We celebrated Miguel’s baptism at St. Peter Parish and his 1st birthday at Microtel UP Technohub with joyful planning and heartfelt family moments.

We welcomed the year 2019 with two very important milestones. On January 5, 2019, we had Miguel baptized at the St. Peter Parish Church and then we had his first birthday celebration at Microtel Hotel in UP Ayala Technohub.

How we planned and prepared for Miguel’s Baptism and First Birthday Celebration

Planing for Miguel’s Baptism and First Birthday Celebration

We have been busy with preparations during the last five months, but it was not really as nerve-wracking as when we were making arrangements for our wedding four years ago. In fact, for Miguel’s baptism and first birthday celebration, we enjoyed every moment of sourcing for suppliers, looking for a church, and discussing the requirements with our event coordinator.

Miguel and Daddy

Finally, our months of preparation culminated in a happy and fun-filled celebration with family and close friends. It was one of the most joyful moments of our parenting adventure and we pray that it is just one of the many good things ahead of us.

Church-hunting for Miguel’s Baptism

One of the very first things that we did was to look for a church that was available for baptism on Miguel's birthday. After several considerations, we were able to book a baptismal schedule at St. Peter Parish Church.

Last January 5, we had Miguel baptized at St. Peter Parish Church along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. It was just a few meters away from the Microtel Hotel in UP Ayala Technohub, our party venue.

St. Peter Parish Church was not our initial choice though; it was the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in UP Diliman. However, we were not able to complete the requirement because the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice was asking us to submit an NSO copy of Miguel’s birth certificate. We only had a copy of his birth certificate secured from Taguig City Hall and it will take another week for the NSO copy to arrive.

St. Peter Parish Church

We considered another nearby church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, along Road 8 in Diliman, Quezon City. Unfortunately, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel’s requirements were much more stringent than those of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice.

Specifically, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is requiring us to submit baptismal certificates of our principal sponsors, in addition to the photocopy of Miguel’s birth certificate, our marriage contract, and the certificate of permission since we are from another parish.

On top of those requirements, all our sponsors (and us, of course) are required to attend a seminar, or else they will not be listed as ninongs and ninangs. I could understand the strictness because, indeed, some parents have to be educated about the value and essence of why we get ninongs and ninangs. However, since we were pressed for time, we decided to look for another church.

Miguel's Baptism

St. Peter Parish Church is the next logical choice because it is just within the vicinity of our party venue. Plus, they were only requiring us to submit a copy of Miguel’s registered birth certificate and the names of our principal and secondary sponsors.

We also opted for a special baptism or solo baptism versus the regular baptism or mass baptism held every Sunday only. St. Peter Parish Church also requires parents to personally register their child for baptism.

Family photo before the ceremony

For a special baptism, we had to make a donation of Php2,050, inclusive of five pairs of sponsors. If you have more than 10 sponsors, you have to pay an additional Php50 per extra sponsor. We were also required to be there on time (of course) or else our slot would be forfeited. A special baptism is held in any of the two baptisteries at the lower ground level of the church.

Family photo after Miguel's baptism

We were quite anxious about being late for our schedule and the possible heavy traffic along Commonwealth Avenue, so we made sure to arrive at St. Peter Parish Church an hour before our schedule.

Welcome to the Christian world, Miguel!

Miguel’s first birthday celebration at Microtel Hotel at UP Ayala Technohub

After booking a baptismal schedule in the church of your choice, the next task is to set a budget for the party itself. In particular, you have to allot a budget for food, venue, styling, entertainment, and giveaways and prizes.

If it's hard for you to come up with a budget, you can do it the way we did, which was to look for possible venues, such as hotels, near the church. We asked for quotations and party packages from these suppliers and, from these costings, we were able to get a fairly good idea of how much we could spend. We were even able to customize our package based on our requirements.

Among the three hotels we considered for Miguel’s first birthday party, the Microtel Hotel at UP Ayala Technohub is the most reasonable. It’s just within Quezon City so we would not have to travel far but it is also near Edsa so our guests would not have to brave the insane traffic as they make their way through congested Metro Manila streets.

