Halloween Trip and Treat with Oreo!

My mommy friends and I wanted to do something different this year for Halloween. 

We figured, wouldn't it be nice to have a small Halloween event, where kids don't have to walk too far to get their treats, it won't be as noisy and as crowded as public Halloween parties, and us moms wouldn't be pressured to come up with fancy costumes?

Luckily, Oreo, everyone's favorite cookie, gamely and happily provided us with lots of treats!

Then, my friend Fifi Wong offered to host a Halloween party for our kids at his friend's hotel, Hotel Kimberly in Tagaytay. 

And we were pretty much set!   

The Costumes

Before we headed to Tagaytay for our Halloween Trip and Treat, my first agenda was to come up with costumes for the kids. I didn't want to spend on costumes any more, so I decided to get Berry's help in scrounging around their closets to come up with something fun that will still look like we made an effort. Haha.

I told Berry maybe she'd like to be a garden fairy this time. So she chose an old ballet uniform of hers and paired it with an old flower head dress that she got from her Flores de Mayo stint in our province back in 2012. 

We paired it with fairy wings and a wand that I bought years ago at H&M.

Because I told her there was some outdoor walking involved, she decided to skip her ballet shoes and wear her Mini Melissa mary janes, her current favorite pair of shoes.

Here's how she looked, sans flower head dress, which had fallen out by then. Oooops.

trick & treating at Hotel Kimberly's pool area

For Xavi, I took inspiration from Buddhist boy monks:

I put together my orange pareo from Clarins, a gift with purchase haha, some red jasper beads and his Saltwater sandals. With his shaved head, I figured he'd make a cute mini monk.

Unfortunately, he refused to wear this costume. 

I had a back up costume, his train engineer costume where he just had to wear his engineer stripe Osh Kosh overalls with a white shirt, a cap and a red bandana but he still would not let us change him. Two years old palang, hindi ko na maloko. Oh wellz!

So our souvenir Halloween photo taken by Stanley Ong turned out like this. Xavi not in costume. Not very Halloween like, but cute pa din!

The Trip

We started off that early weekday morning for Tagaytay, meeting up at the Shell gas station in SLEX, and filling up our tanks as we headed up to Hotel Kimberly.

Celsi and Stella, Kris/OC Mom in Manila's very able staff who met us at Shell SLEX, gave us more Oreo cookies to snack on for the duration of the trip. We were off to a great start!

When we got to Hotel Kimberly, we had plenty of time for the kids to play, freshen up and have lunch before the main Halloween event.

Part of the fun of this trip was that the kids had this huge jungle gym all to themselves, 

And a petting zoo filled with cute animals to keep them entertained:

Xavi feeding a bunny

a flock of bengalas, chickens and ducks

rams and billy goats

The Treats

For our Halloween event, Michelle/My Mom Friday prepared a Halloween program packed with games and activities. From a treasure hunt, eating contests, an Oreo quiz, relay games, to a pinata, a table full of prizes awaited the winners!

Mish/Momma N Manila, with the help of her daughter Gia, baked and prepared all these Oreo themed goodies from scratch!

All of these came beautifully together with the Halloween themed sugar cookies that Didi/The Candishhh Tales contributed, the fantastic graphics that Tina/The Phenomenal Mama designed (you can even download the printables, just click on my link to Tina's blog), and the other Halloween themed elements that Cai/Apples&Dumplings of Paper Chic Studio prepared for our scary, sweet, stupendous DIY dessert buffet!!!

Of course, the kids had a grand time picking up treats at the different Trick & Treating stations scattered all over Hotel Kimberly, which was the highlight of their already action packed day, of course!

at the front desk

at the restaurant/dining area

by the cabanas

by the petting zoo

Was it the best Halloween ever? You betcha! Kids, friends, a road trip, adorable animals, the cutest desserts, and lots of Oreos is a formula that guarantees loads of fun!

For more Spooky Cookie ideas from Oreo, check out, https://www.facebook.com/oreo.

Buwan Ng Wika: Berry's T'boli Outfit + Contemporary Chic Filipiniana

Because August is Buwan ng Wika, I will be highlighting Filipiniana fashion - both traditional and contemporary. I hope that this inspires many of you to support Filipino design and craftsmanship, and to realize that there's more to Filipiniana fashion than the obvious, aka what we have always been accustomed to.

When I passed by the live exhibit booth of the T'boli ladies during Manila Fame last March, I just could not leave without buying this handmade beaded top and the matching wrap skirt for Berry. 

I have always wanted one for myself, and if I could not get my hands on one yet, Berry will definitely have to have one.

I bought the set for about Php1,500. I justified the cost to Dada, explaining that Berry will be using it for their Linggo ng Wika celebration in school. She can also use it for International Day, for costume parties, or even just for dress up.

It's such a chic outfit, and not the typical kimona and patadyong skirt that most kids would wear to school as their Filipiniana costume.

