Jacque’s First Birthday: Safari Expedition Themed-Party

Jacque is ONE! It is really a bittersweet moment. I wish I could slow down time, which always seems to be moving way too fast. But it’s also sweet and exciting watching how she grows and becomes a little person she is! Jacque is our pride and joy! She is really turning into a kind, loving, beautiful, and a definitely smart one little girl!

Last August 4th, we celebrated this amazing little girl’s birthday (née, July 30). My little girl’s first birthday party was my first cute little experience to plan a party! David and I decided to have a Safari Expedition Themed-Party since she is a Leo. She is our lioness. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out (and the little ones seemed to love it too!) so I thought I’d share some photos and party planning tips here today…

The birthday girl!!

I was worried she would be overwhelmed by all the people there to see her, but she had an amazing time.

The Invitations I found Paperless Post a good source for party invitation. It’s nice to have a paper invitation that we can hang onto as a keepsake. I couldn’t resist adding Jacque’s painted picture at the back of it...

Dessert Bar - Set up by Ate Maricel of Sweets and Souvenirs

Pic taken hours before-party

The Venue Throwing the party in the Portuguese Club made setup and breakdown a breeze. It also gave the kids space to run around and have fun. We were able to have a whole dining area for our guests. The club allowed us to use tables, chairs, and linens. (Thank God David’s father is one of the members, lol) We were able to save up some money instead of renting a place and party supplies.

Decorations I’m a believer that kids’ party décor can still be chic. I planned things out way way early since I did not want to splurge in hiring a party planner. I cut out most of the decorations by hand - table matt, party confetti, animals, etc. Some stuff, like leaves garland, flowers, monstera leaves; happy birthday banner, backdrop, I purchased from dollar store, Ebay and Amazon. And thank you Ate Maricel from Sweets and Souvenirs, she provided the sweets and cake table set up and backdrop. I also had a lot of fun with the Safari theme. Along with all the flowers and leaves, I lined the center of the table with animal figures. I also set out Jacque’s pictures from 1 to 12 month. I picked up different kind of animal masks, and balloons. I also brought her all animal stuffed toys from Ikea to the party to add up to the theme. I used five pastel colors, such as, pink, tiffany blue, yellow, purple and mint green. I also strung up her birthday photo to show off.

Filipino/Portuguese Cuisine

Eats and Treats The food menu consisted of a variety of Filipino and Portuguese. Instead of catering, mom, aunt, Mena, most of the family help out to bring food. It went by pretty quickly! For desserts, I enlisted Ate Maricel from Sweets and Souvenirs to make cake pops, meringue, mini donuts and cake-sicle; and a Safari cake from Rowena Bicomong. Desserts were the hit of the party, and certainly made for some Instagram-able moments!

The good looking host and hostess

Activity I printed out some coloring and connect the dots materials for the little party animals. Jacque’s godmothers and godfather, Caroline, Eloi and Gerald also made some party games.

Favors I prepared animal masks for the kids to take home with them. Everyone also got a lot of use of them while they were still at the party since both kids and adults put them on for pictures! I also gave away bag of stuffed of animal pencils, erasers, bubble bottles, and animal stamps. And an unlimited photo booth for everyone!

Our muse 🦁

Momma’s life 💖

My own family 💕

💋💋💋

Photos I firmly believe hiring a photographer is the best gift you can give yourself as a parent for your kiddo’s birthday. Since I didn’t have to worry about snapping photos, I actually put my phone down for once and just enjoyed the party. And now I have gorgeous professional photography by Joanna Escuadro to frame.

We all had a blast, and were a little hopped up on sugar afterward. Even though Jacque may not have known exactly what was going on, I think she knew the day was all about her and felt pretty special. What a milestone this was! David and I had a little “thank you” speech after the party, and I got super emotional, I think it was the stress and worry about my first planned party and also it hit me that Jacque, my baby was no longer an infant but a toddler! We made a surprisingly announcement which I would post to another blog! ...... I can’t wait to see what this next year will bring!

Ps

Again, thank you everyone for making my little girl’s day so memorable! We appreciate all the gifts, all the help and love! You all are amazing! Thank you so muchoooo! 💕 Do you have any parties you’re planning right now? Let me know what you thought of this Safari Expedition-Themed bash in the comments below! Xo D

#birthday #first #jacque #safari #expedition