A couple of months ago, while on a shopping trip to Shoe Mart for some of A’s essentials, my daughter happened to be drawn to a fuschia, purple and orange tiered dress that was displayed on a mannequin.
I can totally see why my daughter was attracted to it–mind you, it was a pretty cute dress, and colorful too! :). It also had the cutest crochet detail at the back :). However, while we were not there to make any unnecessary purchases (my daughter has a closet-full of clothes already–haha!), A would unfortunately not leave the store without the dress. Her obsession was beyond me, but because I was not in the mood for a scene, I relented and bought what I now refer to as “the dress that inspired it all”. 🙂
When planning parties, it helps alot to have some design inspiration. Whether it be a color, a pattern, a character or a country. In this case, the tiered dress with its bright palette reminded me very much of a Mexican fiesta. And since I was already researching themes for A’s party at that time, I thought it would be perfect! Coincidentally, I just loooooove Mexican food too so that pretty much sealed the deal!
So with the theme settled, I buckled down to work on the menu. I decided on tacos, cheese quesadillas, chicken empanadas, and baked spaghetti (I had to throw in some noodles for long life!). My mom, on the other hand, contributed some jamon in toasted pandesal from The Plaza. For desserts, we had some leche flan, mexican wedding cookies, and ofcourse, churros con chocolate! To keep things within budget, I also decided that most of the food would be cooked at home :).
For the event styling, I was challenged to find decor that made a lot of impact, but didn’t break the bank! Hahaha! If you read my post on A’s first birthday party, I totally did not want to throw a party of that proportion again! Hahaha! Well, maybe not until A turns 7! :p The H and I decided that we were just going to celebrate on a much smaller scale this time around, inviting only family and our closest friends.
So for the party decor, I decided to go DIY. If you love DIY like me, then I personally think there is no need for expensive party supplies. Just craft them! The net is chockful of ideas!
There were several items that I knew I had to make to give the party a truly Mexican flair. A pinata was one of them :). Luckily, there are so many tutorials on the web that offer easy instructions on how to make a pinata, so I was actually able to construct one without much difficulty. It was pretty fun to make, and I was so proud of the outcome!
Other elements of the decorations included some papel picado, mexican paper flowers, paper stars or lanterns, papier mache horses, sombreros, maracas, and some cactus as well :). Luckily, most of these can be made with a little bit of creativity and a lot of patience–hahaha! :). And good thing I happen to looooove crafting so I was actually excited about all the projects I had lined up!
I’m so excited to share with you how everything turned out! In the end, I was so proud of my work! It may look like I may have spent a fortune, but I actually didn’t! That’s the best part! 🙂
On a bit of a serious note, A’s party actually had to be postponed about 2 weeks. The original date it was planned was a week filled with heavy rains that resulted in flooding. Many people were affected and lost their homes. I donated some of my party funds to the victims, but decided to proceed with the celebration at a more appropriate time. We also downscaled the number of invitees, and ended up just inviting family.
Anyway, I hope you liked the photos of A’s party, as much as I enjoyed styling it! I hope in some way, it inspired you with some DIY ideas for future parties of your own!
A Dose of Happy 