Raviv’s 2nd Birthday: Simple DIY Circus-Themed Party at School

January 10, 2013 By 21 Comments

Bree van de Kamp no more!

Barely finishing my sigh of relief when the Holiday Show at Raviv’s school was finished, Raviv’s teacher approached me and asked, “Ma’am, asan po ‘yung invitations sa birthday celebration ni Raviv sa Friday?”

It was already Wednesday, and I did not prepare any invite!!!  I thought there was no need to because the “party” will be at school anyway.  With saucer-round eyes I  muttered, “Ha?  Kelangan pa ba?!?”  Teacher Helen said, “Yes of course Mommy.”

The world suddenly spun and the feeling that I was “the” mom of the hour (because of Raviv’s DIY owl costume) evaporated…I was back to Dewmaine, the nanay who was still inept.  Nawala na talaga ang mga Martha Stewart at Bree van de Kamp illusions ko!

Simple party

If you remember, I went full blast last year for Raviv’s jungle safari-themed 1st birthday party.  Career kung career ‘yun, DIY pa since we held it in our province in Mindanao where there weren’t many party suppliers who understood my visions (and kakuriputan).

But this year Randy convinced me to keep it simple…promise daw next year for Raviv’s 3rd birthday papayagan na niya akong magpaka-Bree nang todo.  Moreover, many of Raviv’s classmates wouldn’t have been available on December 26th.  So we decided on a simple school party.  Raviv’s school doesn’t allow over the top parties–they (administrators) want the party to be done within 30 minutes during the toddlers’ snack time.  OK rin para hindi magpatalbugan ang parents ‘di ba?

Circus-themed party

I opted for the circus theme because there were still animals (and tapos na ang jungle safari theme)...eh alam n’yo naman ang obssession ni Raviv sa animals!

Invitation

After the Holiday Show, I had my forty winks that barely made up for my sleepless nights.  Soon after waking up I was in front of my laptop to rush Raviv’s invitation.  A few hours later, I printed the invitations and spent another hour or two cutting.  So nakahabol naman ang invites on Thursday morning.  Raviv and Yaya Isay hand-carried the invitations.

Raviv's DIY circus-theme invitation

Raviv’s DIY circus-theme invitation

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Filed Under: Amazing People, Dew Drops of Wisdom, Homemaking & DIY, Mommy Dew's Tales from Mommywood Tagged With: , ,

Raviv’s Roarin’ Jungle Safari First Birthday Party Part 3

January 14, 2012 By 7 Comments

Continued from Raviv’s Roarin’ Jungle Safari First Birthday Party Part 2

 

Cakes, with an “S”

What’s a birthday without a cake?  At first, I thought he’s not gonna have a nice birthday cake (the one on top of the cupcake stand, because I wanted to DIY his cupcakes), so imagine my glee when he had two jungle-themed cakes:  I ordered the fondant cake while the fondant-looking one was given as a gift. I wanted Raviv to have a really nice birthday cake, and at first I was worried that I won’t be able to get a fondant cake artist in our place.  Good thing my sister-in-law Ruth told about KC Cakes from (not-so) nearby Kidapawan City.    Aside from the 9-inch cake on top of the five layer cupcake stand, I also ordered matching cupcakes.

Raviv’s Jungle Safari-Themed Top Cake and Cupcakes

As you can see, the design really looks good!  And I really wanted a lion because Raviv’s costume is a lion.  Plus, Raviv is the King of the Republic of Raviv, remember (in the AVP I created, the background music is “I Just CAn’t Wait to be King” from the Lion King) ?  So lion is perfect.   We were really pleased with the design.  Downside is, nakakahinayang kainin!  Parang crime kainin!  Until now, the animal toppers are still in our ref. Raviv’s other cake is a gift from my Mama Cristy.  Mama Cristy is almost like my tita, and one of the most generous and thoughtful people I know (along with her daughter, my kababata Bubbles).  The cake she gave isn’t fondant—pero look at it!  The cake artist is really, really good!  Sugar icing lang ito:

Can you believe this isn’t fondant? This jungle safari themed cake is Raviv’s cake #2, given by a very thoughtful Mama Cristy.  Love you Mama Cris!

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Filed Under: Dew's Reviews, Dew's Wardrobe Diaries, Events and Services, Guest Fashionistas, Modish Dew, Mommy Dew's Tales from Mommywood Tagged With: ,

Raviv’s Roarin’ Jungle Safari First Birthday Party Part 2

January 11, 2012 By 22 Comments

Continued from Raviv’s Roarin’ Jungle Safari First Birthday Party Part 1

Here are the decors of Raviv’s jungle safari-themed party.  I conceptualized the design, and had a group do the rendering for me.  I was at my proudest moment when guests gushed how nice the decor is was…I really think Task Force Raviv was able to get the jungle safari look for the party.

Jungle Safari Venue Set-up (Party Venue: Cafe Martina, USM Compound)


You might be wondering why the table cloth and chair covers are white…well, that was it or pink!  Unfortunately, my venue only has these two colors.  To mitigate, we just tied each chair with cut pieces of cloth that have animal prints then inserted anahaw leaves at the back of the chairs.  It’s not perfect I know but voila: we got matching jungle safari chairs at almost no cost!

Stage

Jungle Safari Set-up Stage Decor 1

Jungle Safari Stage Set-up Decor 2

This was how the stage looked like.  As you may know, the invitation to Raviv’s party is a passport to the Republic of Raviv (DIY too), thus my idea of putting a huge seal of the Republic of Raviv at the center stage.  The idea was, the invitation was the guests’ passport to enter the Jungle Kingdom of the Republic of Raviv.

We put animal mylar balloons in between the plants, to make it look as though the animals were hiding (and were terrible in camouflaging, hahaha!).  After the party when we announced that the mylars may be taken home, the kids went crazy over collecting them.  Hubby told me I should have bought more, seeing how much the kids loved them.  These mylars were bought from Divisoria.  On the ceiling, we hung balloons (also from Divi) and zoo animal dangling swirls I ordered from Oriental Trading.  The shipping address I gave Oriental Trading was my mother-in-law’s in the US, and then my mother-in-law sent them to us in a balikbayan box along with my other orders.

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Filed Under: Dew's Reviews, Events and Services, Mommy Dew's Tales from Mommywood Tagged With: ,