The biggest birthday parties my daughter had were when she turned one year old and when she was seven. The first one was held in one of the fast food chains with the famous bee as one of her visitors. The other one was held at an indoor theme park of a mall. Both had hosts and party games which the children enjoyed. Apart from these two, every year it's either we invite her friends and classmates to our house, or we bring food during their break time in class, and we’ll have a small celebration with her classmates and teachers.

My daughter is turning 11 in two months. I want to surprise her with something new this time. I now belong to the group of mommies who get fidgety thinking of a birthday party theme for her child.

By Lynn Sta. Iglesia-Zamora

These are the party themes that come to mind that are surefire hits for the kids:
1. Spa Party
2. Pirate Party
3. Farm Animal Party

For party invites, there are a lot of scrap book freebies over the internet which you might want to explore. Be creative and send out personalized invitations.

Spa Party
This is best for the little girls. They can have their very first face mask and nail art. How fun is that?

Inexpensive spa kits and nail polish brands are available at different beauty shops. It's best to scout early for good buys.

It's important to set the mood to have a successful spa party:
1. Set up corners in the house that can accommodate at least a batch of three to five kids. Decorate it with bowls of scented flowers and candles.

2. Create stations in the house to serve as their lounging area, the nail polish station, and the massage seats. Prepare magazines or middle school books that they would enjoy reading.

3. I don't think they will like the usual spa music that puts us, mommies, to sleep when we have our spa sessions. Fill the room with the music that the kids prefer. Maybe light music from Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, or The Jonas Brothers.

4. Invite guests to bring in their favorite pajamas for a more comfortable set-up.

5. Let the children have fun. Paint each others' toes. Let them experiment with colors and designs for their nail art.

6. Take pictures and be wacky!

As for the party favors, a bag of goodies with beauty knick knacks will do the trick-hair brushes, soaps, lotions, cleansing pads, and other accessories that little girls are fond of using. Make it fun and functional!

Cupcakes are best while having fun with their kikay kits. You could also prepare fruit platters of mango, apple, and watermelon. Cheese sticks are good as well. For a more filling snack, ham and cheese sandwiches or tuna wraps will do the trick. Iced tea and lemonade are perfect drinks to cap it off.



Pirate Party
Kids love dressing up, so let them be Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, or maybe a pirate princess for the girls.

Make a treasure map as party invitations. Print a sketch of the birthday boy or girl’s address and make it as vintage as possible.

1. Create the mood of a treasure hunt around the house or the venue of the party. There could be treasure chests, swords, skulls and chocolate gold coins around the place.

2. Choose the music that will help set the mood. Ahoy!

3. Hold at least two games like scavenger hunt, and include an arts and crafts activity like decorating a pirate's hat. These could already be your party giveaways!

You can rent carts which can provide quick bites like hotdogs and corndogs. Meat balls, spaghetti, and chicken lollipops will surely fill the kids after each activity. Flavored water and juice can be served as drinks.

Farm Animal Party
Children generally love animals. Think of how fun it would be if they could come in their favorite farm animal to celebrate a birthday! It could be in the form of make-up or a costume, or at least wear one thing that will identify what animal the child is representing. This should be indicated in the invitation to avoid confusion.

Party invites can have the picture of the birthday boy or girl in a barnyard costume like a farm shirt and jeans, overhauls, and a farm hat. Or the child could be in his favorite animal costume. Excite the invited kids just looking at the invitation.

“Old McDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o!" This song sets the barnyard mood in the venue.

Fun activities could be animal guessing games, an egg hunt, or Pin the Tail on the Cow. These activities are something new for the kids who are so used to their virtual games.

Make the cake the center of attraction from the row of party food. Have a cake look like a barn with different animals on top. Make it as colorful as possible. One way to present the food which would be enjoyable for the kids is to brand each snack with some crazy name related to a barnyard. Let them pick what they want and have fun eating and celebrating. A good party give away would be chocolate flavored animal crackers and a small animal stuffed toy.

Planning is very critical and party favors should be done and invites distributed at least two weeks before the party date. I still have two months to go before my daughter's party. As it is, I am already excited with this surprise for her. I wonder what theme I’ll choose? The possibilities are endless!