Bento Boxes for Kiddie Parties

What's the usual food parents serve at kiddie parties in school? I bet 5 out of 10 would say Jollibee and the other 5 would announce McDonalds'. Fast and easy food that are popular among kids, right?

We, too, have served the same food over and over for each of my kids' birthday held in school. It's easy but then it's already predictable.

Then one day, I came across a post from an acquaintance who served bento boxes for her son's party. I thought it's a really good idea especially that the boxes are colorful and the food looks enticing for the kids. But a bento box costs an average of Php250 each (pasta, chicken, dessert and a drink) and requires at least 2 weeks lead time for orders.

photo grabbed from Alphamom.com

So the budget-conscious but adventurous me decided to try my hand on making a bento box for my son's birthday. I didn't have any "drawing board" on what to put together or to design. My mind was simply focused on what kids normally want to eat and then make the bento box as colorful as possible.

Here's what I managed to put together...

I bought a microwaveable lunch box with partition (lucky to have found one!) and cupcake liners to separate the dessert and meat I planned to serve.

My mom-in-law is great in the kitchen so I was very confident about cooking our own spaghetti. Then I just bought Purefoods chicken nuggets because they come in various shapes as meat to accompany the pasta. I threw in an Oreo cookie and grapes and mallows skewer as dessert to finish off the bento. 

It's simple and easy to consume. Normally, we would serve chicken and spaghetti from either Jollibee or McDonalds so our bento is just similar.

Tips:

1. Given more time to prepare, I would have bought a cookie cutter so the cheese toppings could be in fun shapes too, like stars perhaps, instead of just grated cheese.

2. Microwaveable lunch containers with partitions are not easy to find in supermarkets. Best to hunt for them in dry markets (I got mine at Cainta market) from stall that sell packaging materials. They are cheaper there too!

3. There are many colorful paper cups and cupcake liners in various sizes. Party suppliers and baking/confectionery shops sell them in abundance!

Shakey's Kiddie Party - Not a Typical Fast Food Party

Fast Food chains are slowly becoming a popular choice for kiddie parties especially by parents who doesn't have the luxury of time to plan and the bulk of a moolah to pay for an extravagant birthday bash.

Now that we have 3 kids, I sort of consider myself very well versed in party planning so I thought I wouldn't spend so much now on by youngest child's birthday but still give her an unforgettable, fun and 'hindi mukhang tinipid' kiddie party especially that it's her first birthday.

We've attended dozens of kiddie parties in fast food chains like Jollibee, McDonalds, Burger King etc but the party at Shakey's stands out to me as good choice for a 1st birthday. First, my daughter is still too young to appreciate Jollibee and there's McDo at almost every corner of Metro Manila. I also read in another blog that Shakey's can serve the party food buffet style.

 

I checked various blogs before proceeding to a Shakey's branch so I already know that the buffet food is actually their Monster Meal Deal which they will serve buffet style. And why not, MMD is good for 10-12 people and contains all party food (pasta, garlic bread, chicken, mojos, pizza and drinks). It's a great deal for Php2079 (SC not included) per set.

I chose a branch with a Fun Zone area. Fun Zone is a small arcade where kids can buy tokens and play. As of this posting there are only 4 branches with Fun Zone - E.Rodriguez,  Katipunan, Quezon Avenue and Marcos Hi-way. We're from Rizal so Marcos Hiway was our branch of choice. It has a huge party area that can accommodate up to 120 guests. There's also ample free parking spaces around the branch.

The party themes available are Barney and Justice League, both of which did not appeal to me so I requested be allowed to create my own theme. This would mean I would drop their party amenities which includes game prizes and party give aways. Luckily, the agreed and wasn't charged a dime.

The money I saved for not getting the party amenities, I of course used to purchase our own game prizes, loot bags and other kiddie party ornaments bearing our own theme which is Tinkerbell. The staff still happily arranged them on a dressed table for the party and helped me with the setup.

 

 

They also provided the party host free of charge even though we did not avail the party amenities. The party host did a great job with the kids especially with the games. She basically ran the whole program.

 

I was also allowed to put my candy/dessert buffet to complement the Chocolate Fountain service that I booked (a partner of Shakey's). The dessert buffet and chocolate fountain were actually one of the best ideas I put for this party as it served as finger food for the guests, kids especially, while waiting for the meals to be served.

It's a bit tedious putting the candy buffet together and manage it while I host the party, but then that's the price I have to pay for wanting to have it DIY :) hehe. (Tips on how to setup your own Candy Buffet to follow).

So for those mommies out there who is considering Shakey's, allow me to enumerate what I think are the pros and cons of having your party there:


Pros

1. Just like other fast food chain kiddie parties, a Shakey's party is only for 2 hours. Best to plan the program neatly to maximize the time. If the store allows it, try to haggle for an extra hour especially if they don't have a booking after your party. You will be charged an extension fee of course (Php1000 at Marcos Hiway).

 

2. Unlike other fast food chain parties, Shakey's allowed us to serve the cake to our guests. In other words, di masyadong maarte. I heard other branches would ask for a waiver to be signed, but luckily for us at Marcos Hiway, this was never asked.

 

3. Fun Zone tokens are being sold at only Php10 each and can be used as prizes for games to those arcade addicts enthusiastic kids.

