A 7th Birthday Pool Party

For my son Sabre's 7th birthday, we just decided to go to Hong Kong for a family vacation instead of having a big party. However, he said he still wanted to celebrate with his friends so we just threw him a small pool party right after we got back from our trip.

A Pineapple & Flamingo Party!

My eldest turned 8 years old a few days ago and I really can't believe how time has flown!

All Aboard! A Train Themed Birthday Party

Skyler is now 4 years old, and as you all know, I love doing different themes for my kids' birthdays every year. Even if it's just a simple set-up at home, I still want it to be special so they'll have nice photos to look back on when they grow up.

CHEERS: Making Every Day Special

If you’re someone who loves having people over or just simply having simple celebrations at home, one thing that’s always present in the table aside from food is… paper towels and napkins! I for one always have a huge supply of tissues at home. It’s always present in the grocery list since it’s just something we use everyday.

I’m sure you’ve come across the Cheers brand in the supermarket with its colorful and fun design. I’ve personally been a Cheers user for many years now. Did you know that this product is made of 100% Virgin Pulp and has no artificial whiteners and elemental chlorine which makes it truly hygienic?

A LEGO Birthday Party

My little boy Sabre is now 6 years old and he wanted to have a Lego themed party this time around.

An Under the Sea Mermaid Party (plus supplier ratings)

I have a love hate relationship with planning and throwing parties. I love the whole creative process of putting together a theme, searching online for pegs and inspiration, and doing DIY projects. But what I hate sometimes is looking for suppliers and trying to stay on budget, without sacrificing the look you envision. Plus, hoping those suppliers deliver without leaving you disappointed.

Anyway, my brother-in-law and his family visited the Philippines last year, and part of their trip was celebrating the 2nd birthday of their daughter here in Manila. It would be the first time most of the family would get to meet Avianna, so her mom wanted to throw a big party. Of course, since they were in the States, I was the one tasked to plan and organize everything here. I was actually excited to do it since it would be like throwing a party without having to pay for anything haha! Ganon pala ang feeling ng party planner? ;p But I still felt pressured because I hoped my sister-in-law would like the suppliers I chose and everything.

Her mom wanted an Under the Sea Mermaid theme and she sent me pegs of the look she wanted and also her budget which was about P100,000. In the end, everyone had a great time at the party and my sister-in-law was happy with how it turned out. I did have some issues with some suppliers though, so I'll just share the pros and cons of each below. Take note that this was last year though, so prices and packages may have increased or changed already as of this time.

DIY Tissue Paper Flowers

Remember my daughter's birthday party in McDonald's? Well, I mentioned in that post how they already have existing party decors but I still wanted to add a little something. My husband was saying I was just making my life more difficult haha! But come on, DIY makes me happy! If I could have decorated the whole McDonald's, I think I would lol. Since my daughter's theme was rainbow colors, I decided to make these paper flowers as centerpieces for the tables.

A 7th Birthday Party in McDonald's

To be honest, I already had visions of my daughter's 7th birthday party when she was still a baby, since it is a big deal here in the Philippines. I mean, I remember my 7th birthday was held in Manila Polo Club and my mom even got Lou Hilario as the magician. Well, I had dreams of throwing my own daughter a fashion themed party (with a runway) and going all out with decorations and stuff. But as the years went by, I realized that spending hundreds of thousands of pesos for a few hours just isn't worth it for me anymore. I believe you can create memories even with a simple celebration. Pero if you have the budget, go for it haha! But seriously, I think more parents are choosing to be practical nowadays and just going on a family trip or something. And when I asked my daughter about it, I was surprised when she said she would rather get her own room than have a party!

See, she currently shares a room with her brother, but of course we knew they would need their own space when they got older. So we figured it would really be the perfect gift for her. Instead of spending all that money for a party, we would just use the budget to fix up one one the rooms in the house. Plus, she really wanted a loft bed too. We already ordered one and I can't wait to see everything set up!

