60th Birthday Party

My mother envisioned a small affair with close friends and relatives to celebrate her 60th birthday party. She wanted a simple dinner incorporating her two great loves - the color red and dancing (my father passed away three years ago, so I'm sure he'll forgive me for the omission ;)). Below are the suppliers, activities, and themes that contributed to the success of the dinner-dance party:

(1) ATTIRE: Smart casual, though everyone was requested to wear red. It came out great in the photos and the guests were comfortable dancing in their casual attire

(2) FLOWERS and WINE: We had the caterer arrange a small bouquet of red roses around each wine bottle. The combination of flowers and wine bottle was used as a centerpiece for each table.

(3) SOUVENIRS: Can't go wrong with a photobooth! We hired MyPhotos for the event. They were a few minutes late (though admittedly, I only advised them of the change in schedule on the day of the party), but extended an extra hour free of charge in order to make up for it. The staff was friendly, accommodating, and efficient; and the quality of the photos turned out great. Their rate is also much lower compared to other photobooths. In addition, customized layout is already part of their basic package and they knock P1000 off the price if you provide your own background tarpauline (or just forego a personalized backdrop altogether).

(4) LIGHTS and SOUNDS: Unlike other suppliers that gave me complex specifications with matching whopping price tags, AUDIOBITES Lights and Sounds provided a list of equipment and services that fit our theme and venue size at an affordable cost. Their staff was prompt, professional, courteous, and worked with little direction (i.e., I simply provided them with the program and they took care of the music selection, lights, and sound effects). Their equipment was of good quality; the sound was clear throughout the function room and their timing was on the mark every time. Our guests and the birthday celebrant had a lot of good feedback for this particular supplier; I will definitely touch base with them again for our next event.

(5) CATERING: We've hired Semira's Catering (semira_catering@yahoo.com) time and again for our events. They offer a great selection of food with good rates (i.e., at P350/head, we had soup, salad, pasta, beef, fish, chicken, shrimp, rice, dessert, and drinks along with a buffet set-up that came with a mini fountain). They can also offer simple table set-ups and floral arrangements. We just made a mental note to advise them not to scrimp on the sauce and dressing next time ;)

(6) PROGRAM: Mom got a friend to host (he is also a professional dance instructor) along with 2 additional dance instructors to lead the guests in the song and dance activities. Here are some of the games:

(a) Conga Spot Light Dance - All the guests are asked to join a conga line dance that goes around the room and ends on the stage. Whoever the spot light is on at the end of the dance is declared the winner.

(b) Follow The Leader - One person on a stage is the dance leader. Whoever cannot follow the dance leader's moves or loses his/her balance is out of the game. When the music stops, whoever does not freeze is also out of the game.  Game continues until only one person is left with the dance leader.

(c) What's In A Name? - The guests were divided into two groups - boys against girls. Each group had to come up with a song whose title features a person's name. Of course, they have to sing part of the song for it to count. The game ends when one group can no longer come up with a song or sings a song whose title does not feature a valid name.

(d) Karaoke Contest - We hooked up a Magic Mic to the projector. In between the activities and games, the host drew two names out of a hat. The chosen guests were asked to choose a song and sing along karaoke style. At the end of the party, the guests with the lowest and highest scores were awarded prizes.

(e) Musical Magnets (extra game we didn't get to play) - A musical take on "The Boat Is Sinking". Guests must dance while the music is playing. Periodically, the music is stopped and the host calls out a number. Guests must form into groups of that number. People without a group are out of the game. Game ends when there are only three participants left - the host will call out "2" and the pair that form the last group will win the game.

(7) CAKE: I still prefer Goldilocks in terms of taste and variety of available designs. They are also quite flexible in customizing an existing cake design to fit the party color and motif.

(8) PERSONALIZED TOUCH: I had my two-year-old daughter lead the prayer and Happy Birthday song. We also prepared an audio-visual presentation featuring photographs from her 60 years, that we played during dinner. Close friends and relatives gave a couple of speeches in between games.