My youngest Mariel turned 9 last April and I’d like to share how we managed to give her a day which she enjoyed truly. I know how tough it can be sometimes to think of where to get your party supplies, especially when you have that much time. My daughter’s party wasn’t a grand celebration but I’d like to think of it more as a play date for her where she chose to invite her friends over, dress up, and play some games which she chose with her Ate Maristel.
The party wasn’t even a total DIY because all the food we had were ordered, but I still want to call it a DIY (do-it-yourself) because I did all the calling and the ordering part, LOL!
So here are some quick tips in case you want to have your little girl’s birthday party too, at home.
Invitation
We bought my daughter’s invitation cards from Japan Home Centre at Ayala Fairview Terraces. They got affordable party invitations and even party supplies there, ranging from P66 to P88 per pack.
Party Dress
I have to thank Lemon Kiss for Mariel’s comfortable but fashionable birthday dress. My daughter loved the dress the moment she saw it and was determined not to wear it before her birthday. The length, color and design of the dress was just perfect for the birthday party we had prepared for her. What I love on this dress is that the quality of the cotton is good, it’s breathable which makes it comfortable to wear despite this summer heat. You can also see that the cotton grade is premium which assured me that this dress will last and won’t tear for at least two years till Mariel gets bigger.
Decorations
To give Mariel’s party some color, I chose to do some arts and craft things like these colorful party circle fans which I made from the scrapbook paper I won from Bee Happy Crafts. I also made a monogram for Mariel. I bought the plain monograms from Shoppesville at Regina’s craft and gift store. Regina’s is my daughters’ favorite shop because of their affordable gift items, stickers and lots of craft supplies. My husband who happens to be a toy fan and blogger himself, he owns Steve’s Toy Room, made a beautiful birthday tarpaulin for Mariel. It was the photo on the top of this blog post.
Food
Since this party was meant to be a merienda party, I opted to order easy to eat food.
To entertain the kids while waiting, I had some popcorn and cola served, and some Champola chocolate wafer sticks to munch on.
For the kids, to eliminate the need to buy several toys to put in a loot bag, I chose to order a Mcdonald’s Happy Meal for each of them. Kids love chicken, so we had the chicken+drink+toy which costed P111. I did not choose the package with fries because I don’t want the kids to use their fingers when eating after they play. At least with the chicken, their moms can slice it for their kids. The Happy Meal toys were the characters from Dreamwork’s latest animation film “Home”. We got Oh!, one which dances, and one which lights up.
Dancing and Lighting Oh! from McDonald’s Happy Meal – characters from Dreamwork’s Animation film “Home”.
For the adults, we had Domino’s Pizza, 4 huge boxes of my daughter’s favorite flavor, for the prize of P900. Domino’s has this long time prome in MetroDeal where you can buy food vouchers worth P40% off 🙂 My mother in law bought Pancit Palabok and Pancit Bihon (Mariel’s favorite) and we got some cola for drinks.
For dessert, we had some ice cream from Magnolia which I scooped for the kids, while the parents scooped their own. We had the 3-in-1 Magnolia Ice Cream (mango, chocolate, vanilla) for the kids and for the parents, we had the more special flavor (Pistachio and Cookies and Cream).
For Mariel’s cake, we bought one from Goldilocks, a round cake with Double Dutch flavor. My husband got Mariel her favorite “Frozen” character Queen Elsa and used it as a cake topper.
Party Host and Games
For this part, I’ve let my eldest daughter do the hosting. She prepared a script herself on how she would introduce Mariel, how the games will go, and so on. Though Maris was still a bit shy, she did a good job and we really appreciate that she made an effort to prepare for her sister’s party.
Mariel’s Ate doing the hosting and party games.
Mariel, on the other hand, prepared a dance number where her guests followed and danced with her. Mariel loves to sing and dance and so we were certain that she truly enjoyed this part.
Success
It became a memorable 9th birthday party despite the fact that not everyone we’ve expected were there. I’ve asked Mariel and she was grateful for us for giving her this nice birthday party with her classmates, cousins, and her close family relatives, Lolo and Lola, tito and titas. As a mom, I know how special these birthdays are for kids because they create memories to cherish. No matter how big or small the party is, the most important thing is that the celebrant feel special and secured of the people who love her.
