Let's SPArty! - R's 8th Birthday

R wanted a spa treatment for her 8th birthday.  Massage, foot spa and Hairstyling - the works.  The first time she had a taste of these was about 4 years ago when we brought her to Little Lamb's Spa in Fun Ranch near Tiendesitas.  It was her 4th birthday.

We have already decided on going to Little Lamb's Spa in Timog when R requested that her first cousins go with her.  I was suddenly facing a blank wall. If we bring them to Little Lamb's in Timog, we would need to prepare food for the kids and treat their parents for lunch or snack. Not that I dont want to, it's just that were on a tight budget. Ramir and I were racking our brains the past weeks. We want R to have a grand time on her birthday but we wouldn't want to burn a hole in our pockets.

We have two scenarios.  If we're going for the Little Lamb's Spa, it would just be a Cruz family affair. Massage and foot spa for all 4 of us. Then hairstyling and pedicure for R. Then lunch or merienda treat for our families.  Or we can look for a spa near Malabon, treat all the kids to a spa treatment then have lunch at Nanay's place so we wouldn't need to spend for a lunch treat since lunch is prepared there every sunday anyway. Good thing R's birthday falls on a sunday. Option two is more viable only if there's a place that would allow us to have their spa closed for two hours to accomodate us, the other thing is, I'm not sure if there would be any place that would cater to an all-kids clientele. I texted a family friend who owns a Templora Dermatologica, a spa and beauty center very near my parent's house in Santulan, Malabon. When she told me that they can do it and  can even serve some milk tea for the guests (since they also own a milk tea place), i was in cloud nine. Everything that R had in mind, would happen, and most importantly, we would be able to stick with our measly budget. Everybody happy.

We agreed to the 10am to 12nn slot because the center opens at 1pm.  We had the entire place to ourselves. The 2-hour period was just enough time for everyone to have their treatments.  We arrived around 9:30am.  While waiting for her guests, R had her massage.

By 10am our little guests started arriving. So how did the party go?  Just as planned.  Below are the details of our DIY Sparty.

Theme: spa party "sparty"
Color motif: pink and black
Key art: silhoutte of a pony-tailed girl

Invitation
Even if there were just 6 participants, we still made some invites.

Food
Kids' Lunch
We prepared some spaghetti and chicken for the kids. We just printed something similar to the invite to personalize the packaging.

Finger foods
We felt that some finger food are necessary to tide hunger pangs while the kids are having their spa moments.
We just bought some chocolate covered pretzels, stickos, mini cupckaes and chips.

We ordered some milk tea from My SerendipiTea for the kids' beverage. We also bought some bottled water. We just made a label to personalize it.

Decoration
For the decors, I just made a letter cutout of R's name and stick them on the wall. Buti na lang hindi ako masyadong nag-abala. Im very happy with how they spruced up the place. It was very thoughtful of them because we never really agreed on anything. They just did it and it was very nice. We were very satisfied.

Foot spa and Hairstyling
They had four foot spa stations. They were treated to a foot bath, foot scrub, short foot massage and a pedicure. After they were through, they proceeded to the hairstyling station. Hair braids were done and colorful hair accessories were provided.

Bracelet-making station
The owner told us that they can only accommodate 4 foot spa clients at a time. So I knew before hand that there would be some waiting time. I thought of an activity that would be interesting for kids so they wouldn't feel bored while waiting for their turn. I just bought some beads and stretchable clear strings from our palengke and voila, a bracelet station. We were able to churn cute pieces and the kids really enjoyed doing them.

Loot bag
We were looking for some bags to put in some pink goodies. Most of the stuff we saw that we like were out of our budget. So I just bought some pink cartolinas and turned it into a paper bag.

After our stint here, we transferred to Nanay's place for lunch. We would like to thank our guests for being so supportive and Templora Dermatologica for taking care of us.

To you Rainie - You'll always be our precious panganay.  Your birthday will always be a reminder of God's love, grace and generosity. May you grow up to be a happy kid, after our Lord's heart.  You've been one of the many miracles of my life. Thank you for the pleasure of being your mama.  Mahal na mahal. Mama