One of A Kind 1st Birthday Celebration: Fiesta/Handaang Pinoy

Last Sunday was Jeihan's Christening(where I was chosen to be one of her godmothers) and first birthday party celebration as well. No wonder why her parents did their very best to make the celebration as grand as it could be.

Upon entering the venue, you'll already feel a vibe of a Pinoy celebration.

The stage is set up in such a way that it would look like it's fiesta! Nipa house can be seen on both sides. They also put fiesta banderitas and sombreros and salakot to accentuate the design of the stage.

Instead of the usual candles or flowers at the center of the table, they put a small clay pot or "palayok" filled with steamed peanuts and an "abaniko" that's rolled to imitate a flower bouquet wrapper. An onion spring is then placed inside it. Very pinoy-ish, must I say.

What really caught my attention is this "Tindahan ni Tisay" corner which has several candies(90's kids would be able to recognize these) and toys in the middle! All these are very familiar to me because these are what I used to buy at stores near our house back when I was a kid. It brings back good old memories!

The tindahan also has fishballs, hotdogs and ihaw-ihaw that guests could munch on while enjoying the party. We know how much Pinoys love these kind of foods! 😁

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And because this is a Pinoy-style celebration, kids and some adults were encouraged to wear tradition Philippines costume: baro't saya for women while camisa de chino for men. The Best-dressed awardees received prizes.

Look at our birthday girl looking so cute in her baro't saya costume. ❤

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The program of the party includes intermission numbers. A group of students danced two Filipino folk dance: Tinikling and Binasuan.

Tinikling is a traditional folk dance which involves two persons tapping and beating two large bamboo poles against the floor in coordination with two dancers dancing in and between the bamboo poles.

Binasuan on the other hand is a folk dance which involves gracefully balancing two wine glasses on the head and in then palms of both hands while performing.

Looks like Buwan ng Wika which is celebrated in the Philippines every August came too early! 😁

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After the intermission numbers, the games and the raffle, it's now Tisay's turn to blow her candle!

I was actually surprised when I first saw her birthday cake. It looked like a real small lechon from afar. And then I thought to myself, "Yah right. Fiesta celebration wouldn't be complete without the lechon!" and since this is a birthday party, the witty parents decided to have a lechon cake instead of a regular cake. All of these are edible except for the candle. Lovely! ❤

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I've never really been to a party as unique as this. I never thought that Fiesta/Handaang Pinoy theme could be as exciting and fun as this.

Thanks for reading!

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