My little girl is now 2 years old! I cannot reiterate more that "time flies by quickly"... parang di pako nasanay! (It's a bit hard to get used to it!)

Last weekend, we celebrated her birthday with some family and friends. Unlike my kids' first birthdays, this was just a simple get-together, with just a few people, no hosts or formal program, kainan lang! (we just ate together!).

The thing with my children's birthdays is, I always want to make it a point that I make it extra special for them, even just a little bit. Since my daughter loved Hello Kitty a lot, we decided to throw her a Hello Kitty themed birthday! 

At first, it was supposed to be celebrated at my parent's house, and I'll be doing all the decors. But the problem was the food... and my mom and I didn't really think we could cook for 30 people, let alone, decorate and clean up after. So we decided to eat out instead. I know Jollibee had Hello Kitty as one of their party themes, but the date and time we wanted was already booked. And I didn't want to move the date, because November 7 is her actual birthday, and it fell on a Saturday! So it just had to be on that day!

My husband was the one who suggested Shakey's. So I tried my luck and called them. Lo and behold, a 4pm slot for a party was available on my daughter's birthdate! I booked it immediately! 

I would like to commend Shakey's for making my party planning and preps very easy. They allowed our Hello Kitty theme, and friendly staff helped me with the decorations come party time (even though I was honestly a nervous wreck, because we we're late and we had to decorate in a rush). 

Everything was setup nice and pretty, and so very Hello Kitty-ish! hehe

The focal point of the party was the cake table of course! I just had a tarpaulin made a few days before the party, since it was cheaper and easy to transport. I adorned it with tissue pompoms, that I made myself, and Hello Kitty mylar balloons, that I bought from Celebrations at Party Central, Megamall.

I made the cake stand, lollicake stand, and cookie stand from old boxes, japanese paper and Hello Kitty washi tape (from Bee Happy Crafts). The cake and cupcakes were a "gift" from my family (Thanks Papa!), they had them made by a friend. While I ordered the lollicakes and cookies from Pink Sweets. Children's loot was simply some Hello Kitty candy and Jelly ace placed in yogurt cups, wrapped in clear cellophane and tied in baker's twine.

I setup a table for the kids, put some balloons on the chairs, party hats, coloring pages (Hello Kitty and Adult coloring pages), and blocks & puzzles.

The centerpieces on the tables were from used bottle covered in tissue paper, tied in baker's twine. I had photo props printed and placed them in BBQ sticks. Instant centerpiece!

As for the food, we just pre-ordered 4 Monster Meal Deals plus 25pcs of ice cream to reach the 10,000 pesos consumable for the use of function room. The food was set up buffet style. One Monster Meal Deal was already good for 10-12 persons, which includes: 2 Large Pizzas, 2 Pasta Platters (Spaghetti and Carbonara), a large basket of Chicken and Mojos, and 3 pitchers of soft drinks (Coca Cola products). We just brought a box of Zesto for the kids.

For the Ice breaker game, I made it a group game per table, and the guests just have to answer a puzzle of fill-in-the-blanks about the birthday girl! Like a getting to know the celebrant type of game! The prizes were FUN ZONE Tokens (the bigger kids enjoyed those)!

The use of function room is up to 2 hours only. So the time was just right for eating time, 1 ice breaker game, and candle blowing. I cannot imagine how a regular birthday party with program and hosting would take place in just 2 hours, I think it's too short... I'm just glad that was out of my concern :) 

Overall, it was a fun, successful party. The most special part is that we got to celebrate it with family and friends on the actual date of her birthday!

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Here are the short list of suppliers that helped make our Hello Kitty Party a success:

• Venue and Food - Shakey's Lipa | Phone:(043) 756 3172
• Cake and Cupcakes - Ms. Mafel Magtibay
• Lollicakes and Cookies - Pink Sweets
• Baker's Twine and Hello Kitty Washi Tape - Bee Happy
• Hello Kitty mylar balloons, rubber balloons, party hats, tissue napkins (used in the centerpiece), yogurt cups - Celebrations at Party Central
• Hello Kitty Candy - SM Supermarket
• Banners, tissue pompoms, dessert stands, table tent cards, and photo props - DIY by Mommy Lique
• Coloring Pages - Pinterest :)

And I am very happy to share a FREE printable of the banners and photo props that you can use in your own party!

Recommended size and paper to print: 12x18 glossy paper
CLICK HERE to download

You can also check out the Pinterest Board I made here to check out some other Hello Kitty printables and party ideas!

Follow Lique's board Hello Kitty Birthday Party Ideas on Pinterest.

Cheers!

And just like that, Kiel is now 3!

This time, we wanted to host a small party with a few family and friends. We were sure that it would be a swimming party at our place.

Now for the party theme, it was either Dinosaurs or Pirates for the little boy, since that was what he was so in to recently. So we went with the Pirate Theme, since it was a more ideal match for the swimming activity.

I simply made an e-vite for the guests and set up a Facebook Event.

Pirate Invite (E-vite)

I kept things DIY as much as possible. I loved the idea of throwing a homemade party and crafting too. And Kiel also loved helping out with the party stuff. It made the party planning more fun!

We put the cake on top of our DIY Treasure Chest made of an old box and we covered it with black and brown cartolina and gold foil edges.

The Banners and Table Centerpieces are all DIY! :)

I made paper boats and Talk and Look Like a Pirate Cards, then spread out some DIY spyglasses and treasure maps, Pirate Tattoos and Props, and lots of gold coins (gotta have the gold coins). With the help of Kiel, we drew on some Manila Paper to make the Map table runner for all the Pirate whatnots.

Here are the Party Details in Pictures.

