Mutella

Last night, with 3 kids in bed, lights off...

Xavi: I love Mutella!
Me: Did you say Mutella or Nutella?
Xavi: Mutella!
Me: It's Nutella, not Mutella. Say it with me, Nutella.
Xavi: Mutella
Me: Nu...
Xavi: Nu...
Me: Tell...
Xavi: Tell...
Me: Ahhh!
Xavi: Ahhh!
Me: Nutella!
Xavi: Mutella!

Berry busts out giggling. Xavi starts one of his infectious belly laughs. Tepper, who was silently breastfeeding joins in. We all end up laughing. 

Me: Look at Tepper, he can't even say many words, but he's laughing at you Xavi! 

Tepper sits up. Throws his head back and laughs a hearty laugh. And everyone breaks into giggles again. What a fun night! Beats any party!

Social Media Social-an with Print Social

One of the buzz words during Xavi's party was "Print Social".

As our guests entered Xavi's Seussland, they received a card with the hashtag #XavisFirstBirthday and the instruction that when they Instagram their photos of the party with the hashtag #XavisFirstBirthday, they will get to bring home a print of those photos.

Cool no? So high tech!

Print Social's Instagram Photobooth only works for those with public profiles, FYI

Still fuzzy between the ears? Here's how it works:

There was a TV set-up at the party, as below, where guests could see a slideshow of the photos being uploaded using #XavisFirstBirthday.

The same photos you see on screen are printed and clipped ala laundry line against a small step and repeat banner, like what you see behind Luis of Print Social.

Thanks so much Luis for celebrating Xavi's first birthday with us!

Here's a sample of the Print Social print-outs from their website:

Now here are some of the Print Social printouts from #XavisFirstBirthday:

True enough, Print Social's tagline "cover more ground" allowed us to do just that.

I loved how I got a perspective of what our guests were doing, and what they liked about the party just by looking at their photos.

Some guests took photos of themselves, some took photos of their food and the decor, a few took photos of us candidly, which were all such cute souvenirs of Xavi's special day. Granted that we only had 1 "official photographer" going around, everyone still had photos of their own to help in documenting Xavi's party.

 

And I think our guests also loved the fact that they could choose their own background and subject, angle their own photos, and did not have to line up to have their photos taken at a photo booth. 

You want to get them for your own party, or a corporate event? Here are the Instagram Photo packages. You may even bundle this with a traditional photo booth, starting at Php10,999 if you like:

All three packages include a personalized printout design, personalized photowall, a CD copy of all photos taken, an online photo album and an on-site attendant. It all boils down to how long your event will be and if you will be getting the add-ons.

Is it worth it? Oh yes! Print Social's Instagram Photobooth is just so fun, very convenient, doesn't take up too much space and is just a completely novel and brilliant concept.

It really is like seeing your party through the eyes of your guests!

For more about Print Social, check out their website and Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrintSocial

Print Social
Email: hello.printsocial@gmail.com
Telephone: +632 211 6002
Mobile: +63 917 584 6632

A Magical Party with Party Magic

There are party supplies stores, and then, there ARE party stores where you get a sense that they make magic happen.

I got that when I first stepped inside Party Magic on Wilson Street in San Juan.

It is so Pinterest pretty.

It is a far cry from typical party stores where all you see are cheesy styrofoam characters on the window, and cartoon character everything all over. This place is subdued and tasteful. Not to mention, it has everything you'd ever need if you decide to throw an impromptu party in a day or two.

From balloons (they can do both stick and real helium balloons, not those fire prone hydrogen ones),

to pre-packaged souvenirs like these bottles of jelly beans,

Princess, fairy, animal and Minnie Mouse headbands,

birthday crowns,

and all other party sundries like cups, napkins, disposable cupcake towers, and such.

I really only meant to order balloons for Xavi's party. I had felt Cat in The Hat hats that I ordered from Ant's Pocket and character cut-outs from The Candy Shop. I was also filled with the illusion that I could pull off decorating Xavi's party all by myself.

But when Michell started sketching on her notebook and showing me balloon walls and such, I was like, "Wow, we can do that?"

Turned out, she could. Easily. Perfectly.

The balloon wall at the entrance looked fantastic.

The inside was equally fun as well. I just asked my caterer, M Catering, to use red and blue table cloths and Michell took care of the rest - adding striped runners, and using the felt hats and buckets to ground the balloons. She also had mini frames to show well-loved covers of Dr. Seuss books:

Like I mentioned, the stage was sooo cute. Normally, guests don't really go to the stage. It was usually just an expensive backdrop, but this one was a hit with the kids, who all wanted to go up and have their photos taken there:

Berry and The Cat in The Hat (standee printed by The Candy Shop)

my godson Andres and his brother Anton

Oh, and here are more details from the most delightful dessert/candy buffet, also prepared by Michell:

The sugar cookies are by Joanne's Kitchen. I bought the marshmallows from Chocolate Lovers in QC, and then packaged in these candy containers from Party Magic. 

