Johan’s 1st Birthday Suppliers’ Ratings

 Johan's birthday is October 4 but we held the party earlier on October 1. It was a Jollibee party prepped up months in advanced. Hehe! I wanted to incorporate a different theme which is Super Mario kasi and I wanted as much as possible to customize everything.

When the day came, there was Tropical Storm Quiel threatening to gatecrash the party. I was praying really hard to not make it rain too hard so that the guests will still be able to come. I was worried only a few would show up and we’ll have to take home 100+ sets of Chickenjoys. Haha! Thankfully, despite the bad weather, most of our guests showed up. So, all’s well that ends well.


Venue: Jollibee TM Kalaw Branch
Peso Power: Php 1,460 (Inclusive of Party Stuff and Mascot Appearance)

There’s no doubt that Jollibee will be a huge hit with the kids. Especially when the main lead showed up, Jollibee! That’s actually one of the main reasons why I decided to go with a Jollibee party instead of a catered one. The TM Kalaw branch has by far the biggest function area that I saw. What I love about it is that the function areas are separate from the dining area. There’s less chaos, the program went smoothly without other noise coming from other diners, definitely no gatecrashers. Hehe. I gave them perfect five stars because from the day that I pencil booked with them, I experienced nothing short of superb customer service. Even without paying any reservation, they blocked my preferred date and time even if there was another mom who wanted my slot and would pay right there and then. Lorraine, my Jollibee party coordinator, made sure to take care of the littlest of things OTD – she unpacked all the loot bags that I brought and arranged them herself, she put the popcorn packs my mom brought one by one to each of the loot bags, she came up with a brilliant plan on how many extra rice exactly should I order (raise your hands everybody), how to pack the left-over food, how will I bring home the cake sans the box. She took care of the mommy-me really well. Kudos to you, Lorraine!

Food: Jollibee Meal Packages

Peso Power: Php 14,160

We got the Meal Package 1 for the kids which includes Spaghetti, Fries, Drinks and Sundaes. For the adults, we got the Value Meal which includes 1 pc Chickenjoy, Spaghetti and Softdrinks. We ordered extra rice for those who requested one. Four stars only because even though the Chicken is still hot and crispy, the Spaghetti’s already cold.

Cake: Portia's Kitchen courtesy of N@wie Anne Fernando

Peso Power: Free!

When I started planning for the party, I really wanted a two-layered customized cake for Johan. But when I inquired at some cake suppliers, their prices are steep!  Even a small customized one is expensive. So, I decided to just go with cupcakes and customize those using toppers which I will be making. Then came Mimma Benz’s call for wishes for a Fairy Godmother, I immediately sent her an email wishing for a cake for Johan. Just a day after, I already got a Fairy Godmother in the person of Anne who is willing to provide the customized Super Mario cake for Johan. Four stars only because we had a slight problem in picking up the cake. Days before the party, Anne’s daughter got admitted in the hospital so that made it impossible for her to bring the cake and attend the party. I was left with the options: get the cake from the supplier’s place in Commonwealth or hope that the supplier agrees to a meet-up.  It was impossible to get the cake from Commonwealth because we’re all coming from the South (Cavite and Laguna) and my cousin who is willing to meet up with the cake supplier is not familiar in the Commonwealth area. I was already giving up that we will have a cake on the day by 7pm on Friday because Portia has not texted me back since morning when I last sent her a text message. Thankfully by 8pm, she agreed to a meet up. Yay!

Check out Portia’s Kitchen on Facebook.

Cupcakes: MJ's Homemade Cakes and Patries

Peso Power: Php 540 (180/doz) 

MJ is a former officemate’s friend. I ordered cupcakes from MJ before for Johan’s Christening. Her prices are the cheapest and it does not sacrifice the taste of her cupcakes. She’s located in Las Pinas and very easy to deal with. We only coordinated through text messages and she did not even ask for a down payment.  We paid COD. Four stars only because I asked her to make three dozen cupcakes in red, blue and green icing. The blue and green ones are perfect but the red ones turned out pink. Just a small thing but it would have been better to have red ones because Super Johan, err, Super Mario's costume is in blue and red.

