buffet, chose the table farthest from the parents, and played a game of trump cards (or at least that was what they were called during my time) while the girls entertained themselves with song and dance. it was a good wind down after an energy-sapping toggle with the soccer ball.
it was really a great party, if i may say so myself. it didn’t take much to organize but jan really enjoyed it. most of the planning and booking were done online and a couple of trips for the party supplies (invitations, birthday candles, serviettes, etc). the lootbags were probably the one that took most effort, small toys having been bought all the way from manila! they couldn’t fit in a regular lootbag, so i just bought clear plastic lootbags and printed a thank you note using some soccer clipart. c’mon, you think kids this age pay any attention at all to the wrapping? all together, i think it took us just about a week to organize everything, though if i had the time, it probably could have been even better– more theme-related lootbag fillers, balloons, additional games, prizes. photos(!)– but honestly, in hindsight, i’m not sure jan would have really cared.

jan had a fabulous time, spending his birthday with his pals. as far as he’s concerned, it was a score! goooooaaaalllll!!!!