Miguel's first birthday celebration

Aside from practical reasons, after our initial talks with Microtel, we knew it was the perfect venue for Miguel’s first birthday party. The hotel looks good without looking intimidating; its function room is spacious and can certainly accommodate a large number of people, and the food will be catered by Millie’s All-Day Dining.

Miguel's first birthday celebration cake by Heavenly Sweet Treats

What we really liked about Microtel was that they were easy to deal with; they approved all our requests, such as adjusting the time of Miguel’s party by an hour later and allowing us to bring in the giveaways a day before the event.

If you want to do it, you may opt to have a theme for your party. We chose the theme “Woodland Camping,” and we were happy to know that it was easily doable, courtesy of the hotel’s in-house stylist, Party in Style. It was also a plus that Microtel’s banquet coordinator, Aubrey Peñaredondo, was hands-on and very thorough throughout our planning stage, thus, making us feel assured.

Venue styling at Microtel Hotel

Microtel Hotel Diliman Room

When the momentous day arrived, we were pleased with the venue set-up and styling. It was how we envisioned it to be. The styling, in particular, perfectly captured the theme of woodland camping.

Dear friends and family, for Miguel's first birthday celebration

Furthermore, the energy was high throughout the party courtesy of the hardworking host, Paula Sunga. Paula can surely keep any party going. During the games, when guests had to guess the title of the song, she would sing the song herself. When guests had to guess the name of a personality, she would impersonate that celebrity. Paula was not just trying; she was really good at singing and impersonating celebrities.

Our friend, Menea (leftmost), who volunteered to be the on-the-day coordinator for Miguel's first irthday celebration, and our party host, the lively Paula Sunga (rightmost)

Probably the highlight of the party was when Paula gathered our guests on the stage. While everybody thought that it would be a simple group photo, Paula surprised everyone by announcing that we would do a flash mob. Since it was unannounced, Paula had to teach the dance steps to our guests. It was just fun to see everybody happily dancing and smiling.

Group shot after Miguel's first birthday celebration

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Food by Millie’s All-Day Dining

As with any special event, what we consider as one of the most important aspects of Miguel’s first birthday celebration was the food. Guests will forget every other detail of your event except food. Khris and I are believers that good food equates to an unforgettable experience. Thus, it is crucial to choose well the food that will be served at your party.

As I mentioned earlier, a big factor that influenced our decision was that the food would be served by Millie’s All-Day Dining.

I have heard a lot of positive feedback about Millie’s since about four years ago, when it became an accredited credit card merchant in my previous company. When we were preparing the marketing collaterals for the partnership, Millie’s food shots always looked delectable, so I included the restaurant in my must-try list.

I thought that Miguel’s first birthday was a good opportunity to finally sample what Millie’s had to offer. However, I found out later on that Millie’s had a menu for social events that is different from its All-Day Dining menu.

Kiddie buffet by Millie's for Miguel's first birthday celebration

Here is what we ordered for the kiddie buffet: Fried Cheese Sticks for the appetizers; Mini Cheeseburgers with Condiments, Chicken Nuggets, Mini Pork Barbecue, Spaghetti with Meatballs for the mains; and Chocolate Brownies and Cream Fruit Salad with Cheese for dessert.

This combo is the most kid-friendly among the choices presented to us. We had the pasta changed from carbonara to spaghetti with meatballs, which is more appealing to children.

I only had the chance to taste the spaghetti with meatballs, and it was good. It was not the typical sugary children’s party spaghetti because it only had a slight sweetness to it. It was, nonetheless, appealing to the taste of kids.

As for the rest of the selection, I have gotten feedback that the barbecue was tender and had large cuts of meat. Our guests also liked the mini cheeseburgers. All in all, the feedback that we got for the kiddie buffet was positive.

