I was so hands-on during Zach's 1st birthday party before...syempre, did the same for my little princess! Kakapanganak pa lang nya, alam ko na ano ang theme ng party. Syempre Hello Kitty! The dream birthday I never had so tuparin na lang sa anak hahaha. I referenced the details from Zach's birthday to start with the preps...medyo late na nga nagstart e - one month lang before the birthday.
the Venue -
I was eyeing Parang Pavillion again for this (where Zach's party was held) pero when I learned about Gabrielle's Place in Concepcion, dun kami una pumunta. It was a bit more expensive than Parang Pavillion so nagdalawang isip ako (pero mas maganda siya). Too bad, both of them became reserved for the date I want, June 4, Saturday. Naunahan ako magbayad!!! Nung malaman ko yun, hindi ako mapakali...as in, di ako makawork sa office kasi without a good venue, pano na ang party??!!!! Good thing, Emie of Dynamic Impact (party planner) helped me. Tierra Pura Clubhouse in Quezon City daw....anlayo naman!!! pero buti it's just near Commonwealth Ave so keri na din! What more, if I get their catering service, I'll get the venue rental for FREE!!! (mas mahal pa ito sa Gabrielle's kasi)
the Caterer
I initially called ONL Catering Services for this party...ang suki namen sa lahat ng kainan dahel sa masarap na Mango Crepe hehe. However, dahel nga sa perks na ibibigay nina Emie if I get their service, I opted to try them. I just had to make sure I'll get to taste the food first before I sign a contract. Tinanggap naman nya yung request ko hehe. Di naman ako nagkamali. The food and service was good! At syempre, madaming libre - Styro backdrop, centerpiece balloons, balloons sa ceiling and venue rental!
the Photographer
I got the same photographer from Denise' dedication - Ces Kasilag. Super easy to go along with...pati yung kids, "hiyang" sa kanya. I'll never have a party without a good photographer and Ces was an excellent choice. Super accommodating sa shots na gusto namen. Ayos ang charisma sa bata - nagugulat na lang ako may shots si Zach na hindi ko alam nangyari (napasunod nya sa poses hehehe).
the Videographer
Di na kaya ng budget kunin ang Thor Productions so kami kami na lang hehehe. Our Canon videocam was broken a few weeks before the party (ayaw bumukas nung lense!) so we had to bring it to the service center at di sya umabot :( Buti na lang Merin has one. Hiniram na lang then salit salit ang kumukuha ng video...it was JonJon who took most of the shots.
the Party Host/Magician/Ventriloquist/Balloon Twister
I got Butch this time. Si Ted kasi before for Zach's birthday. The kids super liked him! They enjoyed everything from games to the balloon twisting, magic show and Chong, the monkey puppet. Adults were also laughing out loud with his act and jokes. I overheard one Mom calling her daughter to go home na (di pa tapos yung party) but the child still wanted to stay to see more of Butch...at andun sila hanggang magblow kami ng cake hahaha
the Cake and Cookies
With my recent addiction to baking and decorating cakes, I thought of creating Denise' cake by myself...kaso because of so many factors (walang yaya therefore no time to practice, walang tagahugas ng tools et al), I decided to just order one. I had a bad experience with Zach's cake supplier before so I searched for a different one this time. Matunog na matunog sa forums itong Kitchenkrafts so I tried them. Super cute ng designs nila. When I ordered the cake, nainspire akong gawing Sanrio characters na lang ang theme instead of just Hello Kitty. sa Shaw Blvd pa sila pero worth it naman yung layo. Ang ganda nung cake! I also ordered cookies with Sanrio designs 2 days before the event....cute din! Most important of all, masarap sya! Kasing lasa ng chocolate cake ng Goldilocks and super moist! One week na sa ref yung portion na natira samen pero masarap pa din. Yung cookies pag tinignan, nakakaumay yung kapal nung Royal Icing pero when you taste it, saktong sakto lang ang tamis! Super yummy!
the Invitation
Of course, sino pa ba ang gagawa...with the help of Adobe Photoshop, Google and OneNote's screengrabber, I was able to create a design that matches Denise' dress in the picture.
the Balloons
Caterer offered me free balloons pero dahel super OC mom nga (hehehe), I still bought some balloons and asked Labs, Bea and BM to help me create some more. We did the pillar, flowers and butterflies. Tinuruan kami ni BM nung pinagbilhan namen ng balloons sa Divi pano gawin yung butterflies....nagGoogle naman si Bea for the flowers na nung una, tili kami ng tili habang iniikot yung balloon hahaha....after ilang putok, sigaw at bomba, madami dami naman kami natapos hehehe
Balloons in the ceiling were from the caterer. Pati yung table centerpieces...I just added Hello Kitty fans para mas kasali sa theme ang tables.
the Prizes
Opkors...all from Divisoria. Labs and I went there one weekend to buy the stuff we'll need pero hindi ako nakuntento. I went back with my brother (BM) to buy some more toys.
the Lootbags
Ang hirap maghanap ng items na ayon sa theme na ito!!! It's all Hello Kitty items pero pano naman ang boys? Kahet na ipagpilitan kong may lalaking Hello Kitty (si Dear Daniel), I'm sure hindi pa din yung click sa boys hehehe...so when I saw this baunan set with Kerokeroppi and Hello Kitty, I decided to buy those then filled them with candies, toys and some school supplies...medyo over sa budget if I give each child the whole set so I divided it into two - isang baunan at isang inuminan hehehe.
the Pinata
We bought one from Divi...medyo ignoramus nga kami kasi tinanong pa namen pano ba ginagamit yun hahaha...wala kasi nito sa birthday ni Zach noon....di pako nausuhan e hahaha
the Kid's Station/Dessert Table
I decided to bake my favorite recipe for chocolate cupcakes and brownies. Also bought Champola (green and purple color), Potchi my favorite candy and hotdogs/marshmallows for the kids. I googled one picture from the internet with a better idea of putting hotdogs and marshmallows in the buffet table. Ginaya ko lang then add my own touches...but it was Bea who executed the plan hehehe Thanks to my sister!
the Party Dress
I saw this cute fuschia gown from Purple Candy in SM Megamall weeks before the party but since I was so in a hurry to go home, hindi ko pa siya nabili that time. A week before the party when I went back to buy it, only 2 sizes are left - 6-9months and size 3! Super tagal kong paikot ikot sa SM dahel hindi ako makadecide ano gagawin. one was too small na for her and the other still too big. Desperado na dahel wala ng ibang gown talaga na sakto sa theme, I bought the size 3 and asked Merin where I can have it altered. The morning after, sinukat ko kay Denise yung gown and was surprised to find out that there's no need to alter na! itaas ko lang ng konti yung tela sa shoulders, sakto na! So ako na lang nagtahi...
the Shoes
Wala pa yung dress, nakabili nako ng shoes. Saktong sakto yung color! We saw it from Payless ShoeSource in SM Masinag. Kasi dito din na SM sana kami bibili ng dress but the color I want is not available in this branch....kaya ayun, shoes na lang.