Thank you again to everyone who made my daughter Mariel’s birthday party a memorable one! Even to those wasn’t able to attend, I know that you will always be there for her, to guide and love her and be God’s forever blessings to my little lady.
belated happy birthday, Mariel 🙂 I know how hard it is to prepare for a home party, all the planning and the cleaning… but our kids smile is worth every pagod no?
true mommy Nerisa, i just look at her smiling face sabi ko ok nayon 🙂
Belated Happy Birtdhay.. soo cool party DIY,, hahay! wala talaga ko talent sa Diy thingy!!
wala din ako mommy @jocris_mangubat:disqus hahaha
Good job, mommy and daddy! 🙂 And belated happy birthday dear. 🙂 Oks din yung ganyan di ka na mapagod sa pagluto 🙂
Thank you! yes, wala na ding time magluto, actually i planned to bake the cake, fry lollipop chicken etcetera, pero ang ending, Happy meal hahahaha
Our kids fondest memories of childhood are their birthday celebrations. I am so proud of mommies who do take time to let out their creativity during these events.
thank you 🙂 konting creativity, medyo nainspire sa mga crafty mommies natin.
Belated Happy Birthday to your sweet baby girl 🙂 simple yet fun party maybe i’ll try this with my RJ hehe
thank you @ronacuerao:disqus 🙂
I think the way you did your party was simple pero sulit. Ang hirap na magpakapagod sa isang party to cook and prepare everything, tas you ordered food na everybody surely loved. Congrats mommy, and belated happy birthday to your Mariel! 🙂
Yes, sinabi mo, I’ve planned so many things, pero kahit ganito kasimple, ang hirap din pala.
Galing! I agree with you in calling it DIY kahit ordered ang pagkain! Everything else was DIY 🙂 I think it was so great to have Mariel’s older sister host the party. Belated happy birthday to Mariel! 🙂
Hi Vicky, thank you, naka DIY na rin ako kahit papaano 🙂
I love the look of the dress on Mariel! 🙂 Judging by the big smiles on the kids’ faces, it must have been a very fun party indeed. Congrats! 🙂
thank you!
Success! I love how you put everything together. The party’s a great mixture of carefree and dainty!
I love how you put it mommy Maan, mixture of carefree and dainty hahaha.
Awww…Ate is so sweet and very supportive for hosting the party. I love the monogram! I wish I could also DIYed my kid’s parties. Thanks for sharing this!
You should try doing it at least once, I tell you it’s fun 🙂
Great party! I’ll also do a DIY party for my eldest next month. Ayoko na ng big party. Mga Ninongs and Ninangs na lang niya (who are our close friends) since we don’t have that many friends who have kids. As in 2-4 lang ata!
Goodluck, kids are actually not that fussy with so much stuff, basta nandun ang mga special people in your life, ok na yon sa knila, everything else is just the icing on the cake nalang 🙂
I loved the cake!
What a great party she had! it looked like it turned out perfect.
Looks like a very nice party. I love party planning, especially for the kiddos!
A nice party indeed 🙂 happy birthday to your little girl mommy! 🙂
getting happy meals instead is a super smart idea! happy bday to your daugter! 🙂
Those decorations are SO cute!
Nice! Ang cute and di mabigat sa budget ang menu.
How sweet! What a fun party!! Good job mom!
It looks like your party went off well and everyone had a great time!
Kudos to the creative mom of Mariel 🙂 very nice, galing! Happy Birthday to your daughter mommy Lanie.
Looks like a super fun party that she had. She is cute.
I’m glad it was such a great celebration. Happy Birthday to her!
Very cute. Can you believe my 8 year old will not eat a Happy Meal?
Wow her party looks awesome!!!!!!! Happy birthday! I am working on my two boys birthdays right now. We are doing Toy Story theme.
Great party. The happy meal idea is a good one. Mariel is so adorable, she seems so happy on her special day, that picture where she was sitting in the center, with her guest, so lady like, hihi. I also love that your eldest daughter hosted the party, so supportive of her.
Sounds like a fun filled Birthday party. The decorations are so cute. Your girl looks pretty awesome in the pink. My hearty Birthday wishes to her.
DIY pa din! Looks so much fun!
Naalala ko tuloy yung party that my mom threw me and my twin brother. It was very memorable and it is only now that I became a mom that I appreciated her efforts.
Super mommies talaga!!
Looks like a very successful party! She looks adorable in the dress. My girls would love to have it!!
Happy birthday to Mariel! She looks so glam and fab in her Lemon Kiss pink dress. Congrats for a successful party! Every girl would surely want to have the same lovely party.
i love this DIY party! am sure the little birthday gal appreciated everyone’s effort to throw her a memorable one. hopefully i can pull something similar for my little one’s 6th birthday in August! 🙂
I like these DIY tips. Seems like your little princess had a grand birthday bash.
Belated happy birthday to Mariel!!! You did a good job. A birthday party doesn’t have to be grand to be fun. 🙂 I’m sure you’re daughter was really happy.