DIY Party Decorations

I told you a little bit about Aly's birthday banners here.  Since I received quite a few compliments about the lamp decoration that I made, I going to share it here with you.

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Aly's birthday "chandelier"

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The lamp "before"


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For the paper garlands: Aly and I cut out pink and purple cardboard with craft scissors and taped them on white string.  I draped them around the lamp.  For the middle part, I printed a sort of birthday logo on white cardboard, cut with craft scissors again, glued them on the colored cardboard, taped on purple ribbon and placed them on the center of the lamp.

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This was a sort of last-minute idea but I love the big difference that it made on the lamp: I printed some of my favorite photos of Aly on parchment paper and placed them around with double-sided tape.  Be sure to edit the photos first.  They should be high contrast and very sharp for better effect.

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The lamp from different angles.

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The rest of the party decor.
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Birthday banner.
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More paper garlands.
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I didn't spend a lot on these decorations, by the way.  I don't remember the exact amount, but probably Thb250 (Php350) tops.  Most of the items that we used are leftovers from past events: the string from last year's birthday parties, ribbons and parchment paper from our wedding (almost 4 years old!).  So it really pays to DIY some stuff because you get to save the leftovers and keep them for future use.  Aly and I need a bigger craft/art supplies box!  It's great too that my daughter loves doing crafts with me.  It makes the event more special even if the party is just for the three of us.  But hey, a celebration IS a celebration and what matters most is being with the people that you love, right?  Hope this helps! :)

Aly's 8th Birthday Weekend: Part 2

The big day has finally arrived!  The moment she woke up, she ran to our room and shouted, "WOOHOO!!".  It only meant one thing: it was time to open her gifts.  She's been waiting for that moment all week!  She tried to lure me into letting her open the gifts earlier but mommy had to stand firm even if the little girl used all the tricks in her book.  Haha!  Aly tried everything: the slight parinig (I can't wait to open my gifts!  I wonder what's inside them?  I'm so excited!) to the super obvious, direct to the point (Can I open my gifts now, mommy?).  She also used the paawa look and this certain look she gives me that tells me she wants something, hugs, kisses...the whole shebang!  But I kept telling her that her tricks are no good; she can only open her gifts on her birthday.  Nakalusot pa din sya kasi everytime she would receive a gift from her classmates, she would open them in school.  Hay naku...Anyway, let's watch her unwrap her gifts.

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Hindi na naghilamos si ate.  She was that excited!

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Gifts from mommy and daddy.

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If you're wondering why she got all these toys, that's because she only gets to buy toys twice a year: birthday and Christmas.  So she filled her birthday wishlist with toys.  She also included books but I told her that she can buy books anytime so we'll just get the toys.  We also had a bigger budget for her gifts this year because #1 we didn't travel like we did last year and #2 we didn't have a birthday party for her in school.  Plus, she's been a really good girl :)  

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Now where were we?  Once all the gifts have been unwrapped, I put a blindfold  for another surprise.

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Isn't she the cutest girl with a blindfold ever?

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Surprise!!

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Medyo clueless pa dito...

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Wheee!!

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A new iPad!

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How did you get this, daddy?  When did you buy it?  She was trying to analyze the surprise.  She's getting smarter and smarter every day.  Senyales na big girl na talaga.

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Soo happy :)

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She probably can't believe that we bought the iPad.  She thought kasi we'll buy it next year pa.  Haha!

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Happiest birthday ever!

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After opening her gifts, I made her favorite pancakes for breakfast.  We had an entire day planned for Aly's birthday: Church, lunch, dinner at home...anyway, take a look at the photos.

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Birthday outfit: top from Central Department Store, leggings from the export overruns bazaar in Nuvali, watch from Gap.

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Birthday shoes (we all need birthday shoes, right?): Gap kids

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Birthday bag (we need that too just like mommy!): Hello Kitty

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Goofy Aly.

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She loves her Tinkerbell cup!

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My big girl baby is growing up too fast!  Sniff!

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Daddy and mommy are happy too!  Heehee!

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Daddy loves you!

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Gigil with Aly!

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Checking her messages after the mass.  Big thanks to all who greeted Aly on her birthday!

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On our way to Chokchai Steakhouse.  

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Love.

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I love you, babe!

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Her dad arranged another surprise for her.  Heehee!  Gulat sya.

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Make a wish, babe!

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Valdezes in Chokchai.

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After lunch, we went to Paragon to pick up her birthday cake.

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Aly's birthday cake.

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Ready for dinner!

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I prepared a simple dinner for Aly.  Actually, she was the one who came up with the menu.  I asked her to list down her favorite dishes: spaghetti with meat sauce, fried chicken (from McDonald's), focaccia with olive oil + balsamic vinegar dip.

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One more photo with the birthday girl.

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Then it was time for the cake!

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It was a great day for all of us :)

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Happy birthday princess!  We love you to bits!

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That night, she told us that it was the best birthday ever :)

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And that concludes Aly's birthday special.  It was a busy weekend but a great one nevertheless.  Our little girl has been looking forward to her birthday all year so Richard and I did our best to make it extra special.  Anything to make our princess happy!  Besides, she's been a good girl; she doesn't give us a hard time and she always follows mommy and daddy without any complaints, so she deserves only the best.

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Happy 8th birthday, big girl!  We love you!