All about baptism and birthday parties [Merged]

[Kaboom!]

What did you guys do for your child's first birthday? What kind of party did you have? How much did you spend? Any suggestions?

Peace.

[Gabriela]

I wanted a hassle-free party so we had it at Story Land at SM Southmall, Las Piñas. They took care of the food (you can choose from a list of restaurants/fastfood chains), games, mascots, give-aways, cake, balloons. May free ride-all-you-can tag for 30 kids. I think we spent only 17K for 30 kids and 50 adults. I wanted a bubble show pa sana. It's around 5-10K additional.

I heard that around ganun din ang gastos if you hold it at Kids At Work (they have in SM Southmall & Megamall).

You can also set a theme for the party para mas cute. Kaso I did away with that kasi extra gastos sa costume.

If you are working on a tight budget, you can organize your own at home and spend around 8-10K for the same package mentioned above. Lutong bahay, buy sa divisoria ng pang prize sa games and loot bags, cake sa Goldilock's, balloons sa tabi-tabi, tables & chairs sa rentahan. That's what I did sa 2nd bday ng anak ko. Ang mga lolo't lola kasi nagpilit na may party ulit. Ang gastos naman kung sa Story Land ulit.

[bubuyog]

Thanks for the tips, Gabriela. I myself am shopping around for a good party package for my son's 1st birthday, which should be on the 28th na.

I might get the Jollibee party package for, say, 30 kids, and have it delivered and served at our village clubhouse (Jollibee accepts arrangements like this), then get another catering service for adult guests, and avail of a separate kiddie entertainment package. Although Jollibee's package already includes party favors and games, I'd like to complement it with other activities like face-painting or story-telling, or with puppet or bubble show.

[Gabriela]

Jollibee din kinuha kong food provider sa 1st bday ng baby ko sa Story Land. Ibang meal for kids and adults. syempre spaghetti & chicken sa kids, burger & chicken w/ rice sa adults.

[CraZyInLuV]

McDonald's is a good option. You only pay for the food you actually consume. No additional pay for the venue, etc. except for the party favors which includes : balloons, invitations, thank you cards, give aways - which you only get for kids anyways, and is at 30/pc. no minimum is required.
my kid had his first birthday party there and we just spent around 7T for everything -- 15 kids and 50 adults.

you can also bring your own pabitin, prizes, give aways.
plus, their prizes for the games are past happy meal toys.

[bubuyog]

7K for everything at McDonald's? Wow, that's a good package! By the way, when did your kid have his 1st b-day?

Sa Jollibee kasi, they had a good website, where you can choose from among different packages, then you can compute for the costs of everything, including additional orders for food or party favors. I tried searching for a McDonald's Philippines website, but to no avail.

Anyway, I got to try your suggestion, CraZyInLuV. That's too good to ignore. So go to their nearest branch I shall.

PEACE

[semperphi]

I was really excitied about my daughter's 1st b-day that I planned about 4-6 months ahead....the one thing that I knew was that it will be in our backyard and a Hello Kitty themed party.

For my invitation I ordered it and it said something like "peek-a-boo, I see you!", We hope to see you at Hannah's 1st b-day Hello Kitty style. I also included a sheet that told the guests the agenda so they knew when the games started, cake, etc.

I also ordered these large balloons, really gigantic they were 23 inch balloons. I had the hello kitty colors and had them create a gigantic flower made of balloons and had it stationed by the garden. I wanted the guest who arrived to stand by it and had their picture taken.

I asked my family (mainly cousins for help) and I assigned them responsibilities, the photographer, videographer, help with the games, snow cone machine, etc.

For food, we had filipino food for the adults and the kids I had peanut butter jelly sandwiches, hotdogs, veggies sticks, mini pizzas, don't remember the rest. I ordered a large carrot cake that had hello kitty's picture on the front. I actually bought hello kitty paper plates and forks and spoons and napkins to use as well. I also rented a snow cone machine so people had that if they wanted to.

As for the games, I had games for the kids and the adults (so they can interact as well). For the adults I had the dad's do a game of music chairs, but rather than chairs they used a small towel and so when the music stopped, they would have to sit on the towel on the grass. Another game was tug a war with the parents, I split up the couples so if you were married you and your spouse would be on the opposite team. For the moms, they had to race and eat a popsicle ice cream, whoever ate it all up first won. I gave out starbucks certificates and movie tickets as prizes for the adults.

