A lot of things changed since the pandemic, including how we celebrate birthday parties for kids. Two years ago, Jollibee and McDonald's offered birthday party venues and packages, but these parties were restricted due to health protocols.
With that two years passed and while the economy is starting to open again, I am so glad to hear that McDonald's finally opened its party venues at the start of the year. Although it wasn't our intention to celebrate grand parties this year because the boys are turning 3 and 9, it made me really excited to throw a small party for Vince. I remembered when Jami was the same age as Vince, he had two huge parties - Shakey's when he was 1 year old then Jollibee when he was 2 years old. I have decided that it's very timely that parties are already allowed for Vince to have a small celebration of his birthday too. So I think, it's his 1st to 3rd birthday in one. Hehe.
In May, I went to the nearest McDonald's branch in front of Robinson's Las Pinas but they said they don't offer parties yet. Super sayang because it was the closest to where we live. My next options are either in Pamplona or in front of SM Southmall. I have decided to visit the one in Pamplona since we have guests coming from Cavite and some other parts around the Metro and this is the closest to Las Pinas and Pasay/Cavite boundary. I also like this branch because they have a play area for kids (although still closed due to pandemic), Mccafe, drive-thru, and dining area, so basically a very busy branch.
When we got there, a party has just finished so I had an idea what it will look like. I am unsure at this point as to how many people we'll invite but I opted for 50 heads. Family ko pa lang, 20 heads na so I gave 30 more for Daryl and common friends. I also chose package 2 which has Spaghetti and Chicken, regular fries, drinks, and hot fudge sundae. I also opted to serve the same food for kids and adults.
The downpayment is 2,000 pesos and they gave 30 invitation cards on the set of you paying for the downpayment. I remember during Jami's time, I think it was only 1,000 pesos but it was 8 years ago. Haha. I also chose merienda time of 3pm to 5pm.
On the day of our party, we arrived just before 4pm and the crew was setting up the venue. It was a small venue but it was fine since we were expecting around 50 heads only.
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I like that they have a bench in front and a small chair for the celebrant alone. |
If you are from the South of Metro, you probably know how traffic is in Las Pinas especially on a Saturday afternoon so everybody was late, haha. Our guests started arriving at around 4:30pm.
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| Binky, the birthday boy! |
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| Children's game |
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| Adult game |
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| Finally, I met these beautiful girls that I am working with since 2020. My virtual kamaritess hahaha |
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| Walang matinong kuha, napakalikot ni Griffin! Haha |
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| Chow time!! |
Overall, it was a great experience since the pandemic. Once in a while masarap din yung maranasan mo yung mga bagay noon diba? Although be very careful pa rin kasi pandemic pa rin and Covid cases are still high. I was glad that I gave Vince the party he never had for his 1st birthday so after 4 years na ulit ang kasunod pag 7 nya. Hehe.
