Our Candylicious Christmas Tree

I finally got our Christmas tree up! Ever since we moved in our house last 2011, our tree has had the same decor of gold and purple balls and flowers. I still like it, but then last year I saw these candy decors in SM that were so cute! I didn't buy them then, but then after Christmas I saw they were on SALE! So of course I ended up buying haha. ;p

Valentine's Day gift ideas for kids and teachers

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and if you have young kids like me, then you're probably thinking of easy and budget-friendly gifts for their class.  Here's 14 ideas that you can do in a snap!

Adventure Time Candy Kingdom Christmas at SM BF

So glad we caught this Christmas display at the Main Atrium of SM City BF before it ended (I believe today is the last day). Last year's display was "How To Train Your Dragon" and this year it's Adventure Time! Check out all our cute pics :)

Grandpa's 95th Birthday: DIY dessert buffet (& supplier ratings)

We celebrated the 95th birthday of hubby's lolo (which the kids fondly call Grandpa) last month. It was a simple luncheon held at Valle Verde 5 clubhouse and I just did a candy buffet using the party colors of blue and white. I totally loved how it turned out! :)

see how I did the paper tassel garland HERE

candies from the grocery and Divisoria

bought serving utensils from the grocery and just decorated the handles with washi tape

Here are just some of my thoughts from the other suppliers from the party:

CAKE
The cake was from Aggy's Cakes & Sweets. I loved how they were able to  replicate all the little details from a photo that was provided. This is exactly how Grandpa looks like when we visit him for our weekly Sunday lunches! So cute! :)

PHOTOBOOTH
My mother-in-law asked me to look for a photobooth a week before the party. I was already leaning towards one supplier but when I confirmed, they said someone just paid the reservation fee for my date. Good thing iFotoU Booth was available. They actually came out cheaper since they didn't charge me for a transportation fee unlike the other supplier. I paid P3k for 2 hours, but they were so kind to extend another hour for free! :)

CONS: They used a standard backdrop for our package, but I still like how it looked classy even though it had their logo all over it. They also texted me when I was already on my way to the venue to bring a USB for a copy of the photos. Of course I didn't have one with me, luckily I was able to get one from hubby's cousin who lived nearby. I just wish they told me sooner. They didn't even have a CD and if I wasn't able to provide a USB, I would just have to get the photos from their FB page. That's ok, but of course I want the hi-res pics too right?

PARTY HOST
When the family was planning the party, they wanted to get the same host I hired for Skyler's 1st birthday party which was Wizzo since they were so impressed with him. They wanted kasi the party to have a kiddie feel para fun for the guests even if most were adults. Unfortunately, Wizzo was already booked on our event date so I had to look around for other party hosts.

I saw good reviews online for Erney Arcilla and I was curious since I had never heard of him before. I messaged him on his FB page and he replied immediately despite the time of 11pm! He called me the next day and already I was impressed with the way he sounded. I wanted to book him from 12noon - 3:00pm but he said his schedule was from 11am - 2:00pm since he had another party at 4pm. The thing was, we were going to have a mass at the venue from 11am - 12nn so I really couldn't do anything about the time. What we agreed on was that he would arrive at 11am to set up, and then we would just start right after the mass. Since this wasn't a typical children's party, we figured it wouldn't last as long din naman, so sakto lang if he ended at 2pm.

Anyway, I have to say that Erney exceeded my expectations. He was fun, bubbly, articulate, and really kept the guests entertained all throughout. I think it was a blessing that Wizzo was already booked since I think Erney's personality fit the event better. He had to keep the energy high since most of the guests were adults and did not want to participate at first. But he knew what games to play (the Guess the Song game was a big hit especially the 60's & 70's music!) to get everybody excited and involved. He was also always moving around the venue, which was nice since no one had to get up from their seats anymore to give their answers. He was on a tight schedule so he had to scrap the magic show, but he still did a simple balloon twisting activity for some of the kids that were there.

In the end, a lot of people were asking for his number and already talking to him for their events hehe. I'm happy with his performance and I would definitely book him for any of my children's future parties.

It was a great day overall, and we're just happy that Grandpa is still strong and healthy at 95 years old! May he indeed have many more birthdays to come! :)

A Peppa Pig birthday party

I've been asking Miley for the longest time what theme she wanted for her 5th birthday and we've been pretty much set on a rockstar party. I've already had the colors all picked out for the decors (something like pink, black and gold) and have been eyeing giveaways (like those bubbles that come in microphone shaped bottles).

But a few weeks before, she suddenly changed her mind and said she wanted a Peppa Pig party because it was cute! The thing is, she was addicted to Peppa Pig last year then sort of grew out of it. It's actually her younger brother Sabe who watches it all the time now. But I was still happy to work with that theme since she has so many Peppa Pig toys that we can use. :)

Our princess with her Peppa Pig doll. Taken by Sugarpuff Photography.

I started with her invites first. I decided to use the Peppa Pig princess fairy character since Miley even has the crown and magic wand toy. I also decided to incorporate polka dots in the whole theme (check out the washi tape I used to seal the envelopes).