For the kids games, I had the little older kids compete in putting a puzzle together. I also had a bean bag toss for smaller kids and a race to shovel popcorn in a bucket. Each kid got a ticket for participating and the parents could participate for the kids. This way, the kids can skip the big hello kitty wheel. I had my cousin make me a wooden wheel shaped as hello kitty with numbers 1-3 and one grand prize wheel. Each ticket represent one spin on the wheel. I bought about 50 individual prizes, all hello kitty related items from stickers, pencils, pens, notebooks, candy, etc. I had about 25 kids.

Being that it was my daughter's 1st b-day, I had our videographer (who did our wedding) create a video of our daughter with pictures of her growing up and we had this as a special presentation during the party while everyone was having cake. The video was played on the large tv and had some background music like the "you'll be in my hear" the song from the movie tarzan by phil collins. It showed pictures when she was born, when we took her home from the hospital, some studio photos we got taken of her, photos' at parties with relatives, trips to hawaii, canada, etc. The video ended with actual clips of her at the hospital (we video taped my delivery) having her first bath, then a video from her learning to put up her head, crawl to eventually walking. I wanted to share with everyone her first year.

As for favors, I gave each kid a set of hello kitty products, a cup with HK toothbrush, toothpaste, kleenex, band-aid, stickers and candy. The guys got the same thing but I used keropi the frog instead of hello kitty, also found in Sanrio stores.

For my thank you cards, I bought these card that could hold pictures and I attached the photos the guest took when they arrived by the large flower made of balloons, so they can have a family photo of themselves from the party and wrote my thankyou message in the card as well.

I had a lot of fun planning the party, it was lots of work and lots of help and without my family, i wouldn't have done it all, so as a thank you, I took all my helpers our to dinner.

As for cost, I spent about $3K for the entire party.

Hope this helps.

P.S. For her 2nd b-day she had a garden party, so that theme can work for boys 2 or you can turn it to a bug party.

[CraZyInLuV]

bubuyog

i forgot to add, exclusive of the birthday cake yun. but you can order thru mcdo, 540 for 8x10" ata and 880 for 12x16". cheaper than ordering from red ribbon or goldilocks.

my son's party was just last may. the nice thing about mcdo kasi is there's no set number, unlike with jollibee. meaning, what i did was to order the chix and spag combo, burger mcdo and mcflurry for adults, and chix and spag combo + mcflurry for kids.
then i got the party favors for kids lang. and a cake. actually, baka mga 8t including the cake and party favors. but that's still cheap. free na yun mascot appearance (we even got two!).

i'd really recommend that to any parent. we really looked around for the cheapest deal kasi.

[bubuyog]

Hi CraZyInLuV

I actually heeded your advice and went straight to the nearest McDonald's branch after reading your post. And right you are, McDo offers the best deal in town when it comes to kiddie parties.

We arranged for a take-out party, and ordered 3 sets of that package for 30 worth Php4,000+ each. Now I'm thinking of following your style of having different sets for adults and kids.

I already got a clown package worth Php3,000, including more games and prizes and lootbags. That should keep the kids happy (in case my weed-laced brownies don't do the trick).

Thanks again, CraZyInLuV.



semperphi,

How you planned your daughter's birthday party is admirable. Wish I had $3K, though.

[CraZyInLuV]

bubuyog

glad to be of help

[kixter]

Thanks for the info, CraZyInLuV, my daughter will celbrate her 1st b-day in Oct and I think I will do what you did as well. I will be going to Mcdo next week and check them out. I was really lost as to how to celebrate her b-day since I want it really special but not that expensive...

I will also have two seperate meal groups, one for the Kids and one for adults....

Thanks really for the brilliant idea.... your an

And is it okay if I start to plan now but her b-day will be in Oct? I was thinking that we might be planning this too early???

k!xT3r!!!

[dudelish]

Originally posted by semperphi
I was really excitied about my daughter's 1st b-day that I planned about 4-6 months ahead....the one thing that I knew was that it will be in our backyard and a Hello Kitty themed party.

For my invitation I ordered it and it said something like "peek-a-boo, I see you!", We hope to see you at Hannah's 1st b-day Hello Kitty style. I also included a sheet that told the guests the agenda so they knew when the games started, cake, etc.

astig naman tong party na to. you go party momma.

[joben]

Thanks for all your posts. Great tips all.

For my son's birthday, I think I'll follow the "order from Mcdo" and get clowns/prizes from DV.

[Kaboom!]

Your responses/suggestions are great! My son will celebrate his first birthday in September and we're still trying to figure out how to celebrate it.

Peace.

[bubuyog]

Hey Jude, (saw you at ATC last Saturday ), why not try this Dog and Monkey Show, which, I heard, is the "fad" when it comes to kiddie parties. A friend says it costs around 8 to 10K. Will post here if I get info and contact details for this.


