after a couple of months of planning and preparing, we celebrated my son's 1st birthday last November 28 at Association de Damas de Filipinas, an orphanage, in Paco, Manila.
with the help of the following suppliers, the kids at Damas and our guests surely enjoyed the day:
Party Planner: Dynamic Impact (20/10 
Super thank you, Emie and Dada, for without both of you, I don't know if my baby will even have a party.
Emie and Dada took care of almost everything - venue set-up, food carts, hiring of host and magician/illusionist, face painter, pinata & balloon burst. They also coordinated with the caterer and gave me tips on other stuff. Nga pala, they even sourced the tent na ginamit sa garden. Lahat halos, sila nag abala
Regarding the venue, they made it soooo festive talaga. I know how much yung hirap nila dun kasi I saw the place the day before the party. It was a plain lobby lang. I got so worried nga the day before kasi parang malungkot yung place pala (that was the first time I saw the inside of the orphanage
) But on the day of the party itself, parang magic! Biglang ang saya-saya na nung venue... My son's eyes twinkled when he saw the balloons and the backdrop. He was all smiles... from ear to ear talaga... Sa entrance pa lang, the guests are already taking pictures na... One guest even asked if she can have the styro backdrop after the party. Naku, Ems, may nawawala ka bang styro? Hahaha....
I surely enjoyed the party because of Emie and Dada. Many thanks, Emie and Dada!
Caterer: Verleo (10/10) Really, really yummy! I only got their name from this site, so thank you so much, mga mommies who posted reviews about verleo. You are all right, their food is really excellent, value for money.
We took home some of the leftover pa and gave it to our neighbors. Same feedback, yummy daw. My tita who is from Laguna, took home some din. Super sarap daw kasi. I'll surely get them again and recommend them to my friends.
Host: Darwin Novicio (10/10) I was having second thoughts hiring a host kasi I have friends who can host the party for me. Pero having a professional host is really different pala. Darwin took care of the party flow so ako, pa-chika-chika na lang. He even has an assistant na tumatawag at humahanap sa akin pag may part na kami ng baby ko. hehe (nawawala kasi kami palagi
From hosting to games, he took control of the flow and most specially the kids... hehe.... Can you imagine hosting a party for about 80 kids? Darwin was able to hold the interest of every single kid in that place.. inlcuding the kids at heart.
Clap, clap, clap
Magician/Illusionist: Master Dem (10/10) What can I say?..... Galing, galing, galing! Jaw dropping performance
Several times, napatayo even the adults and conversations had to stop. May part na pati adults napapasigaw... I even saw an officemate na napatakip ng ears... Mega react!... Ganyan si Master Dem kagaling
Also, yug performance pati nya iba-iba so hindi bored yung kids and the adults... Sulit si Master Dem... Next year ulit, ha
Cakes and Cupcakes: Sugarbox (10/10) I am no fan of chocolate cake but Emily's cake is really different. The cake tastes heavenly. Super moist even two days after the party. We took home the cake and gave some to our neighbors. Impressed pati sila, a friend requested for Sugarbox contact details na.
Yun nga lang, I did not have the chance to taste the cupcakes, naubos kasi. Even the few cupcakes which I am fortunate na mauwi (thanks Emie! ), di ko din natikman. Kinuha ng mga pamangkin ko! LOL
Photo and Video: John Aguas (10/10)Again, another very professional recommended by Emie. Naku, malayong malayo sya from the one I hired for my baby’s baptism. First, sya mismo yung nandun sa event. He was already there when we arrived and we got there almost an hour before the party... Second, when we arrived, he started taking pictures of me and my baby na. Lahat ng place na magandang picturan, na picturan nya kami... Unlike nung baptism nung baby ko, I had to instruct the photographer to take pictures of this and that kasi naka upo lang sila parang guests... Grrrr... Now I know why John Aguas is so loved by mommies here at GT.
Food Carts: Champola Blast, Fruitas, Potato Corner, Auntie Anne’s, Corndog, Nacho King (9/10)The food carts were a big hit to the guests and the kids (except for nacho king I think). I realize that not everyone is a fan of nachos pala. Pero despite that, ubos pa din... Dynamic’s corndog is a winner with my dad and my officemate. My officemate ate 4 corndogs daw in a span of 10 minutes (record holder)
Auntie Anne’s had a problem with the power connection because of their oven. Maninipis daw yung linya ng kuryente sa Damas according to my driver. But Auntie Anne’s made up for it by having their branch bake the pretzels and deliver everything sa Damas. Nakahabol pa din sila with the guests and the kids. May nauwi pa kami tuloy na pretzels
Loot Bags – From Ebay Seller, Contents from Puregold and Savemore (9/10)Lesson learned – plan early and BUY early lalo na if your kid's birthday is near Christmas. In my case, di ko na kinayang pumunta pa ng Divi so I resulted to Ebay. Fortunately, I found this very nice seller who sold the bags to me for 27 each. Mas mahal sya sa Divi pero okay na din kasi i saved on gas, hirap ng pag hahanap, and pag absent sa office.
The color of the bags were all very vibrant and the zippers are all okay except for one. So, okay na din. For the contents of the loot bags, since all food naman, I bought it from Puregold na lang and Savemore.
Souvenirs – 2010 Calendars from Papemelroti (my ever reliable supplier) (10/10)Since I ran out of time, I bought Papemelroti’s 2010 wall calendars na lang. To personalize it, I bought heart-shaped scrapbook materials from Papemelroti na din and used it to mark my son’s 2nd birthday. Dapat pa nga sana, I’ll put the phrase “Liam’s 2nd Birthday†sa heart-shaped scrapbook material, kaya lang I ran out of time na (madaling araw na ako natapos the day before my baby's party
. So, heart na lang to mark his 2nd birthday.
All in all, my baby’s birthday went well. Everyone had a great time... So thanks ulit sa lahat ng mga suppliers who never failed me. Now, I am excited to plan my baby's 2nd birthday party na
