Do-It-Yourself: How Hardcore I Am

D's birthday is a month and a half away...yes, time is fast and it flies like the man of steel and the question that all mothers ask, 'What kind of party should we throw for our little one?'

If you ask any mother, they would love to splurge and go all out...who doesn't? Our babies only turn one ONCE and even though they're not going to remember it and all (that's the point of photos and videos, hello!) but we, as parents, do. We remember every single detail and the happenings and we will always tell them in detail when they're all grown up.

My parents didn't have a lot when they started their family...in fact, they barely had the essentials! So, it was very natural for them to DIY the first birthday parties of Paul, me and Jam. They have all the pictures to prove it and some videos as well. What made it so special was that everyone appreciated it and it was unique...no one could follow what they did! Hence, the inspiration came to mind!

I was hellbent (hahaha!) to prepare for D's first birthday party myself, maybe because I felt that most of the decorations were very generic and I thought to myself, 'I think I can learn how to do it.' I'd like to believe that I'm creative enough that I can whip up something and besides, L has the artistic hands and can always carve something out of nothing (that beats any basketball-hungry husband, anytime!). Right after D's baptism last November, I was already busy looking for possible themes for his birthday. We already had a rough estimate of the budget since we knew that we would be contacting the same suppliers, but I wanted it to be lesser so I knew that DIY was the road I was going to take.

After the holidays and having settled down after New Year, I was busy looking through different ideas and possible decors...for me, I wanted a theme that would reflect the same passion that L and I share and something that D would be able to look back and say, "That was a good theme Mum...excellent choice." It took me about a couple of weeks before I was able to confidently say that his birthday theme was going to be Disney Pixar's movie Up.

Here was the fun part: gathering all ideas and information for his birthday party. From the decor, to the lootbags and giveaways, and even the shoot for the invite! All of that was playing in my head and I needed to make sure that it was organized in my laptop, thank God for Pinterest since I was able to follow boards and mix different ideas. Also, it was great that the website of Disney had TONS of printable designs and templates. My parents were very supportive as well since they knew that it would slash the budget in half, yes, half!

Last month, I was able to convince my Dad to help me in financing the fee for a DIY Balloon Decor Workshop here in the city. I figured, I wanted to make a statement and be as creative as I could be...might as well do our own decor and trimmings! Being OC, I didn't want it to look so DIY and amateur, I wanted it to look good on photos and look as if it could be featured on Martha Stewart's website! Hahaha, being domesticated has never been this fun but trust me...you'd want it to be picture perfect!

People ask me, how DIY is the party? The only professionals that I hired were the caterer for the dinner buffet, the candy bar buffet that my high school friend did for D's baptismal, the character host and magician tandem and the photographer & videographer. Everything else is on me, well...me and my team (family!), that is.

Was it at all difficult? Of course it is! Which decor? What kind of giveaway? Which lootbag? What design? Tons of questions and quite difficult to answer since I wanted to put everything! But reality (in the form of my husband, L) came into picture and told me to calm down. Haha, thank God because imagine how the party would look like! He definitely made things easier in terms of pinpointing which ones we can handle in making ourselves and the time frame. In the end, most of the ideas that I wanted were put in place...he just ironed all my ideas out so that I won't look so frazzled.

I guess it pays off to be OC and really organized because while L was at work, I was busy already making the giveaways and doing mock-ups of the centerpieces and lootbags (yes, we're making the lootbags!). He never really saw this side of me given that we only met in college, but it was also nice that he saw a different side of me...where I was really into it and I was crazy about it, I even dream about it (no kidding!).

Most of D's playmates are also turning 1 this year...I love sharing ideas to other moms especially those who want to DIY their babies' parties as well.

My Dad always told me that parties (whether it's wedding, birthday or any other reception) is a communal celebration...have people who care about the celebrant and celebrate happiness together. I can't wait for D's party! A celebration of his life and a celebration of our parenthood as well!