Isaac Turns One!

Isaac turned the Big One last January 24, 2006. His birthday fell on a Tuesday so we prepared a small birthday dinner, family only. His birthday bash was held on the 28th and obviously I didn't have this blog then, so I’m writing about it now.

From my post on PEx (http://www.pinoyexchange.com):

Whatta blast, Isaac’s party. I believe I outdid myself this time in planning and preparation. Oh I’m so boastful! Well, I don’t mind sharing, it was really a great party:

Theme and Setting

We had a garden setting at Prominence Inn, Bacolod. I didn’t know about this little garden inn tucked away off the bustling commercial Araneta highway until we attended a garden wedding of my mom’s cousin last July 2005. Located just behind The Sugarland Hotel, it has a nice hedge-fenced garden that’s perfect. The day of the party I was almost afraid it would rain, it looked really cloudy that morning. The downside to this venue: no alternative function room in case it does rain. The garden is their selling point, that’s it. But no! The sun shined brightly and it was a great day for a party! It was a good thing it was a bit cloudy, it wasn’t too hot for outdoors.

Theme: Spongebob Squarepants, Isaac adores him so.

- I had a Spongebob and Friends banner made and it said “Happy 1st Birthday Isaac”

- Balloons were mostly yellow and blue, with a couple of pink in honor of Patrick Star.

- Playing in the background were Spongebob songs, downloaded from the Internet. (Thank you, Tito-Ninong Alex!)

- Kiddie tables had Spongebob wrapping paper for table covers and little balloon-and-confetti centerpieces.

- The gazebo was decorated in yellow and blue ribbons, a Balloon Pop and a Happy Birthday backdrop

- Then the usual: Table for cake, party favors, gifts.

Pre-Party

- I had a Registration table at the entrance of the garden: Guests have to register first! I made the Spongebob Guest Book myself and this is where the kids and their parents wrote in their names.

- Behind the Registration Table was a Spongebob poster with a “Welcome to my Party” sign

- Each kid got a nametag, party hat, coloring page (I downloaded this from the internet), and crayons all in the Spongebob theme, of course. Yep, even the crayons. I was lucky to find it at Lopue’s East Center.

- Upon registration, the kid’s name is written on a raffle stub and dropped in a jar for a special drawing during the party. (Secret surprise!)

-Then kids proceed to their tables. While the early arrivals waited for the rest of the guests, they used the time coloring in the pages with their Spongebob crayons. Meanwhile, the clown I hired also did some balloon twists to amuse them.

The garden setting was alright, it gave the kids a chance to run around, chase each other with their balloon twist “swords”. It was fun already and the party hadn’t even started yet!

Meanwhile, the Birthday Help (my sister, sis-in-law, mom, mom-in-law, etc., etc.) went around the tables collecting Spongebob Coloring Pages and taped them to the Spongebob Art Gallery. It was just a bulletin board decorated with cartolina and crepe ribbons.

Party Proper

For my little boy’s Birthday March, which we also dubbed The Grand Entrance with Mommy and Daddy, we stayed at the garden entrance hidden from the guests while the clown said a few words. When the clown gave his cue, we tromped down the path leading to the gazebo. The funny part was Isaac was fast asleep! We tried waking him up but he was just darn tired, LOL!

Turned out that even though he took a nap before the party, he had too much excitement from all the fawning by guests and relatives, then the pictorials. So there, sleepy head. I tried to carry him upright but he just boinked his head back onto my shoulder and snoozed.

Ok, back the to Birthday March. Snooze or not, the party must go on! When we got the go signal, our little family of three followed the path and marched to the Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song right up to the gazebo. “Oh... who lives in a pineapple under the sea?”

At the Gazebo, Daddy Tots the giant yellow Balloon Pop and silver and blue confetti fell all over. Too bad Isaac was asleep!!

At the gazebo were Chairs of Honor (well, that’s what I call them) where we sat and then the games began! Mister Clown took over the program from here: he gathered up all the kids, had them sit up front, performed some magic tricks and orchestrated some games. Some games even let the adult guests join.