I then made cupcake toppers and used colorful polkadots as the border:

I was looking for loot bags to match the designs I did and I came across these party supplies from Metro Department store. Look at how the colors matched my cupcake toppers exactly! I was literally jumping for joy when I found these. I just had to get them even though they were a bit pricey at P169 for 8 pcs. I also decided to get the matching Happy Birthday banner which cost P179.

The only problem with the loot bags were that they were a little bit narrow. But I figured it was ok since I wouldn't have to buy so much candy to fill them up. ;p

I love buying stuff to fill the loot bags and one thing I found was these KooKoo Birds surprise bags which I got on sale for just P20 each last year from Toys R Us!

I also got these jelly beans from 168 Mall in Divisoria. I love how the colors matched my whole polkadots theme too. The whole set cost P160 and it had 20 bottles.

For Miley's girl classmates, I added these bracelets and rings:

And of course, more goodies!

I also made personalized name tags for each loot bag:

To make it easier for the kids to carry the loot bags, I punched holes in the top and added strings for the handles.

For the kids' juice, Miley helped me pick these out which were colored pink and yellow. I just made bottle labels to cover the brand.

Got these balloons from Divisoria as well. I bought a lot of the star balloons which I also gave out as giveaways to all her classmates. I just wished they came with a stick though, since I wanted them to be like Peppa's magic wand. But the kids loved them nonetheless and they kept saying it was a shooting star hehe. :)

For the cake, I just bought a simple one which cost less that P500 and used the kids' Peppa and George toys as toppers. Cute right? :)

And even though she was celebrating her party in school, I made sure to make a nice set up at home to surprise the birthday girl when she woke up! And of course, so that I can take lots of pics hehe. Oh, and notice the table cloth I used? That's actually the kids' bed sheet which again matched the colorful polkadots perfectly! I just love it when everything comes together with items I already own. :)

So again, happy 5th birthday to our little princess! We love you so much!

Happy Halloween 2014

If you're following me on Instagram (@mrsmommyholic), then you've probably already seen what the kids' costumes were for Halloween.

You also know that I've always dressed Miley and Sabe as a pair - Dora & Boots in 2011, Lilo & Stitch in 2012, and Peter Pan & Tinkerbell in 2013 (wherein hubby and I also joined in as Captain Hook and Mr. Smee!)

Now that we have a new addition to the family with baby Skyler, I was really excited at first thinking what theme we could do this year. I had a couple of ideas (The Incredibles would have been perfect right? ;p) but then Miley and Sabe are already at that age wherein they want to do things their way (and they can get pretty stubborn too!). I finally decided to forego having a theme this year and just let them be who they wanted. :)

Miley had asked her dad to buy her a Merida costume a couple of months ago when he was in the States. We made her choose among all the Disney princesses and I was really surprised when she kept insisting she wanted Merida since I knew for a fact she had only watched the movie Brave once (and she got scared of the bear too!). But she kept saying she wanted it so hubby went ahead and bought it.

The costume wasn't cheap (about $30 I think) so I figured she might as well wear it trick or treating. But she needed a couple more things to really look like the character. Merida is best known for her wild hair, so I bought a red wig at Divisoria for P200. I also found a bow and arrow at Toys R Us for only P99! It was actually from the Juan dela Cruz toy line (remember that telenovela starring Coco Martin? lol!) but it really matched her outfit. :)

Meanwhile, hubby and I watched the Rurouni Kenshin movie trilogy and really enjoyed it! Hubby loved it so much he started watching the old Samurai X cartoons again. Sabe ended up watching with his dad and liking it as well! Good thing I was able to find a kimono in SM on sale for just P100. And we were able to buy a kiddie samurai sword in Korea which was perfect for his costume. I wanted him to have a long ponytail just like Kenshin but it was a challenge getting him to wear the hairpiece I bought. He kept saying "I don't like! I'm NOT a girl!" lol! I was able to take a couple of pics though without him noticing I clipped it already. Can you see his ponytail in the pic below? ;p And of course, I drew an X on his cheek with my eyebrow pencil to complete the look. :)

Can you tell feel na feel niya ang costume? My gosh, emote to the max! Hahaha! I didn't even tell him how to pose, this is all him! ;p

For Skyler, I really love owls so I was so happy when hubby was able to buy this costume in the States as well. It is absolutely adorable and super gigil! I thought he was going to be fussy with the costume, but I was so surprised when he was so behaved and didn't even try to remove the hoodie part in his head. And so many people took pics of him when we went trick or treating since he was just too cute! :)

Anyway, here are more pics of them in their costumes. :)

Miley as Merida

Sabe as Samurai X

Skyler as baby owl

Oh, and I sorta had a mini costume too. When Miley said she was going to be Merida, I figured I'll be her momma bear, the queen! Bought this bear hat at Metro Department Store for about P130. ;p

The kids were so excited, they could barely stand still! I couldn't even get a decent pic of the 3 of them haaay!

their best group shot!

so in character!

Finally going around trick or treating!

Hi baby Tiyanak! Miley and Sabe are terrified of this thing haha! ;p

some houses gave dirty ice cream! yum!

eating their loot

all their candy!

So it was a successful Halloween again this year! I admit, I kinda wish we did have a theme but hey, there's always next year. I actually have some ideas already so at least I have a whole year to prepare haha! ;p