Anyway, I still wanted her to have a party since she wanted to celebrate with her friends and classmates. So we chose to just have it at McDonald's! Besides, I think everyone should have a McDo party at least once in their lives right? :)

Rainbow Art Party Loot Bags

A Race Car Party: Skyler's 3rd birthday

Skyler, our youngest, is now 3 years old! It was easy to think of his birthday theme since he absolutely loves cars for quite some time now.

A Star Wars Birthday Party

Happy 5th Birthday to our dear Sabre! Since his birthday falls in April, he wasn't able to celebrate with his classmates last year. So he's been bugging me for the longest time that he wanted to have a party in school this year. We actually threw his party in early March, before their moving up day, so it was a super advanced celebration. ;p

DIY Owl Loot Bags

For Miley's OWLentine party, I made these super cute loot bags to fit the theme. Read on for the easy tutorial.

A Happy OWLentine's Birthday

It's getting harder and harder for us to pick a birthday theme for my daughter as she grows older. First it was Wonder Pets. Then she wanted a colorful art party. Then My Little Pony. Then Sleeping Beauty. Then she wanted mermaids! I was getting so confused until finally, we both decided on an owl theme (we have a love affair with owls ever since she was a baby). Then she said she wanted it to be an OWLentine party (she coined that term herself ha!) since her birthday was close to Valentine's Day.

A BabyTV Birthday Party

Our youngest is now 2 years old! I've been so sentimental the days leading up to his birthday because I can't believe how fast time flew by. I still remember giving birth to him so vividly and how he was so small in my arms. I don't know if it's because he's our bunso, but he still seems like such a baby in our eyes. Probably because he doesn't fully talk yet (just babbling a lot, but he's always saying Daddy lately) and also most likely because I'm still breastfeeding him until now! Actually, I don't have much milk na but it's more of a comfort thing for him. But I really have to wean him na huhu... ;p

DIY Christmas dinner decor ideas

Christmas is just around the corner and for sure most of us will be hosting parties and reunions in our homes. So I've rounded up 10 easy DIY projects that will definitely add some sparkle to your houses and dinner tables this holiday season.

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! :)

DIY Paper Tassel Garland

Here's a super quick and easy project that you can use to decorate a dessert table or maybe a kid's room.

This only took me less than an hour to do and all you need are the ff:
- crepe paper (in various colors of your choice)
- scissors
- scotch tape
- yarn / string

Open and spread out the crepe paper completely.

Fold in half horizontally and cut into 8 sections.

Get a section of paper and start cutting about 1" strips, leaving about an inch at the top where the folded part is.

Unfold the crepe paper and it should look like this:

Start slowly rolling the crepe paper all the way inwards. Warning. the tassels sometimes get tangled up though, so be careful since they can rip easily.

Twist the middle part until it forms a small loop. Use scotch tape to secure the knot.

Repeat with the rest of your crepe paper.

When everything's done, just thread your string through the loops of the tassels.

Then just hang it up for instant cuteness! Since it's just made of paper, it's pretty light so masking tape will do the trick. Here's how I used it for the desert buffet I made for our grandpa's 95th birthday. More on that party soon! :)

A Power Rangers birthday party

It's my little boy's 4th birthday, and the theme for this year was a no-brainer since he's super into Power Rangers!

You should see all the poses he does whenever he watches the show! So intense lol! And check out this quick and easy DIY Samurai Ranger shirt I did. I just got a plain shirt, placed some masking tape to form the "Y" pattern, and used black pentel pen to draw the lines in the center. ;p

I used colored art paper for the banner and just cut the letters out of bond paper. I didn't put the buntings on a string anymore and just stuck them on the wall with masking tape. I liked the geometric pattern this formed. :)

If you've been following my other DIY birthday posts, you know I love using my kids' toys as cake toppers! And just printed out the Power Rangers logo for an added touch. :)

make a wish!

Power Rangers cupcake toppers

Check out his birthday gift which he just LOVES!!! He hasn't let go of this since he got it a few days ago. :)

So again, happy happy 4th birthday to our very own Power Ranger. Don't stop being so sweet, funny, thoughtful, and a big ball of energy! We love you so much! :)