Mommy Practicality

Monday, August 28, 2017

Damien's Jungle Safari-Themed 1st Birthday Party at Papa John's, QC

Monday, August 28, 2017

Sooo... all I could say is time flies really fast too fast actually. In fact, I could still remember how I used to stay at home and enjoy...

Sooo... all I could say is time flies really fast too fast actually. In fact, I could still remember how I used to stay at home and enjoy my three-month maternity leave, go out to give my baby some needed sunshine, breastfeed all day, every day, anytime, and even anywhere. How sentimental it is for me to vividly remember the sound of his infant small cry to now a commanding and demanding talking/goo-goo-gaga tone (much like the movie Boss Baby, hehe.) He started walking before at 10 months and now past one, he's walking, running and jumping until he feels tired. He's learning a lot at a faster pace compared to his brothers when they were babies.

So yeah, we all happily celebrated his 1st year birthday at Papa John's in QC with a Jungle Safari theme. We've scouted many venues and restaurants around Quezon City, we really wanted a pizza-chicken-pasta party, but not in a venues we've had parties before. Thanks to the internet, saw that Papa John's QC is open for parties with complete party packages and food we prefer, we booked our party. Though they offer party packages, we opted not to get them so I may maximize the services and package inclusions I got from other party suppliers.

Good thing about Papa John's they didn't charge unbelievable corkage fees (like others do) for party suppliers. So today in this post, I will be sharing with you the Jungle Safari themed party elements which we executed that happy day. Party suppliers will also be shared below so in case you'd also want to get them, you could check out their services and rates. Enjoy! :)

VENUE DECOR:

I found Reds Party Shop in a Facebook Group for party planning. I compared rates from other suppliers and theirs came the most sulit, not necessarily the cheapest. I was fortunate to also book them during their promo period. The package I got included the following decor:
Themed stage backdrop with Damien's name

Welcome Signage

Balloons:

- 100 pcs Ceiling balloons

- 12 Table centerpieces

Two (2) Pillars

One (1) Cake Arc

FAMILY COSTUME:
Instead of dressing up Damien as one of the Safari animals, I dressed him up as the Zoologist. He leads our team. The rest of the family wore a white top and khaki cargo shorts.
I just bought Damien's top khaki polo for less than Php 300 (it was on sale!) and shoes for Php350 (which we forgot to let him wear!) But what he was wearing here was the brown sandals which I bought from Divisoria for only Php100. I DIYed his name plate by the way. :)

DESSERT BUFFET TABLE:
I proudly and joyfully DIYed the dessert table.

I didn't want too many candies so the dessert buffet was comprised

with the following treats which both kids and kids-at-heart love:

Cupcakes

Marshmallows

Stik-O's

Gem Biscuits

Gummy Candies
Read more here: Damien's Jungle Safari Dessert Buffet
I bought the dessert treats from the supermarket. Used mom's white trays, used the gifted wooden boxes to elevate the plates. I also made use of the cake stand I also got as a gift. The vintage luggage were my mom's and the stuffed animals were just sitting somewhere in my kids' room played roles in keeping up with the theme. The mylar letter balloons were Php15 each at Divisoria. The backdrop used for the gold letter balloons were from orange and brown crepe papers which I cut in strips and stuck one by one at a long jute string (also just sitting in my arts and crafts box).

CAKE AND CUPCAKES:

I have a Pinterest account and when you are planning for an event, any event like birthday, weddings, baptism or anything else, Pinterest is heaven for inspirations. The cake was done by Damien's ninang, Shae Mendoza-Conducto of Delishaes cake. I gave her my pegs and she executed it waaay better, plus I tell you the taste of her MOIST CHOCOLATE cake is as good as how the cake looks. As her gift, She gave the cupcakes as freebies to me!

SAFARI LOOT BOX/PARTY GIVEAWAY:

Because I am not a fan of hard candies, I chose cookies, chocolates, marshmallows, and gelatin as content in the loot boxes. I included small toys like blowing bubbles, clay, and pencil as well. I bought the Safari boxes online through a mompreneur, but these are available in Divisoria.

The Thank You sticker label was personally made by us.

INVITATION

I think ever since we started throwing our children their birthday parties, we'd always personally design them. Again thanks to the internet because that's where we get our pegs for the design.

Husband made this invitation and map to the venue via Adobe Photoshop. He also got pegs from Pinterest as well. Thanks also to Google Maps by the way! :)
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PHOTOBOOTH

The photobooth was part of the package I got from Reds Party Shop. But I want to show you the design of the photo prints which the supplier designed based on Damien's party invitation and photo shoot. I love the quality of the pictures and the photo prints as well. It came with a cardboard frame. The photos, both raw individual photos and the photo layout, were uploaded the following day.

PAPA JOHN'S FOOD

We had a total of 100 adults and 30 kids during the party. Initially we ordered food good for only 120pax anticipating that some of our invitees wouldn't be able to make it. So we ordered 12 of their BIG TIME FEAST good for 12 pax per feast which includes:

22 Family Pizzas (Specialty, Pepperoni, Cheese)

32 Pasta Platters (Spaghetti and Carbonara)

12 dozens of Flavored Wings (Soy Honey, Buffalo and Hickory BBQ)

22 pitchers of Iced Tea

PARTY ACTIVITIES/PROGRAM:

The Host/Magician was part of Reds Party Shop's package. The kids enjoyed the games and entertainment so much that they were going crazy laughing and engaging with the magician all throughout (feeling ko sugar rush ata from the dessert buffet eh!)

I also had a Best In Costume contest and the winners were soooooo adorable! Ang cuuute!

