when our first child, franco, turned one in july 2009, we had a big celebration. we had a venue with a great ambiance, we hired a decorator to add more of a party feel to the place, and we got a host/magician too. in short, it was pretty much a hassle-free party. (except maybe for ate bing, who provided the scrumptious fare to fill hungry tummies!) which was a good thing, since i was 4 months pregnant then. hehe..
this time, as chesca’s first birthday rolled around, we decided to take matters into our own hands. after all, how hard could a DIY party be? we had practically everybody we needed in our family: a caterer, a party planner/decorator in the making, a dad with a flair for design and a mom with lots of time on her hands. our house had ample space, and ate bing had all the tables and chairs too. so, back to the question: how hard could throwing a party be? fighting words, and over the next weeks they would come back to haunt me.
the weeks before chesca’s big event was a flurry of activity. i had a long and detailed checklist of things we needed to accomplish. from invitations and tarps, to table centerpieces and balloons, to host and cake and dress, there seemed to be a never-ending parade of details to see to. practically everything, we did ourselves. everybody in the family had a role suited for what they were best at, and everybody pulled it off in style.
even close friends pitched in, helping me make banderitas, pick out prizes at divi and look for different party supplies (boots, IOU pa for the bubble fluid! hehe..). even our magician came from hubby’s friend, whose wife is now an established party planner (http://partyboosters.multiply.com).
as the big day drew near, we were a bit worried about a few details. first was the weather, as it had been raining on and off the few days prior to our party. would we need to rent tents? we decided to trust in God to give us good weather, and guess what? though there was a moment around lunchtime when the skies darkened, not a drop of rain fell. yey for our garden party!
second detail to worry about was the lack of manpower. on the day itself, hubby was feeling the heat as he struggled to put up buffet tables, arrange sets of tables and chairs, and see to other details. but i shouldn’t have worried: the bugoys (daniel, joshua, sam and david) all pitched in and the tables and chairs were set up. ate berl had all the pretty centerpieces done in ample time. ate bing’s yummy dishes were already prepped. also, i woke up early to inflate and string up the 100 balloons for the decor, and was pleasantly surprised to find that our helper’s son was already there to help me out with that task.
all in all, it was an extremely long, tiring day. if i were to compare the two parties (franco’s and chesca’s), franco’s birthday celebration was by far the easier one to pull off. but the feeling of fulfillment was far greater with chesca’s party. there’s no greater compliment than to hear the laughter of guests, to see every tasty morsel devoured. it felt great to see the kids watching the magic show with rapt attention, crying out with delight at every trick. i felt like i conquered everest as i heard my friends joke around, as the guests ooh-ed and aah-ed over chesca’s party attire.
i’m so happy with the way things turned out. it was simple, yet fun. and best of all is that everyone helped out, and for that i am so very grateful. so here’s the opportunity for me to thank you again: kudos to you for a job well done! through all your efforts, kind deeds and input, we felt how very much you love our little fairy princess checha. thank you, thank you, thank you. you know who you are.
again, happy happy birthday to our little princess chesca. we love you very much!
little fairy chesca
