Party time

My son turned two this month, and we celebrated with a play party. Truth be told, this party has been preoccupying me for weeks. I would like to say that I was a cool and calm mum, who went through her lists and tasks effortlessly. Unfortunately, I was wound up most of the time—and trying to pretend to be otherwise.

I had read somewhere that we Filipinos tend to give quite lavish children’s parties. We like them with our games, our entertainment, our decorations and our endless amount of food. Growing up, I’m sure most of us thought this was not just acceptable, but even expected. As a parent, it’s a whole new, stressful ballgame.

When Matthew turned one last year, Armand and I decided—on the day of Matthew’s birthday itself—to throw a little party. It consisted of convening with family and friends at a restaurant for a merienda buffet. Simple, easy. No games, but lots of food. We figured, Matthew wouldn’t even understand the concept of his birthday, much less a party for him. With a customized cake, a birthday banner and balloons, we had a happy, trouble-free celebration.

This time around, as Matthew’s birthday started approaching, I began exploring my options, which were restricted. I had to face my limitations. Firstly, there was no house with a space big enough to accommodate some 50 to 100 guests, a third of which would be children. We would need to find a suitable venue that would not blow our budget. Secondly, I don’t cook and I have no helper. Food will mostly have to come from a caterer or a restaurant. Third, I wanted something my two-year old would enjoy as well as the older kids and the adult guests. How to please multiple age groups with one event is no easy task.

Somehow, things did fall into place. Last Saturday, we all trooped to Matthew’s beloved Gymboree for an hour of play for the kids and tons of food for the guests. After much deliberation, calls, and number-crunching, I found out that our friendly neighborhood Red Ribbon serves fairly good spaghetti and chicken lollipops. Having my “real food” figured out, I developed the rest of my menu: different kinds of cheese, seedless grapes, Fita crackers, chips, dip, carrot sticks, Jack n Jill chocolate pretzels, and juice. I would go from worrying there was too much food to thinking there was not enough. As it turned out, I had too much spaghetti but not enough chicken.

We selected the theme “All Aboard Trains” for the activities, and carried on with the train theme onto the cake design. I found a supplier who could create a 3D train cake, and I think it was quite a success when all the kids gathered around it. (It was either that or the chance to blow out the candle. Sancho blew out the candles before Matthew had the chance, and Iñigo asked for his turn after Matthew finally had a chance.) Alas, no one got to try the cake—I was just a little too frazzled to actually serve it.

I would like to think that we had a successful, memorable event that day. Now if I could only get my hands on the video so I could actually see what happened. Between refilling the buffet table to checking on people, I sort of missed out on the party experience; I didn’t even get to eat anything except for one piece of chicken lollipop! But the guests left with smiles—something I’d take for a very good sign.

Until next year, then. For now, enjoy the pictures.