The Oreo pops are also by Joanne's Kitchen. Wafer sticks and candies were sourced by Michell:

I bought these red lollipops from Made in Candy in Rockwell. The Cat in The Hat mugs were souvenirs that Dada and I bought in Universal Studios Florida back in 2008.

These mini red velvet cupcakes with blue frosting are also by Joanne's Kitchen.

Check out my friend Tammy's dessert plate. "The Fat in The Hat" daw, LOLZ.

w/ a cupcake from Tazzy Cakes and chocolate chip cookies & milk shot by M Catering

Our guests loved everything, from the entrance to the decor, to the stage to the dessert buffet. And I have to give all the credit to Michell. Party Magic really does Magic. I promise.

Thanks so much also of course to Michell's supportive hubby Patrick! I can't thank you two enough for making Xavi's party look so fun and festive! I don't know how the party would have looked like if I did everything myself as I had planned, haha.

Thank you also to my friend Cathy, for introducing me to Patrick and Michelle! Mwah!

For your party supplies, balloon needs and event styling inquiries, feel free to drop by Party Magic on Wilson Street, beside JASH Mart and across McDonald's, or contact them via phone or email.

Party Magic
215 Wilson Street
Greenhills, San Juan
Tel: +632 955 5906
Mobile: +63917 344 8881
Email: partymagicph@gmail.com
Website: http://partymagic.ph/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/partymagicph

Xavi Turns One at Seussville!

I can't believe Xavi is one today. Our big, chubadubs baby boy who we call Spider Pig at home because he likes to crawl and climb everywhere, and whose hands are the stickiest (he can literally grasp a glass with one hand, no kidding), is officially a year old today. I'd spare you the sappy, sentimental bits, but I would just like to greet Xavi here a HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY! Heehee.

Whoever said "time flies" certainly knew what he was talking about. Because that's how it feels. One minute I'm pushing out Xavi, next thing I know, we're celebrating his first birthday. Which we did last weekend.

I shared photos on Instagram because I was so happy with how Xavi's party turned out. Many have been asking me about my suppliers, so I thought I'd do a quick post to share with you what Xavi's party was like. I'll do more thorough posts too, as these are just snippets of the party.

Background: I've been doing DIY parties for Berry and I did the same for Xavi too.  I planned Xavi's party myself, but this time, I was lucky enough to meet my friend Cathy Lim's sister-in-law, Michell Lao of Party Magic, who tastefully turned the Greenmeadows Clubhouse into Seussland!

Initially, I just wanted to order balloons from her, but as I told her about my theme, and she started sharing her vision with me, I found myself so excited with her ideas that I just let her do her thing, heehee.

The party invite was designed by Pat of The Candy Shop:

At the entrance, Michell set-up a Cat in The Hat balloon wall:

The stage was a great backdrop and looked like a page out of a Dr. Seuss story book. The kids loved having their photos taken here, sitting on the chairs. I used our own IKEA chairs:

Which was kind of like the ones in the Cat in The Hat book!

Michell was also inspired by the trees from The Lorax:

I loved the paper lanterns that Michell used, it made the Greenmeadows Clubhouse look very festive:

We had two types of centerpieces, which were either polka dot pails or these inverted felt Cat in The Hat hats handmade by Anne Mateo of Ant's Pocket.

The character cut-outs, as well as the Happy Birthday letter cut-outs on stage, were also from Pat of The Candy Shop:

My sisters Dianne and Nicole gamely wore the hats, haha. The big one was supposedly for Dada and the small one for Xavi, but the boys did not want to wear these, corny. Haha!

The Dessert/Candy Buffet aka Xavi's Sweet Treats were also set-up by Michell of Party Magic:

With baked treats by Joanne's Kitchen:

The actual cake was by Cat del Rosario of Tazzy Cakes:

Catering was by M Catering, and I arranged for an adult buffet as well as a kids buffet. The chocolate chip cookies and milk shots was the hands down hit for both kids and adults!

Apart from "real food", we also got corn dogs and cotton candy from Jeriz Food Carts, and fries from NYFD. Ice cream pops were courtesy of Nestle.

To keep the kids occupied before food was served and before "entertainment" started, Sarah Chan and Lala Tsai of Booths Republic set-up a Craft Camp...

...as well as personalized keychain and balloon souvenir booths, which were so cute! The guests loved this!

Rather than the usual entertainment, My Masterpiece Movement kept the kids entertained, with Cat in The Hat storytelling, games and music:

My brother Andrew was our official photographer for the day, but everybody got to bring home photos right there and then, thanks to Print Social's Live Instagram Printer. Pretty much, the party place was the studio, and anything our guests took a photo of using the hashtag #XavisFirstBirthday was uploaded, displayed live feed style on a TV set and printed automatically, right there and then:

All our guests loved Xavi's party, and I think, if you just go with suppliers I got, you would have an easy, stress-free party like we did! I promise more details and photos in upcoming posts! =)

One last photo by the balloon wall before it went pop! pop! pop!