How I Plan Family Picnic

I have been loving family picnics lately! I think this is the best time for us to beat boredom during weekends, avoid malls, let the kids enjoy running around playing games and most of all really spending some quality time with them!

For me the best time to do this is before sunset around 4PM. That way it's not too hot and you still have two hours before it becomes dark. 

Our favorite picnic places around the metro are:

1. Ayala Triangle Park - If you want to have dinner after you may check their website for the list of restaurants around. What I like in this park is that people really stay to relax and it is a very decent place to set-up a picnic. So you can bring your own food and skip the restaurants!

2. Bonifacio Global City - They actually have many public parks but our favorite is the one at Superblock along 7th Avenue. We usually go there for the water fountain and light show. Xavier loves the fountain so much that we bring him clothes so he could literally play with the water for 15 minutes. Just a caution that the floor gets really slippery. We always buy shakes at Jamba Juice and popcorn at Family Mart when we go there. If you are commuting, check their free bus ride routes.

3. Greenbelt Park - As a child I've always loved this place. What's good here is that you can go there on a Sunday then hear the mass after at 6PM. Plus you have so many options on where to dine for dinner. Chili's Greenbelt 5 is our favorite! 

Speaking of food, it is nice if you can bring your own to avoid spending too much. You can sit on the grass and enjoy your favorite food with the whole family. Just make sure that you avoid having spoiled food. Take in consideration the travel time, heat and proper packaging!

Here are my suggestions:

·        Burritos

·        Chips

·        Sandwiches

·        Pizza

·        Cheese

·        Crackers

·        Fruits

·        Cookies

·        Sodas

·        Salad in mason jars

By the way, can you tell me where I could get a picnic basket like this?

When it comes to attire, here are my suggestions:

1.  Don’t wear skimpy shorts. You won’t appreciate it when you are sitting on the grass. Plus sometimes there can be mosquitoes around.

2.  Wear comfortable t-shirts. Always.

3.  Never wear slippers/sandals. Wear sneakers. Especially when you have kids and you intend to play with them. Zalora has a great selection of sneakers and this one is on my list!

Some things you HAVE to bring:

·        Picnic mat

·        Insect repellent lotion

·        Wet wipes

·        Sunscreen lotion

·        Trash bags

·        Extra clothes

     

Organize fun games and activities for the kids and for adults too! We usually play badminton, frisbee and bring bluetooth speaker, bikes and scooter for the kids! Make sure to have a good time and enjoy your precious time with the family (and friends too)!

Next time we will try the Skypark Cinema at Nuvali! Will share our experience soon!

DIY LUAU / Hawaiian Kiddie Party

Since many requested for the details of my DIY LUAU party for Yzzy and Zoey, I'm sharing how I prepared for their first birthday party!

1. Budget - You don't need to spend so much for a nice party but in my case my priority was to have a party for 80 pax with more time and space for games. This party was more or less 50K.  

2. Venue

At first my hubby and I were thinking of doing the party in a restaurant again for "lesser" stress but then after attending too many kiddie parties I realized how fun it would be to bring back the old times when we used to have more time on parlor games. Most of the restaurants would only give you 3 hours for the use of the venue and they usually don't have bigger space. So one day I searched online for available private pools for rent around South and was so lucky to have seen this big house for rent:

Address: #7 Saint Thomas Street Don Bosco Village, Bicutan, Paranaque City

Here's the map I created:

Contact Name: Joel Concepcion

Telephone: 63 (02) 823-3986

Mobile: 63 (922) 829-2042 / 63 (922) 829-2045

Helper's number: 09233306768

Price of the whole place for rent:

P6,000 – 10AM-6PM (You can start setting up at 8AM)

P1,600 – Big Bedroom with Aircon

View from the bedroom

3. Theme: 

There's no other perfect theme than a LUAU party by the looks of this resort. The walls are painted very nicely with island designs. There are big tikis everywhere. The place is just so colorful!

Kids can play at the treehouse too!

4. Decorations

The resort looks perfect, you will need minimal decorations. I bought my decorations from Divisoria and National Bookstore.

• Leis (garlands) - around P30-50 each. Choose a store who can give you P30/piece for wholesale. I made the signature frame from scratch too! There's a good scrapbooking section at National Bookstore. 



Welcome table as you open the gate. 

• Balloons - around P5-8 each. Choose the size well. You will need a nylon tie with that and scotch tape. You can also put colorful ribbons. We did everything manually. Talk about labor of love! 

