I had 15 days to come up with the best FIRST birthday party for my Little Mao. Although at 6 months of age, I already knew what kinda party to throw. My Mikko loves Sesame Street to my delight because I grew up with the characters so I already envisioned the kind of birthday event we will be having. I didn’t want to splurge so much and stay practical so I made a 10K budget to make my SESAME STREET party happen.
Now I have this idea that in order to get things done I must make invitations first and give them early on for my motivation. To save $, I made, designed and printed the invitations myself.
Then I got T-shirts for *ALL* of us…
Everybody happy? That’s right!
Along with other printed materials like the party banners and banderitas, I also made the goodie bag tags, play money for use to buy food (just for fun!), gift certificates as prizes for the party games (such as the classic Filipino “pabitin" and break the pot), and props for the photobooth.
And to add more color to the party, we set up a NAIL COLOR “booth" so everyone else can get colorful nails like I did. Kikayness. A sure treat for the yayas and the moms.
Along with the super fun photobooth by SALA Lounge + Café (ahem!) and nail color areas, we rented a local cotton candy machine maker, put up a hotdog/marshmallow table, and bought 6 gallons of delicious local Batangueño (dirty) ice cream. It’s not dirty per se but that’s what it’s called and we kids here in Ormoc City grew up eating this awesome cheap local treat.
The cake & cupcakes were given as a gift from Ninang Ishshah Franco-Kangleon of Buttercup Boutique & Novelty Shop, my pretty sis-in-law and made by Julina Larrazabal-Algarra. The balloons and tables were from This & That, the premier gift shop here in town. Paid for as a gift from Mikko’s great grandparents. :P Aren’t we lucky? Hehe. We were also blessed by generous sponsors for the food prepared. Also we are fortunate to have people working and volunteering to get the party going. Shout outs to Yaya Mila, Tatay Bobby, Mianne, Liny, Melinda, Diday, Dorothy, Diane, Anrie, Yaya Maricel, Yayo Marjun as well as our cousins, friends, and neighbors Cecil, Rae Ann, Tita Agnes, Celsa, Tita Baday for all your help.
We thanked the Lord above for the gift of life before celebrating Mikko’s birthday even though he kept crying and screaming at church either because he got hungry or it was too hot. (Better than a rainy day, right?)
Okay, I think the rest of these photos below should speak for themselves.
It was indeed a truly remarkable and unforgettable birthday party that I hope Mikko will appreciate when he’s older and sees the photos we’ve taken to remind us all of the fun we had celebrating his FIRST birthday party. It was tiring really but it was all worth it. Anything for our baby boy.
We love you, Little Mao. Wishing you many more happy years ahead!