Time for Happy Birthday!

After the fun and games, Mister Clown gathered the kids around our Spongebob and Friends Fantasy Cake to sing Happy Birthday. I offered a prayer for the birthday boy and then everybody sang their loudest. Then it was snack time.

Snacks

- Kiddie meals were already prepared on Spongebob paper plates so all they had to do was sit and wait for snacks to be served. Each plate had spaghetti, chicken nuggets, egg sandwich, muffins and brownies.

I liked it that way because I didn’t like the "look" of kids joining and pushing in at the buffet table with the adults. Adults - mommies and yayas - who get food for their kids tend to put on too much on a plate so a lot of food go to waste because kids don’t really eat that much. Cousin Jhing suggested that we serve packed/ prepared food for the kids.

- Buffet table for adults. The garden had a vine canopy at one corner and the food set up looked elegant under it. We had lasagna, chicken lollipops, club sandwiches, chocolate cake, maja blanca, valenciana, hotdogs, and pork BBQ.

- I also rented an ice cream cart for all-you-can-eat sorbets. I would’ve brought in a cotton candy cart, too, but it didn’t push through.

- While everyone ate snacks, we all watched some Spongebob episodes on TV.

During Snacks

- While While everyone ate snacks, we all watched some Spongebob episodes on TV.

- Pre-identified judges looked over the Spongebob Art Gallery and awarded ribbons for the best colored Spongebob Coloring Page. I made blue and yellow award ribbons with a Spongebob picture in the center, of course with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on the corresponding ribbons. The judges couldn’t tell who owned each colored art work because names were written at the back. See, no biases!

- After snacks, the Bulletin Board was pushed to the center for the Spongebob Art Gallery Awards. Expectedly, the older kids won but I’m sure the little kids had fun in coloring too.

After Snack Games

- You know that game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”? Well, I came up with a Pin the Pants on Spongebob! It was hilarious, the kids had lots of fun with this one, too. Spongebob was only in his underwear and kids lined up in blindfolds to pin on Spongebob’s pants. Whoever covered Spongie’s underpants best was the winner.

- Spongebob Piñata

- Pabitin

- Hit the Pot

Special Spongebob Raffle

Remember the Secret Surprise I mentioned earlier at the Registration? Well, each kid’s name is entered in a raffle. We had a special table set up with goodies of everything Spongebob. There were toys, coloring books, puzzles, bags, wallet, hand fans, pencil and stationery sets, everything! The coloring books and other items were, of course, common, but the kids and their parents were really looking forward to the good stuff: toys, bags, the floor puzzle, stuff like that. Birthday Celebrant Isaac drew the names, of course. A bit of a challenge because he wanted to play and scatter the jar contents, LOL..

Goodbye Time

All great parties must come to an end. Tots and I sat back on the Chairs of Honor and the kids lined up to get their Loot Bags, which contained candies, little toys, Spongebob wallets (girls) and Spongebob stickers (boys).

All in all, it was a really great shindig. Everyone had fun, there was plenty of food, plus the kids took home a whole lot more than loot bags: they brought home Spongebob crayons and their Coloring Page; the prizes from games, piñata and pabitin; the Spongebob memorabilia from the special raffle, and the memory of a good time!

I was complimented lots for hosting a great party although I’m pretty sure the parents couldn’t possibly know the details and effort I put into planning it all – the late nights (and wee mornings!) I stayed up doing the budget, the research and downloading from the Internet; the neck cramps I had from making what I could myself; the to-and-fro to look for cheap party stuff; the endless interviews for the clown; samplings for ice cream and food… I could go on. It felt really great to see that everyone – kids and adults – had so much fun!

Personal

To my just-turned-one Isaac -- Happy Birthday sweetheart! You might not remember the party, but you'll have a lot of fun watching the video and looking at photographs! Mommy and Daddy love you so.