Check out MJ’s Homemade Cakes and Pastries on Facebook

Mobile: 0905-1720974

Face Painting: Jayson of Cheyster Clowns

Peso Power: Php 1300 

In fairness, Jayson from Cheyster Clowns came early despite the rains and coming from Pasig City. Cheyster Clowns was recommended by a cousin as having the cheapest rate. Jayson’s face paint designs are simple and good enough for the kids; a little variety would have helped. Three stars only because it would have been better if Jayson was dressed a little more appropriately and did not smell of cigarettes.  A little of my fault because I forgot to give him the bottle of alcohol that I brought, but still sanitation should come from their end.

Check out Cheyster Clowns in Multiply.

Tarpaulin: Lay-out by me, printed by Johan's Ninong Lloyd

Peso Power: Php 250 for the 2x4 tarp, the 6x6 was free!

Five stars, of course, for my effort and for Ninong Lloyd's generosity. Lloyd is a college friend who runs JP Star, a family-owned business offering graphic design and printing services. They recently released photo booth services for events. 

Check out JP Star's Sulit.com advertisement.

Venue Decor: Courtesy of my family and relatives

Peso Power: Roughly Php 2,000 for the materials, set-up is free!

My cousin Leslie of the blog Got to Believe has always been so generous and willing to help out with all the family's celebrations. She's helped me during my wedding preps, Johan's Christening and now for Johan's 1st birthday. My only request is I want the place to look festive and I want colorful balloons. Looking at the photos, I couldn't ask for more! I love the entrance arch, most of guests do because they all wanted to have their picture taken under it. And the mushrooms taped to the glass windows? Those are ginormous! When the party ended every single balloon centerpiece, ceiling decor and even the huge arch was taken home by the guests. I forgot to take one home for Johan for photo ops on his exact birthday on the 4th. Anyway, thank you, thank you so much, Ate Leslie for making Johan's party very pretty! We appreciate every single thing that you did!

Loot Bags: Divisoria, National Bookstore, Kettle Korn, Squishland

Peso Power: Roughly Php 2000 (50 pesos+ each lootbag)

I started buying contents for the loot bags two months before the event. I initially wanted to customize every single piece that I'll be putting in but that proved impossible because I didn't find a single Super Mario item in Divisoria when I went to shop for the loot bags. 

Each loot bag contains the following with the corresponding prices:

• 2 Best Buy Pencils (Php 3.50 each)
• 1 Maped Eraser (Php 6.00)
• 1 Drawing Board (Php 9.00)
• 1 bottle of bubbles (Php 3.00)
• 1 Yoyo for boys (Php 3.00)/1 tub of clay for girls (Php 3.00)
• Drawing sheets with watercolor (Php 4.00)/Small puzzles (Php 8.00)
• 2 Squishland toys (free - these are my prizes from a contest I joined a few months back)
• 1 small pack of Kettle Korn (Php 7.00)
• Loot bag (Php 7.00 each)

Five stars, of course, for Mommy's effort. 

Party Clothes: Divisoria, Binan, SM Department Store

Peso Power: Php 1,700

Here's the breakdown:

Johan's Costume

Red shirt: Binan (Php 100)

Cap: Customized from Binan (Php 50)

Jumper: blue cloth from Divisoria (Php 50.00), sewing is free courtesy of MIL

Shoes: First Step (Php 300.00)

Mommy's clothes

Dress: Gilyanna in Divisoria (Php 400)

Shoes: Denim wedges from a bazaar (Php 400)

Daddy's Shirt: Green Polo shirt from Baleno in SM Dept. Store (Php 400)

There goes my suppliers' ratings. Johan's birthday was a huge success despite the weather. It was made even more special by the loving presence of our families and friends who braved the rains to get to the venue. I am glad both kids and adults enjoyed it but most importantly I am happy to see this little boy have the time of his life!