A Surpise 16th: A Mix of Culture & Genre

As a party schemer, I am not in favour of 'spur of the moment, instant' party planning. However, for my niece's 16th birthday, I can not say no to my dear sister!

There are a lot of things to consider and there are a lot of reason to make this party VERY limited:

• it's a Surprise
• a month to make it happen
• I have to incorporate Filipino's 18th debut into a sweet 16th celebration
• VERY limited grown-ups, this party is for a bunch of 16 year olds
• room for lots of dancing
• no extravagant, expensive decor but simple & themed-wise (very rocket-science)
• nothing expensive, but classy
• Phantom of the Opera Theme
• again, for a teen-ager! (enough said)

Planning for a teen-ager's party is no joke. I am very serious about this, and I would not commit to another surprise one, unless my heart is at stake. On the last two-weeks of preparation, me and my sister debated, argued, misunderstood each other on a lot of issues, especially about the flow of the program. Between me and her, the generation gap is so overwhelming to bridge, which is worst between her and her daughter. So I tried to make it as painless as I can to the celebrant, and boy, I am not mistaken. But because my sister is the brain of this party, I can only concede and try to  skip as much awkward as I can. Of course, as I expected, nothing missed my niece's attention despite her overwhelmed, emotional & surprised reaction. 

Teens, in this part of the world, have a whole lot of meaning to being 16. For Filipino parents, it would be very normal to celebrate a big 18th for a daughter. A Filipina debutante won't have any qualms because she knows it is a Filipino tradition. For a niece who is both a Filipina and a European by descent, but born Canadian, celebrating a 16th is the new 18th. She would like to celebrate her 16th because it means she celebrates it with her high school friends. She warned her mom: No big party with mom and dad's friends! Only party with her friends! But as a Filipina mom, my sister would want to make this year memorable if it means no eighteenth. 

So started the Surprise Party planning. My sister can only dangle the emotional torture in my busy-mom life, and for me to say NO is a crime. And this, she did a month before my niece' birthday. Again, I hate instant planning. But I pushed myself to whirl this one out. 

Theme: We started with the theme: Phantom of the Opera. My niece likes the movie so much, my sister suggested it right away. And I really like it if there is a theme at hand. My schemer brain could work around it 24/7. 

Invitation: 

Guestlist: 

Her group of friends from school (like 25 of them), family, Mom's and Dad's closest friends.

A combination of teen-agers, Filipinos and Europeans. Maximum of 20 grown-ups.

Venue:

Club Lasalle. Not too big, not too small of a hall. There is the dance floor that the kids could party their hearts out. Costly but worth it. 

Food:

A mix of Filipino & Western.

Sound:

Dad's radio. Kids can hook up their playlist & pick their songs. (Teen-agers who know their thing. Never try to make them do your thing. They have their own song.. so grown ups have to chill away)

Decor:

Black and white, with a single red rose for centerpiece:

Cake:

Program:

She got hauled in by her parents, and got her into wearing white!

Came in... thinking it's a candle light party for someone who passed away.

Surprise! It's her birthday!

Led her to her cake in the middle of the dance floor.

Candles came in.. making a path for the coming roses (Song: Young & Beautiful)

16 Roses came in (Song: Young & Beautiful), no dancing 

Last rose is her dad....

A father-daughter dance (Song: Dance with my Father)

To bring down the emotional moment: Khloe, my 4 y.o., danced her heart out with the Phantom of the Opera song with Ethan, nephew, coming out in the end wearing the phantom mask.

(awkward for both Ethan & Cass, but at least Khloe had a ball dancing.. LOL)

Chelsea, my other niece, did the prayer.

I welcomed everyone in like 10 seconds.

Dinner was served.

Then, the dance began.

It was quick, it was a surprise... it was as little awkward as I can pull off.

(With teen-agers, it's like a minefield -- everything is bound to be awkward!)

It was all good... it was memorable.

Pictures paint a million words:

Our sister flew in from North Carolina

Birthday is always a family reunion....

:)

A TinkerbeLL 4th Birthday Party

This year's 4th Birthday Party was a test for my party organizing capabilities. I haven't really organized a party for twenty kids for quite some time. But preparation is just one agenda, the party itself is another. 

