Disney Frozen Theme Party: Our Behind the Scene Story

My daughter celebrated her 7th birthday last Saturday, January 25 and the party was a huge hit with guests! The food, the decor, the entertainment were all being raved about even after the party. Most importantly, the celebrant herself gleamed with happiness! :)

It was really overwhelming to receive positive comments and praises because this celebration was truly a labor of love. 

Just a background story. The original theme was Under the Sea, my daughter being such a fan of the adventurous Ariel the mermaid. So here's the inspiration board I created for the suppliers as early as November last year. The concept actually got across the suppliers already. 

Aren't they the daintiest? Can I just say how much I appreciate Google and Pinterest on occasion like this? It's got all the inspiration and guide you need to conceptualize a creative party.

Anyway, on with the story. Late November, my kids found out about Disney's Frozen. We were able to watch it a few weeks after it's opening night but even before that my daughter already memorized Let It Go, thanks to YouTube. When we finally got to watch it on big screen I remember her whispering, 'There it is Mommy, I get to see it without stopping (she meant buffering :)).

So, the Under The Sea theme was totally scrapped. After the movie, she wants a Disney Frozen theme with matching snow. Ayayay!

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First on the to-do list was find inspiration for this party theme so I went back to Google and Pinterest for concepts on winter theme parties. You see, the idea is it has to be winter-y but not Christmas-y and the colors of Anna, Elsa's sister, has to be incorporated. 
Once I have the new inspiration board, I emailed and contacted all suppliers to tell them of changes. It was almost Christmas then and some suppliers are on holiday mode or already out on vacation but they responded promptly to my emails and texts. 
I'm so glad I stuck with suppliers who are easy to deal with because we have to go through colors of the table cloth and napkins, the flowers, cake and cupcakes design and all the itsy bitsy details al lover again. 

I'm a working mom and only have weekends and after work to take care of the preps so I need suppliers who immediately respond and follow through. 

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More of our inspiration board. I wanted the stage to be a little different than what we usually see in birthdays and I'm so in love with all the decors at Kara's Party Ideas. Of course, eventhing has to sparkle. 

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Disney's Frozen is new and already a big hit with kids and adults alike. Being fairly new, it was hard to find supplies locally that goes with the theme. After several days of checking online, I finally found one onlin shop that sells a few Frozen stuff. For the rest of decor, we decided to DIY so except for the balloons, everything was labor of love from family and friends from the candy buffet to the icicles on the stage. Her gown was, of course, made by her very talented lola Ninfa (my mom).

I'll share more of the pics of the actual party next time. Have a wonderful Monday everyone.

Baon Ideas for School Kids

I have mentioned in my previous post that I enjoy preparing the kids’ baon. The previous school years I wasn’t able to do this much because of my work schedule; I was tied to giving instructions to the helpers lang. Now with a fixed schedule I get to prep the kids' school stuff including their baons. 

Planning kids’s school snacks/meal is no easy task. It’s the same way as planning the family weekly menu. I’ve been doing it for 8 years now and boy, sometimes I just run out of ideas. You need a lot of brainstorming and research so meals won’t redundant and so that you’re sure the family gets enough nutrition.

Here are what I prepared for Sophie and Sam’s baon yesterday. Before I took a bath I made these:

Happy face mini-pizzas made of 2 types cheeses (quezo de bola and quickmelt cheese), ham and olive oil. I decorated with a little ketchup to make the eyes, nose and mouth. Easy to do and fun to eat. Who doesn’t love pizza anyway? :

these babies are ready for the oven 

use this to make catsup eyes and mouth

I also packed ‘em snacks with bread sticks, wafers and nuts. This goes alongside slices of crunchy, juicy apples :) For the drinks, we send them juice boxes every now and then but not too often. Water is always the best way to go.

party mix for baon with wafers, crackers and mixed nuts

Other baon options to share with you in case you run out of ideas (just as I sometimes do):

1. Pancakes. Create a smiley face or draw a flower (or their fave character like train for my little boy) on the pancakes using melted chocolates or pack with a fat free maple syrup in a small container.
2. Quick pasta cooked with olive oil, finely chopped fresh basil, onions, seasoned with salt and pepper. My little ones like it with scrambled egg. I use fresh basil instead of dried because the kids prefer it that way. You can also make kids spaghetti with meat sauce, carbonara or mac and cheese.
3. Chicken or fish fingers or nuggets (depending on how you cut the chicken/fish fillet). Make homemade nuggets which are way healthier than the store bought packed nuggets. Just combine evap milk, flour, eggs, salt and pepper to make a batter and coat the chicken/fish slices with batter. Before cooking, I dust the nuggets with a little cornstarch for more crunch. You can either fry or bake the nuggets.
4. Quesadillas – so easy to make with just flour tortillas spread with olive oil, mozarella cheese and some veggies like spinach or fresh basil. Grill them and they’re ready to go! See my post here.
5. Make ahead viands – could be adobo or pork steak. Just last Thursday, my daughter brought pork sinigang (pork tamarind soup) for baon. Haha! She loves my sinigang cooked with boiled real tamarind.
6. Fluffy shrimp cakes – recipe here.
7. Boiled eggs with crafty designs – the little boy calls this oval eggs. 

I found some cute and crafty designs for boiled eggs and other meals on the web. Look how interesting a simple sandwhich or boiled egg can look. Kids will surely love to munch on these.

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Care to share more baon ideas? Moms and Dads need as much ideas to last the whole school year :)