Charley's First Birthday Ever!

Charley's First Birthday Ever!

Last December 10, our family officially welcomed our toddler - Baby Charley turned one! 

Birthday @ San Lo

We woke up really early on her birthday so that we could attend the 6:30am Mass at the Assumption Chapel. It was also a day of thanksgiving for 365 days with Baby Charley. 

Since her birthday fell on a Thursday, we held a simple celebration in Assumption College San Lorenzo instead. It was attended by her titos and titas who will soon be (hopefully) her teachers someday. We ordered Pancit Malabon, spaghetti, and pichi pichi from Amber's whose owner/manager turned out to be Charley's Tita Cecille's close friend. Small world! 

Baptismal @ Mary Euphrasia

Last December 12, we dressed Baby Charley in her special birthday dress and headed to Mary Euphrasia for her Baptism. Yes, she just had her Baptism on her first birthday, which is a common practice in Batangas by the way. 

There was a pre-baptism seminar/cathecism for the parents and godparents. Ours was attended by Baby Charley's godmother, and six (yes,six) of her godfathers. Too bad, one ninang is in Japan, the other couldnt make it from Makati, one is Italy; one of her ninongs had a gig in Cavite, one had a business meeting one is in Riyadh, one is in Italy, too, and  one is in Subic. So in total, Charley has 4 ninangs and 13 ninongs. Whew! Good luck on your suitors, baby girl. 

The seminar and the Baptismal rites lasted for almost an hour and a half. We were glad that Charley slept through the whole seminar so she wasnt grumpy during the ceremony. 

Oh, have you seen how our candles are sort of personalised? We really wanted to own this celebration so we used cupcake holders from Party Central (Rockwell and Greenbelt) to accentuate the candles. 

Hello kitty Birthday Party @ Jollibee 

Oh, our reservations and consultations at Jollibee were such a journey; however, since I loved how the party went, I'm not gonna mention all those glitches before the party. 

Anyway, we were thrilled that Jollibee has a Hello Kitty party, which I think was perfect for our little kitten. Their lootbags, cakes, invitations, and decorations were just so cute, we knew it would be perfect for our little kitten. 

Small Gathering 

We really wanted a small party for Baby Charley because 1)we're on a tight budget 2)we wanted an intimate celebration. So we just invited the godparents, our families, and close friends. I think there were less than 50 guests (not including the kids) in the party. 

The Food and the Budget 

Before we went to Jollibee to reserve (we reserved last October to avoid the Christmas rush), we "practiced" what we're gonna order online to make sure it would fit our budget. So when we went to Jollibee, we were really prepared already! 

We skipped some of the party favors like party hat, placemats, and banners since many of our guests were adults. Besides, our kids were too young to enjoy those. 

For kids, we had spaghetti with chicken joy and coke float so that we wouldnt have any desserts for them anymore. 

For adults, we had chicken joy with rice and drink value meal and peach mango pie. You could only order the value meal after you have purchased a certain amount of ala carte. This was when the pre-reservation computation was helpful.  

For 50 adults and 25 kids, we only paid Php 11,000. This already included the party host and prizes, 20 Hello Kitty lootbags for girls, balloons, cake from Red Ribbon, and 2 mascot appearances - Jollibee and Hetty. 

The Party 

Since the party was attended mostly by adults and some kids, and lots of babies, most of the party games were participated by adults. 

Credit should be given to our host, Kuya Carl, who was such love before, during, and after the party. He was the best host ever!

It was fun to see Baby Charley's titos and tita's playing parlor games, Mary went to market, and more! 

Of course there were some games for the kids, too, and the host made sure everyone would get a prize. 

The Loots 

Despite our limited number of kid guests, we made sure that they would enjoy the party through the games, the mascots, and all the loot bags they would bring home! 

Each kid got a balloon from Jollibee, a Hello Kitty lootbag from Jollibee (Hello Kitty plate, tumbler, spoon, fork, towel, and bag), a lootbag from us (puzzles and activity book), a Hello Kitty candy lootbag (from Baby Charley's Mama Vhaning), and a Hello Kitty Cupcake from my dear friend, Sweet Treats by Jen (she deserves another post). 

Since we prepared for 35 kids, all of out kid guests got more than one of the lootbags and balloons! It was so fun seeing them excited with all those gifts! 

In the end

We're very thankful that the day has finally ended - Baby Charley has been baptised and we officially have a toddler! We're very grateful to those who celebrated with us and to those who have been prsying for and with our family.  

Thank you and God bless us all. :)