These ones are for P20-30 per letter.

• Tables and Centerpieces- good thing the venue offers tables and chairs for rent. The price includes skirting, I requested for different colors per table. 

      P160 - 1 Round Table with 8 Chairs (skirting included)

     P500 – 1 Long Buffet Table (skirting included)

Centerpiece (I took the head of the pineapple for display!)

I forgot the name of the store at Powerplant, Rockwell.
It's for party needs located beside Toys R Us.

• Photobooth Area - My best friends suggested that we don't do the photobooth rental anymore. Raymund Robles created my backdrop and we just used his stand so that people can just take their own pictures with their cameras. You may contact him for photobooth rentals. In my case, I asked my sister to take pictures for all guests. 

I really like that the place is very spacious. We placed all seats under the roof just in case of rain.  

Good thing it didn't rain! It was raining a day before the party!

Had that space in the middle in case of rain so
we still have a stage for the program and games.

• Costumes - Of course it would look better if all guests wear LUAU clothes, so we mentioned that in our invitations and gave prizes for the best in costumes! I bought LUAU costumes for the whole family including the yayas. I made the twins' grass skirts from scratch too!

5. Cake - by yours truly! If you ask me how much for this 3-tier cake, it's... priceless! LOL!

100 pcs cupcakes for giveaways!

6. Food - I wanted easy-to-eat food that kids would love. Also, everything was just ordered ahead and delivered to the venue except for the hotdog, corn, cake, salad, desserts and drinks. I don't think I can manage to cook more! The venue also offers food packages and catering. They have corkage fee if you are bringing your own caterer. So if I were you just do this. :)

Big Bowl of Salad

Don Z Cebu Lechon - 0917 553 2466

I ordered something around P8-9K. I got the delivery for free!
They only charge P500 if you want someone to do this for you.
Obviously my mom enjoyed doing this.

 Pancit Bihon - usually P1K biggest order good for 25 pax

Barbeque -usually at P20 each.

Tender Juicy Hotdogs

Corn 

We grilled the hotdogs, barbeques and corns at the venue
 but we pre-cooked them at home to save us time.

Drinks station - I had brewed coffee since we were there the whole day.

Dessert Station - fruits and chocolate fountain, cupcakes and cakes. 
I was so lucky that SM Bicutan sliced all watermelons, pineapples, and honeydews for me! You can actually request they do it for you! Don't buy bananas and apples bec. 
they turn dark when exposed.

By the way I'm proud of that table skirting! :)

Ice Cream Sorbetes (around 1.5K good for 100 guests- 3 flavors)

Contact Menchie Villeno 09238013765 / 09089527918

7. Invitations - by The Party Makers

They did all layout and designs. Please inquire for pricing.
They are really good at this!

8. Prizes and Giveaways - I bought them at Divisoria and did the packaging myself. 

Prizes for the games

Pabitin with candies

Giveaways for the kids (Pineapple pen holder with candies)

9. Activities - Note that they don't offer overnight stays here (subdivision policy). Also, the party should be done by 6PM sharp. Apparently, the neighborhood doesn't like noise after 6PM. 

The venue can hold up to 70pax (seated). In our case I think we had more but we categorized our guests and gave them different time slots to come so they are not all-together at the same time. We asked the guests with kids and our families to come as early as 8AM to swim. Then we asked our friends with kids (who won't swim) to come at 2PM because that's the time we also arranged the clown show and parlor games. 

Schedule:

11AM - 2PM - Swimming 

2PM - 5PM - Kiddie Show and Games 

So we technically had two "Blowing of Candle" event because we had two batches of guests. 

              

We had plenty of time for old-school games! Just like what I dreamed of! I made sure that everybody can participate so we had games for the yayas, couples, men, ladies, oldies and kids! 

Sorry I don't have their contact number. 

Over-all the guests enjoyed the party so much! Swimming, lots of food, old-school games and prizes! The laughter, smiles, pictures and stories from our guests (and of course our own kids) made it much more fulfilling as a mom!

Just remember that preparation is the key to make your event successful. Plan well, even months before, so you don't get tired on the day and you can actually enjoy your own party. 

I am so proud of this event because I did everything from scratch with minimum help from my husband and three maids. To think that I have three kids and working full-time.... Again... preparation is the key!

Make sure you can still smile like this after the party! LOL!

ALOHA!