The Tinkerbell idea came up because it is Khloe's desire to play with her friends in this indoor playland favourite of hers, Cheeky Monkey. At first I was thinking of a Safari Theme. Then I can't seem to come up with a good birthday dress for her. So Tinkerbell because I could let her become the Tinky, with the girls being the fairies & and boys the pirates. After the theme finalized in my brain, I started the planning.

Venue & Guestlist:

I rounded up the guestlist. It was around April, five months before the birthday, when I thought of inviting the girls from her Ballet Class. But because their Recital is around May, I have to give them out the invite before the busy recital day. So I booked the venue, then had the invites ready for their last rehearsal. When the summer started and I registered her for Soccer, I tried to add up the list of her teammates before their last game. Just like her Ballet, Khloe loves playing soccer. In her mind, all the girls are her friends. But because the party was set up on a long week-end before school starts, most of the girls are away. Then I mailed the rest of the invites for friends from Hamilton, Missassauga & Toronto. And handed out the ones from St Catharines. 

Give-aways:

For boys: I ordered pirate hats and a sword and eye patch set from Halo Heaven. To have it cheaper, I waited for their 60% and 40% sale online.For girls: I ordered flower halo for their hair from Halo Heaven as well, and tutu & wings for their dolls. I took advantage of the 35% off and Deal of the Day from the sites Facebook page. Some of the light items I had it shipped directly here in Canada for a fee, while the rest, I had shipped to California at no extra charge for order over $40. The loot bags I used were provided by salesgirl  from Chapters-Indigo/Kids for free.I lined it with green gift tissue from the Dollar Store.

The Cake:

The Cake is one of my proudest find for this event. It is an experiment of some sort as a preparation for her 7th brithday three years down the road. Devoid of Filipino bakeshops here in Canada, where I can just order the most adorable cake I trust, searching for that satisfactory baker is not an easy task. I googled, facebooked, searched and searched some more. Baker's list is not a problem. I am more concerned about the cake design and the taste. Usually, you could find a lovely fondant cake. Then, it would taste like it was not worth any fondant price. I ordered a cake once for my niece 7th, with a princess castle for design. When I opted 'yes' to the castle being edible, I didn't realized it will matter on the outcome. I ended up with a cake and a tiny-winny castle on the top. So I learned from that. I relied most on the reviews of the baker's websites. The clicker is  the "yummy" word. Surely, you can find websites with reviews raving about the design. But seldom will you find reviews that the general content was how beautifully it was done and how yummy and 'to die for' is the cake. Cake By Cheryl is my only choice. It was pricey, but it was all WORTH it. Everybody was asking me where I got the cake. And I am most proud to say, Cheryl made it.

The Dress:

Thanks to my dear friend, Cher, the Tinkerbell dress was an easy task. I begged her to drag my husband to the Disney Store in San Jose, California. I was hoping that their Tinky dress is the one I fell in love before they changed the design from the one online. Unfortunately, it was the same as online. And because I am running out of time before hubby fly to join us here in Canada, I let Cher picked the one from the store. So the Tinkerbell dress happened. 

The Food & Venue:

Cheeky Monkey has a packaged for twenty kids, with pizza or hotdog and unlimited drinks for the kids. This of course, includes a 2-hour play and party time. Added to the package is icecream or sundae. 

The Party:

Her friends came, and my friends came. It was a blast. I was crazy tired, but her joy is all worth it.

Next year will be a different story. Hopefully I will not run out of ideas untiL she'll turn 7.

Note:

We would like to thank all the friends for their wishes, their time and their presents. Love the love.

We would like to thank the Sadowski's for the bike, the Zamora's for the bike accessories and the Lazona's for the Cake. Above all, thank you Cher, for the lovely dress.

If you need help with your party ideas, just message me away. I would love to share my thoughts :)

Happy BirthDay, Princess!!!

Miracle of Love

By: Linda Jones

Months have passed, the day is here

My little angel does appear

God's new masterpiece is done

And my job has just begun.

You are laid upon my breast

So content, you softly rest

My perspective now has changed

Everything's been rearranged.

Helpless eyes look up at me

A whole new world in you I see

Tiny fingers grasp my thumb

A whole new person I've become.

A brand new life I must help mold

From this pure innocence I hold

All of my thoughts are now for you

You have made a dream come true.

Unimagined love -- so much

Your smile, you smell, your laugh, your touch

I thank each day the Lord above

For you, my miracle of love.

August 28, 2009

Khloe Chantalle Rivera

was born

Happy 3rd Birthday, Our Beloved Princess.