Adult buffet by Millie's for Miguel's first birthday celebration

For the adult buffet, this is what we chose from the international food selection:

Soup: Mushroom Soup and Bread Station
Cold: Tuna and Bean Salad, Mediterranean Potato Salad, assorted Greens Salad with Condiments, and two dressings
Hot: Chicken Cordon Bleu with Sauce Aurora, Penne Boscaiola with Parmesan Cheese, Beer Battered Fish with Tartar Sauce, Cauliflower Gratin, and steamed rice
Carving: Grilled Beef Belly with Horseradish Cream
Dessert: Assorted Fresh Fruits and Chocó Éclairs

We loved our food choices, and we would not have it any other way. I found the mushroom soup impressive because it was packed with flavors. It was a chunky type of soup because it had coarse bits of mushroom in it, which I liked because of the texture. You can tell that it was not canned soup.

As for the mains, I thought that the Chicken Cordon Bleu with Sauce Aurora and the Cauliflower Gratin were unforgettable. Most Cordon Bleus have a tendency to be dry and tough, but not this one from Millie’s. I love cauliflower because of its flavors and consistency; it tends to remain firm even after reheating it. The sauce of the gratin complemented the cauliflower really well.

I was looking forward to the grilled beef belly, which remains my perennial favorite in any event or restaurant. However, the beef belly that I had was a little tough and dry. It took me quite a while before I was able to eat my food, so that was probably the reason for it.

The fish fillet could also use a bit of moisture, as it was a little dry. Anyway, the fish fillet is my least favorite food in any gathering, so I may just be a little biased against it.

Overall, we were happy with the food served by Millie’s All-Day Dining.

Entertainment, ice cream cart, and giveaways

It's entirely up to you if you want entertainment and other additions to your party. But since this is a kiddie party, we opted to have entertainment and ice cream, because we wanted it to be fun and lively. Ask your party venue if they have accredited suppliers or if they can refer names to you.

Microtel has its accredited magician, bubble show performer, face painters, and food carts. However, we decided to get external suppliers because we deemed it more practical.

We found a package of magic and bubble shows, and face painting courtesy of Nizzty Magician. We were happy with the performance of Nizzty. He was very professional, and he kept the children screaming for more magic and bubble tricks.

We initially thought of getting a street food cart, but in the end, we decided to just get an ice cream cart from Sumilang.

Magic show

Face and body painting

As for the giveaways, we ordered woodland kiddie stools from Venice Handicrafts Wooden Kiddie Stools and customized pillows from Isbel Enterprises. All items were of high quality and impressed our guests.

Giveaways and loot bags

Woodland theme pillows

Woodland chairs

For dirty ice cream, Sumilang is a staple, and you can never go wrong with it. I dealt with them years ago and liked the ease of talking to them. However, for Miguel’s first birthday, our cart arrived considerably late to the point that we were not expecting them to show up anymore. Thankfully, it arrived after 2 hours and was an instant hit with our visitors.

Ice cream cart

By the end of the party, we were just happy that it went smoothly, and our guests were happy with the food, the giveaways, the games, and the prizes.

Directory of suppliers

Microtel by Wyndham Hotel at UP Ayala Technohub

UP-Ayala Land Technohub,

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman

Quezon City, Philippines 1121

Phone Number: +63 (02) 804 6888

Email:uptechnohub@microtel.ph

Manila Sales Office

Phone Numbers: +63 (02) 899 7171 | +63 (917) 888 1800

Fax Number: +63 (02) 870 0319

Email: sales@microtel.ph

reservations@microtel.ph

Nizzty Magician

Mobile number: 09158203062

Facebook: facebook.com/nizztymagician

Venice Handicrafts Wooden Kiddie Stools

382 Ringgit Street, Bankers Village, Gitnang

Bayan 1, 1850, San Mateo, Rizal

09988661449

Facebook.com/venicehandicrafts

mariavanessaferrer@yahoo.com

Sumilang Ice Cream

Mobile Number: 09162995234

Email: sumilangdairyfoods@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/sumilardairyfoods

Paula Sunga Event Host

You may search SPARK Paula Sunga – Hosting and Events on Facebook

Mobile Number: 09065671286

Photographer

Instagram.com/arandomasianguy

Customized Pillows

Isbel Ent. at Malolos and 999 Shopping Mall

How we planned and prepared for Miguel’s Baptism and First Birthday Celebration