PEACE

[Becks]

what abt dreamscape? maganda ba dito? i heard there's one in Robinson's Galleria... if anybody knows how much, pls post naman!

[Kaboom!]

Originally posted by bubuyog
Hey Jude, (saw you at ATC last Saturday ), why not try this Dog and Monkey Show, which, I heard, is the "fad" when it comes to kiddie parties. A friend says it costs around 8 to 10K. Will post here if I get info and contact details for this.


PEACE

Yup, I was killing some time in ATC since I was having some stuff done for my car. Will try to ask around about the Dog and Monkey Show.

Peace.

[YouGoGirl]

Hi Semperphi,

Where did you rent the Snow Cone machine from?

The party that you threw for your daughter was very inspiring!

I hope the party I am planning for my son is as fun!

[semperphi]

Hi YouGoGirl,

I rented the snow cone machine from a company called Fun Services.

Thanks for the complement. Her first b-day was a big celebration for me and my husband not just because she turned one, but it took us 4 years to have her...so as you can see we just went all out. It's a lot of work, but all worth it.

Good luck on your party!

[SkaRLa]

For my daughter Zoe's 1st birthday party I had it at McDo in St Francis Square infront of Megamall. It's affordable, had about 70-80 guests and paid around 13K. The food is the pinaka-complete in the package w/ chicken, spaghetti, cheeseburger, drink and mcflurry (i heard they don't offer na that package anymore). that includes the invites, giveaways, prizes, etc. but one thing i noticed is that mcdo tries to rush things at the party so the program just lasts from 30-45mins lang cuz may susunod pa na family having a party after ours.

for her 2nd bday party we decided to just do a simple one and invite some kids over at our house. really basic - cake, balloons, ice cream, spaghetti, etc. and then it rained so hard kaya naawa ako and promised her that i'll give her a great party when she turns 3.

her party will be at country waffles, eastwood libis in july (where my son's baptism was also held last year). we were really satisfied with CW because of their food and service, especially if you have a function in their resto. i've ordered their international buffet (like before) and hired from CW extra food carts like french fries and cotton candy, so i won't have to pay corkage if i contact other suppliers for the food carts (CW offer also party packages and you can choose from their list of balloon decor, magicians, bubble show, etc). medyo mahal nga lang ang CW, pero what's more important talaga is the food. i've gotten lots of compliments during my son's baptism on the food served, maski yun mga maselan kong relatives and friends pagdating sa food super bilib sa sinerve ng CW. Total cost of the menu for 60ppl including the french fries and cotton candy food carts is PhP 32K.

i've hired a party planner (Party Network) to do her BLUES CLUES themed party. We were supposed to do a Dora The Explorer theme party but Dora is still new, hence party planners do not have materials yet for Dora.

(originally, i was supposed to get the uber popular Party Perks to do her party, but I find that they're not very accomodating and their prices are way too steep. Pang-artista kasi prices nila cuz they handled the parties of the kids of Richard/Lucy Gomez, Ogie/Michelle Alcasid and Aga/Charlene Muhlach.)

i went with one of Party Network's packages which includes a party theme host/magician, balloon centerpieces, theme hats, loot bags, name tags, pabitin, piñata, invitations, etc. complete na sya and i was supposed to hire a BLUES CLUES mascot but i had it cancelled cuz i noticed that my daughter became terrified of mascots (especially Grimace). so im not sure if she'll react the same way maski si Blue yun mascot. the mascot goes for 2.5K so sayang lang. also included in the package is the party host/magician that includes: party hosting in theme costume, has a party assistant, will conduct games for kids and adults, will do a magic show with live animals and the usual candle blowing activities. the whole program lasts for 3 hours. Party Network offers other party services also and you can choose from the list (including that dog and monkey show). total cost of the package is PhP 14K.

I've also hired face painters for the party, cuz I heard kids love it. The cheapest i found are those ppl from www.coloredsmiles.com. Their fee for 2 face painters for 3 hours unlimited face painting (full face or cheek art) is PhP 3K.

For the cake, we decided to go to Goldilocks cuz they offer a wide array of character cakes at affordable prices. We ordered a Blues Clues cake for only PhP 920.00. The cost was shouldered by my sister (who's also her Ninang).

I've assigned my sister and cousin to handle the photography and video coverage to save costs.

I know it's a bit steep, but it's one of those parties that you and your daughter are sure to remember and cherish.

I'm also excited about my son's upcoming first birthday in October and am now making plans as to what theme we're going with.