 

4. The food is good! The chicken parts are huge and crispy. The pasta are filling and you have 2 choices pa. Best of all, they now allow you to choose your pizza (because before they have only Pepperoni and Manager's Choice).

 

5. They are not too strict (at least at Marcos Hiway) and tried to accommodate all my requests, including additional balloons, additional dressed tables, party hour extension (must be made WEEKS before the party and not on the spot), photobooth service from a non accredited provider and many more!

Cons

1. The party themes at Shakey's are limited and lame. Justice League and Barney? Seriously? Haha. If only they can come up with better themes then I am sure clients would be availing more.

2. The Fun Zone can be both a blessing and a curse. From our experience, I felt the downside of the Fun Zone when the kids became very hard to coax to come into the party area and join the program. They are more interested in the arcade!

3. They have a mascot which nobody knows or even remember. I haven't met a kid who is aware of Shakey's mascot. Haha.

How to Maximize Your Photobooth Rental

Photobooth has become a regular extravaganza during special occasions especially weddings and birthday parties. It's a great alternative to giving a pre ordered souvenir which we're not sure if the our guests will like or even use.

 

 

Being a fan of photobooths, I rented a photobooth for my daughter's 1st birthday as we want our guests to have a souvenir photo from the party. The rental was good for 2 hours with 30 minutes stop-time option. I decided to rent it only for 2 hours (compared to 3 hours during my son's 1st birthday two years ago) because we're holding the party at a pizza chain and the party reservation is only for 3 hours.

Anyway, when I reviewed the DVD copy of the photos from the party and counted the total prints, I was disappointed that there's only less than 40. That means we paid Php100 for each print and for me I could have bought a really nice souvenir with that amount.

 

From that experience that I came up with a list that I will arm myself with next time we will rent a photobooth service. I want to maximize it; ensure all my guests have at least 1 print each to take home and get the value for my money.

1. Inform your guests in advance (perhaps when you email the invites or through your event invites in FB) that you have hired a photobooth service.

2. Encourage your guests to line up and have their photos taken while waiting for the program or party to start.

3. Get a package with a stop-time option. This is to ensure your guests are with you during the highlight of your event and not lined up for wacky photos.

 

4. Base the hours of rental with your party duration. If your party is at a fastfood chain like Jollibee which is strictly 2 hours only, get a 2-hour package only. In fact, a 1-hour package would probably be OK.

5. Choose a layout of only 3 or 2 photos per print. It would not only make the prints less crowded but would also make the queuing time shorter ergo more photos printed!

 

6. Skip the Customized Backdrop option unless it's free. In one of my kid's events, I just used a generic backdrop of the photobooth provider and it looked just fine. Believe me, your guests will care more on how they look at the photos than what's the print behind them. This could easily save you Php500. 

 

7. Occasionally ask your program host or emcee to announce when the photobooth is still open, especially when there's less people waiting their turn.

8. Come up with a game or contest during the party for the "Wackiest Photo" taken from the photobooth. If you have an LCD projector, flash the photos and let your guests be the judge.

Hope other mommies find this helpful. Have a great time posing!

DIY Hanging Balloons Decor

For a balloon decor that is as simple as the banderitas type or popularly referred to by balloonist as Balloonderitas, a professional balloon decorator is almost not required. Do it your own and save money! You can use the extra fund for food or additional give aways.

To be able to save significantly, balloons must be purchased at wholesale price from Divisoria. There are plenty of stores at 168 Mall and Divisoria Mall. Personally, I prefer 168 Mall as it is more accessible if commuting and there is ample parking space if you dare drive to Divi.

A regular sized balloon costs about Php100 for 12 pcs in SM or National Bookstore, but you can purchase them for as low as Php200 for 100 pcs at 168 Mall. You'll be amazed at the selection of colors too, and the sizes. Mylar type balloons are also available.

A simple balloonderitas consisting of 100 pcs of balloons can cost anywhere from Php1500 - Php3000. If you have the energy and patience, you can do your own for a humble price of Php200-Php300 (materials only, including nylon strings).

Here's what I did for my son's birthday bash at Jollibee. I hanged 10 sets of cluster-of-4 balloons as added decor to our party (stage part only). I spent only Php70 (and a sore arm from inflating the balloons).

How to make a balloonderitas (with curled ribbons):

1. Inflate balloons and make sure the sizes are uniform.

2. Attach curled ribbons at the end of each balloon (where you knot the end of the balloon to close it off) either by tying the ribbons or by taping them using transparent tape (Scotch tape).

3. Using a Scotch tape (preferably at least 1/2 inch width), attach each balloons to the nylon string. Tip to secure the balloon on the nylon string: tape the nylon diagonal from the left and right (creating an "x").

4. Depends on how scattered you wish to decorate the balloons,  a foot distance between each balloon should be fine.

How to make a cluster of 4 balloons:

1. Inflate balloons in uniform sizes.

2. Pair the balloons by tying 2 balloons together. Make several pairs.

3. Get 2 pairs of balloons and twist them together in the middle. You have now formed your cluster.

4. Tie a nylon string to the balloon (at the point where all 4 balloons are joined together) and hang as desired.

If you want a deviation from balloon decors, you can try tissue or paper pompoms.

Happy Partying!