Banners made of Cartolina and Cardstock on Baker's Twine.
Letters are hand painted with poster paint

Paper Pirate Ships made of Brown Cartolina, Bbq Stick, and Black Cartolina, Cardstock flag

Table Runner is just plain old Manila Paper :)

Designed these Talk and Look like a Pirate Cards for a more Pirate-y feel

Party Trays from 8Spoons

Put Pirate Props like hats and beards and Gold Coins too

Just one of Kiel's cute drawings on the table runner-slash-Manila paper

Pirate Cake (Jake and the Neverland Pirates) by Mommy Smiley, which I met in Kindermusik, her daughter and Kiel used to be classmates :)

Make a wish my lil buckaneer! We placed the cake on top of a DIY treasure chest from an used box, covered in cartolina and gold foil.

Found this by chance at the grocery! They're yummy too :)

Our neighbors swimming! 

Pirate Tattoos! Yo-ho-ho!

Props for ye Mateys!

Arr!

Happy Birthday my little boy!

Planning your own party too? Check these suppliers out:

• Party Trays/Food - 8Spoons
• Cake - Smiley Bernardo (Email her at smileyjulve@gmail.com)
• Paper Plates, Party Hats, Paper Straws, and Napkins - Celebrations at Party Central
• Paper Cups, Cardstocks (Black with White Stripes), Baker's Twine, Loot Bags - Bee Happy
• Gold Coins, Chocolates, and Pirate Cookies - Shopwise
• Black/Red/Brown cartolina, Gold Foil, Poster Paint, Manila Paper - National Bookstore :)

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Planning a Pirate Party?

I am happy to share this FREE PRINTABLE of the Talk and Look Like a Pirate Cards.

Also, here are a some other resources for Free Pirate Party Graphics and Printables:

Jake and the Neverland Pirates Printables

Disney Jake and the Neverland Pirates Birthday Party

Pin it for later:

Follow Lique's board Pirate Birthday Party on Pinterest.
 
Yo-ho-ho!

I have family and friends tell me that I have a knack for planning parties. I just love a good party, that's why I want to throw a good one, if not best!

Why not? I love it when we get together, and the only way they could is through celebrations such as parties. We get to see family, talk to our friends, and our friends get to mingle... the whole picture just brings a smile to my face :)

So here are some Basic Party Planning Tips from yours truly...These are more based from my experience of how I plan a party, so it's a tried and tested method :)

1. Plan Ahead
We started planning about 6 months ahead. No kidding. We didn't go all out planning, just started with the basics:

• Set a Date
• Draft a guest list
• Think of options for Party Themes
• Choose a Venue (if you're looking to book clubhouses in Metro Manila, better call ahead because they get booked fast!)
• List down the things you need (ex. cake, host, balloons etc.)

That's it! It helps a lot to make plans little by little. It also helps with keeping your budget in check. Suppliers would ask a small percent for downpayment at the beginning, so you don't have to cash out a big amount when the party is over.

2. Make a Party Budget (and stick to it as much as possible)
You've started listing the things you need right? Now, assign a budget or a price range so you know how much the TOTAL party  budget would be. Also, you get to assign the bigger budget to the highest priority.

Example:

• Venue = 8,000-10,000
• Caterer = 20,000-30,000
• Cake = 1,000-2,000
• Decoration and Styling = 3,000-5000   
• TOTAL = 32,000-47,000 budget range

So now, you have an idea how much your party would cost. Remember that if it is not within your budget, there is always another option, either find a different supplier with amore affordable rate or change your plan. If you have a couple of months more to go then there is time to make changes.

Also remember that a great party does not depend on the fanciness and elegance. A small party would also need a party budget right?

Planning a small party at home? Here is a sample of a budget and checklist:

• Food/Caterer = 5,000-10,000
• Cake and Dessert = 1,000-2,000 
• Table and Chairs Rental = 1,000-2,000
• Decoration = 1,000-2,000
• Loot Bags and Giveaways = 2,000-3,500
• TOTAL = 10,000-19,500

3. Canvass various suppliers and do your research
I have a file in my laptop of a number of suppliers. To build up your contact list and database, first ask recommendations from family and friends. I'm sure some of them can recommend a trusted supplier.

If not, do your research, the internet is your best friend :) Contact suppliers by calling them or sending an email inquiry and ask for their rates. Most suppliers have party packages ready for your convenience, ask for those too.

Ask if they have or are going to have promos, why not right? Most suppliers are willing to get booked and to give you the best price they have to offer. 

Remember to be polite though, you might get a better rate this way :) I mean, who likes a brat anyway?

For possible venues, do an ocular visit to see if it's a fit for your party. Consider accessibility for you and for your guests.

4. Make a Mood Board as a guide for suppliers

Once you have a list of suppliers, it's best to have a mood board for them. I already shared a few pointers HERE.

Or you can use Pinterest :)

Another good tool is Powerpoint.

I use Adobe Photoshop, since I'm used to that. I made a pdf file for Hailey's party suppliers recently. I simply looked for pictures for inspiration, since that's where you will begin anyway. And made a few notes for the suppliers. Here is an excerpt of what I provided for the suppliers for Hailey's Party:

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BONUS #1: I made a Party Planning Checklist, and I am sharing it for FREE! DOWNLOAD HERE!

BONUS #2: Happy Thoughts and I are sponsoring a PARTY KITS GIVEAWAY! Get the chance to win one of 5 Customized party kits (designed by me!). Contest runs from October 22 to November 22. Open for events/parties from December 2014 to December 2015 nationwide! Complete details over at the Happy Thoughts Facebook Page

CLICK HERE AND JOIN NOW!

Hope I helped you in planning your own party! I would appreciate your feedback.

Cheers,