Buying this set is also made more meaningful, because it is a way to support the preservation, protection and continuation of T’boli culture and crafts.

The top, I have to stress, is gorgeous.  I can see myself wearing it with a black skirt or trousers and my Gianvito Rossi heels. Or made more casual, say for Fall dressing in NY, with cropped skinny leather pants and Dicker booties - very Isabel Marant.

The necklaces did not come with this outfit. These are part of my mom's collection of tribal jewelry that she collected from my Dad's trips to the Mindanao when he was still in the military. They complement Berry's outfit perfectly!

Since we are on the subject of Filipiniana fashion, I have to share with you my most favorite homegrown brands that support Filipino artisans.

Each season, I find myself buying something from Amarie by Anne Marie Saguil and Filip+Inna by Len Cabili.

Amarie was started by Anne Marie, a graduate of FIDM in Los Angeles, just a few years back. Her designs are such showstoppers. The kind where you want to stop a girl wearing something of hers, just to ask, "Where do I get one?!"

Anne Marie, Berry & myself at the Aranaz Pool Party. Anne Marie & I are wearing Amarie, Berry in Gingersnaps

I love how I can wear something an Amarie dress or top and look instantly dressed up. I have worn Amarie to pool parties, christenings, birthday parties, even a Chinese New Year lunch.

Some of Amarie's more affordable pieces are machine-embroidered, but there is something soulful about an Amarie piece that is embroidered by hand, right in the home of a woman who is earning a living while watching over her kids. 

Buying something designed by Anne allows us to support another woman's livelihood and ability to provide for her family, while owning a beautiful piece of art that we can pass on to our daughters.

This is my first Filip+Inna piece, a dress so intricately beaded and embroidered, I feel terribly special when I wear it out.

The next piece on my Filip+Inna wishlist will be something from the Pina collection. I would love to have that Donya caftan on the left. Imagine that with an antique, gold tambourine necklace from Bulacan. So gorgeous.

Of course, there are more contemporary Filip+Inna pieces, that make for perfect resort wear. These would be right at home in a Batangas beach house, or a Hamptons cottage/mansion.

Another chic outfit I spotted at Manila Fame was this cream top matched with a black belted pina skirt.

I wish I found out who this is by. I would love to have this! Maybe have the skirt cut into midi-length, so I can wear it more often, to more than one occasion.

Filipiniana fashion has gotten a lot more exciting, and wearable, I am actually looking forward to the day when everybody starts wearing Filipiniana on a daily basis, just like during my great-grandmother's time.

It's like saying, "I'm proud to be Pinoy" and really showing it, with style.

Style SOS: Filipiniana Attire

Hi Tin,

I'm going to attend a seminar in Rome for a month. I later on found out that there will be an "International Day" of sorts and the participants must wear native costumes. I don't have a clue about what to wear and where to get it. The Imelda dress (I don't know what it's called) was what I had in mind at first but my friend thinks it's over the top. The guys will wear barong. Any ideas?

Thanks.

Che

Hi Che! Thanks for your question! =)

My sister seems to agree with your friend's opinion, because as one of the "hermanas", she had to wear this during our town's Flores de Mayo celebration last month:


But personally, I think our traditional Filipiniana terno with butterfly sleeves is such a beautiful article of clothing that will certainly draw raves from your international colleagues! It is such a shame if you decide not to wear one!



If you could get your hands on a Joe Salazar, Pitoy Moreno or a Patis Tesoro terno (borrow one if you have to!), that would be the best!

I am not entirely sure if ternos are available off-the-rack, as they are usually tailor made, and should fit you snugly. You can always have a terno made, and it will range from as low as Php1,500 to as high as Php100,000 depending on the fabric used (ternos made of pina fiber will of course cost more, starting at at least Php20,000). My mom is from Laguna and I know for a fact that you can have ternos made for as low as Php2,000, including beadwork and handpainted flowers! Of course, the more fabric used, the more expensive it gets!



Should you decide not to wear a terno, you can wear a "modern" baro't saya instead! As Raisa mentioned, you can just wear a plain gown, or say a black skirt, and pair it with a baro made of jusi or pina! These you can buy in the Filipiniana section of Rustans or SM. Check out Balikbayan Handicrafts and Quiapo too!



You can then accessorize with a tambourine necklace and matching "payneta" and earrings if you'd like!


Of course, you may also consider wearing a "tribal" inspired costume...


Or a modern version of the terno as interpreted by London-based Filipino designer Lesley Mobo!


Really, there are plenty of options for us Filipinas. So thank you Che for making the effort to dress up and for thinking hard about what you should be wearing in Rome! Thanks for representing the Philippines! Whatever Filipiniana dress you decide to wear, I am sure you will make our countrymen proud!

(Photo credits: manilastandard.com, barongatsaya.com)