Side activity, face painting, was open from while waiting for the party to start until it finished. The artist and the activity was also part of the package I got from Reds Party Shop. I bought 60 pcs of game prizes for kids and 20 prizes for adults as well. Everybody came home with something and sobrang daming prizes na nag-iisip na lang kami in the end ng extra games to be able to give them all away. I also raffled prizes for the adults! It was so much fun to give and give and give! :)

So there you have it, Damien's super fun Jungle Safari themed 1st birthday party. I'm sure this is the part of the post which you've been waiting for, the list of suppliers and our party expense right? Here you go:

SUPPLIERS/COST:
*Their prices/rates/packages may change without prior notice and also depending on the inclusions or designs. I highly suggest you contact them directly for rates. Thanks!)

1. Photo and Video services (plus make-up!) - R & L Prints/Photography: Php 6,400
2. Venue Decor/Entertainment (Hosting/Magic Show/Face painting)/Photobooth - Reds Party Shop: Php 13,500
3. Cake - Delishaes Cakes Php 2,300 (cupcakes were given as gifts)
4. Papa John's Food (good for 130 pax) - Php 26,600
5. DIY Dessert Buffet (plus props) - P700
6. Divisoria Prizes and Loot boxes giveaways/content - Php 1,000
7. Costume/Clothes - Php 500
TOTAL: PHP 51,000

So if you are planning for your child's party, one of the best tips I could give is to have a budget budget in mind, list down the things you need for the party and also the nice to haves. If budget permits, you can get the extras. But you have to learn to let go of things that will not fit the budget. Lastly, enjoy every moment of party planning and of course the party itself!

To all moms out there planning their child's birthday party, may you find this post helpful and inspirational. Happy planning and God bless you and your children! :)

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Speaking To Moms At The BDJ #BellaMommies Event

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Speaking to fellow moms at the Belle De Jour's #BellaMommies event was one of my July's highlights. Admittedly, I was nervous abo...

Speaking to fellow moms at the Belle De Jour's #BellaMommies event was one of my July's highlights. Admittedly, I was nervous about this particular speaking engagement. But when I first got an email about the topic that I will be talking about, I didn't have any second thoughts. I readily said YES. Why? I got the topic which was closest to my heart, the topic which could actually tell my whole life story, and the topic which I could passionately talk about to moms who may also be experiencing things I am experiencing as a MULTI-TASKER working mom.

As I prepared my slides (which I did like a college student would do - cramming style), I already had the outline and points of elaboration written all over my head from the time I got BDJ's email. As I've said it was a topic I could talk about to anyone the whole day. The challenge to me was putting all my thoughts in slides and present it at a limited time. I was thinking, yes, I may have a lot of things to share but will the audience listen to me? Will they believe what I will be talking about. Well, siguro naman.

Come July 22, I was quite early for my call time. I parked and stayed in the car for a while to take deep breaths and motivate myself. I didn't know what to expect or how the audience will receive my talk, all I just wanted to do was share. Questions like, "Do I look okay?" I guess yes/ "Does my hair look as if I've taken care of three fighting toddlers?" Unfortunately, yes to that too!/ "Am I at all prepared for it?" Definitely! --- occupied my mind that afternoon.

But when the program started and my name was called, ay, ibang usapan na. I just imagined that I was going to a singing gig, para mas madali. Anyway, to cut the long story short, ay ang saya! :)

4 REASONS WHY BELLE DE JOUR'S #BELLAMOMMIES EVENT WAS A BLAST:

1. You #BellaMommies are the best! I was able to engage many moms in the audience during my talk. I guess ang dami talagang nakaka-relate sa pagka-loka-loka ng mga multi-tasking moms like us.

2. So many prizes and giveaways from sponsors - Grabe, the moms took home so many prizes and giveaways from the generous sponsors. If you weren't there, you surely missed a lot! Nobody went home without a bag of goodies on hand.

3. Valuable learning from speakers Aahm, I didn't only mean myself ha (buhat-bangko portion). I stayed until the whole event was done because I also wanted to learn from other speakers! Ginger Arboleda was there to talk about Momprenurship.

Shari Macainag talked about Fashion and Beauty for moms.

Ian Banzon talked about health and fitness.

To sum up the talks:
- Plan your day and learn the art of Time Management especially if you're a multi-tasking mom like me.
- Prioritize your family.
- Pursue your passion and dreams and learn how to monetize them.
- Moms have a right to Self-Care and that's what salons, spas, make-up, shopping, coffee time, meet ups with friends, and also dressing up well come into play
- Moms should put more importance to health and fitness. We all want to live longer and see our children marry the love of their lives and have children of their own. We owe it to ourselves to take care of our healths so we could do so much more.

4. I met some of my blog readers. If there's one thing that I took more seriously by heart, it's the pleasure and joy of meeting my blog followers. When blogging times get tough, I go back to this empowering memory. It reminds me of my blog purpose and the Whys of my blog. Meeting my readers motivates me, energizes me, and brings me back on track. You have no idea how your feedback, comments, and kind words mean so much to me. So thank you so much!

Nice meeting all of you!

Thank you so much Belle De Jour for inviting me to be one of your speakers in your #BellaMommies event. It was a pleasure to share my experiences and be connected with the audience for an afternoon full of learning, food, giveaways, raffle prizes, and meeting people.

For future BDJ events, promos, planner updates, and many more, visit Belle De Jour's website https://ilovebdj.com, follow them on Facebook, https://facebook.com/bdjbuzz on Instagram, https://instagram.com/bdjbuzz/ and Twitter, https://twitter.com/bdjbuzz.