How to Plan your very own Storybook-Themed Children's Party

If your child loves having books read to her, this might be just the theme for her party. Here are some simple tips, how tos, and suppliers to get you going on your very own storybook-themed party!

1. Find a venue and plan your menu
For the busy parent:We were really pressed for time so we just decided to get Albergus as a venue and caterer for our daughter’s first year birthday party. We just had to choose a menu and a function room and they did the rest. This option is ideal for busy parents since the caterer will take care of the whole set-up and will even recommend party supplier partners they regularly work with.
Supplier Information:    * Albergus Catering    * Website: http://albergus.squarespace.com    * Contact number: 931-FOOD (931-3663)
...or D-I-Y it!This can be as simple as hosting the party in your own home with home-cooked or take-out food. Additional things you have to plan for will be your food set-up, tables, chairs, utensils.
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:You can of course make seemingly ordinary food into fairytale cuisine! Simply rename them and create fancy tags! Like your champoradomerienda party can be “Baby Bear’s Chocolate Porridge” or carrot cupcakes can be “Rabbit’s Karot Treets” (Rabbit still has trouble spelling until now). 

2. Make your invites... and don’t forget to send them out!
For the busy parent:There are several suppliers who can design and print your invites for you in a jiffy. Don’t forget to say that guests are encouraged to come in costume!
Supplier Information:
    * http://www.thewrite-impression.com/    * http://www.craftmasterinvitations.com/    * http://www.wink.com.ph/    * http://www.printsonalities.com
... or D-I-Y it!

Download some classic storybook images and lay them out with the details of your party. Some storybooks we used were Classic Winnie the Pooh (vs. the Disney version), My Little Prince, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and Beatrix Potter. You can then print these out with your home printer or you may also choose to have them printed digitally by a printer. One of my favorite digital printers is The Lord’s Printshoppe. They were the same suppliers who did our wedding invites and business cards among other things. Another printer I go to is X-Print, they have branches in various malls thus making them more accessible.
Supplier Information:
    * The Lord’s Printshoppe: 57 Matimtiman St., Teacher’s Village, QC. 925-6773/ 396-2580;    * XPRINT VMALL – Greenhills: 3rd Floor, V Mall, Greenhills, San Juan, 722-8913;    * XPRINT – Trinoma: 2nd Level, Trinoma, QC, 916-9644;    * XPRINT - Market! Market!: 2nd Level, Market! Market! The Fort, Taguig, 856-0168
[previous|page|next]


3. Pick your costumes
For the busy parent:Toy Kingdom has a decent selection of readily available costumes for both kids and adults.
.. or D-I-Y it!

I dressed up as Puss in Boots. Our daughter, Zoe, was Little Red Riding Hood, and daddy was the Big Bad Wolf. We got a simple red floral dress for Zoe and decided to have a cape made for her. We just bought some red cloth and had a seamstress make it into a cape with a hood which cost us less than P150! As for my costume, I got a white polo and vest, black skinny jeans and ankle high boots. I couldn’t find a nice-looking hat on hand so decided to make one from our favorite costume material: rubber foam from this store called Estanislao in Marikina. Daddy borrowed a nightgown from grandma, a cute bonnet from his sister and made a wolf mask also from rubber foam.
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:Encourage all your guests to come in costume by offering prize incentives for both kids AND adults.

4. Pick your cake
For the busy parent:Two popular cake chains are Red Ribbon and Goldilocks. They have a huge selection of character cakes in organized booklets. One other place I like is the Shoppersville Bakeshop along Katipunan, QC.
For a more customized cake, I recommend searching multiply.com for online bakers. Zoe’s storybook cake was made by Ms. Gel Colet of Swell Sweets, whom we just found online.
Supplier Information:http://gelcolet.multiply.com
... or D-I-Y it!

If there’s an inner baker in you, it’s quite easy to make your own cake. I recently just baked my very first cake and it was less daunting than I thought. Cake decoration is a different matter, though,  but there are ways to cheat this. I’ve seen toys used as cake decors and they look just as professional. Just make sure they’re clean and let your guests know they’re not edible!
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:An alternative to having just one cake is to have a cupcake tower. This also doubles as a party favor guests can bring home with them. As I mentioned, there is a barrage of great Filipina bakers over on multiply. Zoe’s sesame street cupcakes for her second birthday party were made by Ms. Bess Vail of Perfectly Sweet Cakes and Pastries.
Supplier Information:http://jubeken.multiply.com

5. Plan your decorations
For the busy parent:Again my favorite online resource is multiply. I haven’t personally tried to hire a party planner/ coordinator but just search for these keywords and you’ll get a nice long list. They also have tons of photos of their work online so you can just choose what kind of set-up you’d like for your party.
... or D-I-Y it!Although I did hire a third party to do my balloon set-up, we decided to design our own tarp backdrop using the downloaded images we used for the invites and table centerpieces. Just make sure to get the highest resolution images possible. Scanning books give the best resolution. We had the tarp printed by The Lord’s Printshoppe as well.
Another DIY option is to make your own HAPPY BIRTHDAY streamer. This was what I did for Zoe’s second birthday. I simply downloaded and printed out character alphabet pages on nice photo paper and cut neatly around the outlines. We strung them with sturdy tape onto nylon thread and ta-da!
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:

For added storybook flavor, we created our own storybook table centerpieces. Using the storybook images we’d gathered, we made simple cards with the details of the party and distributed them on the tables. You can spruce up your tables with candy (in our case pastel marshmallows) as well! Your guests will surely enjoy tasty centerpieces!

6. Plan your program
For the busy parent:This service is also part of a party planner’s list of offerings, which range from balloon and stage set-up to food booths (cotton candy, dirty ice cream), additional entertainment (magic show, face paint, glitter tattoo, balloon twisting) to party favors. In our case, our magician doubled as a host for the party.
We also offered face painting and glitter tattoo which gave the people who didn’t come in costume a last chance to jazz up their appearance, and also enhanced the costumes of the other guests. We got Ms. Joyce Tambangan to do our face painting, glitter tattoo, and hairspray services.
Supplier Information:joizkalabaw.multiply.com
... or D-I-Y it!

Everyone has a good friend or relative who’s good with entertaining kids. Just prepare a program for him or her to follow. Your program may include some games to entertain the kids. Bring Me, Newspaper Dance, Trip to Jerusalem will always be party staples. You can also have a game of storybook charades or pictionary to test how well the kids know their stories.
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:We printed out some storybook coloring pages and brought crayons. We hosted an art contest and displayed all the artworks. Simply hang a string/ rope by one corner of the venue and display the kids’ beautiful masterpieces!

 7. Buy some fun, inexpensive prizes and party favors/ giveaways
For the busy parent:No need to worry about this, party planner will take care of this. Just specify your budget.
... or D-I-Y it!Divisoria is the default here but I didn’t have time to go all the way there so I made a short trip to the P88 store and Bridges bookstore. We found some nice art materials, toys, and most importantly BOOKS as prizes. I also bought some local Adarna/ Alamat storybooks which not only had great art but also great lessons. Local storybooks are very good and buying them supports our local artists and businesses!
Thinking-Out-Of-The-Box:For an even more personal touch, you can create your own party favors. This can be anything from cupcakes (if you bake like me) with print out storybook toppers to your very own storybook with the celebrant as the main character (if you’re a writer). Use your imagination!

 8. Take lots of photos
For the busy parent:Again, there’s a barrage of photographers/ videographers to hire online. The internet is your best friend!
... or D-I-Y it!Assign this task ahead of time to a photo enthusiast friend or relative. Almost every other person I know owns a DSLR nowadays. My father-in-law took better photos of our wedding than our professional, hired photographer!

 9) HAVE FUN!