Miguel’s 16th Birthday ended up being such a busy day. That meant it was a bit challenging in terms of pulling everything off that he requested for his simple celebration.
Usually, I try not to say yes to any other invitations or activities on my kids’ birthdays, but sometimes this self imposed rule must be bent just a bit.
Whenever I am asked to share about what I do in advocating for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, I almost always say yes. Being given the opportunity to share what I do through Best Buddies Philippines is a gift. It’s a gift I do not take for granted.
It’s also a responsibility. And one that I take pretty seriously.
If you want to see the radio show, you can visit Miss V’s Youtube channel by clicking here.
Just like my parenting.
Accepting Miss V’s invitation to be a guest on her radio show to talk about inclusion and what Best Buddies Philippines is all about took a little bit of preparing, but it also meant that I had to call on a few people to help me fulfil Miguel’s birthday wishes.
THIS boy….er…young man. So sensitive, intelligent, and handsome. I thank God for him. I’m one lucky momma.
Because my boy, who was turning 16 years old, asked for a raclette party with his friends in the backyard, I had to call on my parenting partners to make things happen.
While I was in my meetings and interviews for the day, I was messaging Joann to see how the set up was coming along.
After calling Brera Delicatessen to reserve one kilo of raclette, I asked my mom to come and pick up a few more ingredients with Gia to prepare for this delicious melted cheese and grilled sausage party.
Bringing in different elements to the table setting like using my grandmother’s silver lazy susan makes the event feel even more special.
Unfortunately, I also had to attend a pre-prod meeting for an event that Sabrina and I were putting together for the next day, The good thing about managing all these different meetings was that I was able to swing by ALL HOME for some floor pillow covers. These were the perfect addition to our little picnic in the back yard.
I have always believed that intimate celebrations are better for our birthdays. I get overwhelmed (and so do the kids) with big parties.
While I was doing all this running around attending meetings and radio show interviews, I also asked my long time helper of almost 12 years to go to the palengke for the banig mats, and set up the yard by using the floor pillows, and repurposing our side tables to create the look that Nino suggested for Miguel’s very intimate celebration.
I sent Yaya the peg through What’s App, and also asked her to dig up our Christmas lights which were put away the month before.
Because yaya and I were speaking all through out the day, we decided that the side tables were a better fit for this picnic in the yard.
Doesn’t it look awesome?
I have enjoyed using our Severin Raclette Grill when it’s an intimate celebration, or even just our family of six. But knowing that I was going to have 8 hungry teenagers fighting for their melted cheese, I had to call on my friends at Colombo Merchants for another Raclette Grill.
Nothing easier than setting up the grill, putting out the ingredients, and letting the kids cook for themselves.
Oh. And you wanna know how much these kiddos loved the cheese and all the fixings? They ate through one kilo without even offering Nino and I, a plate of ooey gooey cheesy goodness! Can you imagine?
I suppose I won’t feel bad about it for too long.
Look at that smile.
We usually order our birthday cakes from The Pastry Cart. Camille makes an assortment of cakes, but this one is our family favorite and we don’t mind driving all the way to Valle to pick it up.
I think he enjoyed this very easy. Very collaborative. Inexpensive. Intimate. Celebration.
And that’s all that matters, right?
Here are some of the details from the celebration and where you can purchase them:
Banig Mats-P350 each from the Alabang Palengke
Floor Pillows-P100-200 each from ALL HOME
Christmas Lights-From our Christmas Tree so no expense
Severin Raclette Grill-P1995 from Colombo Merchants
Assorted Sausages-from Earle’s
Swiss Raclette Cheese-P2997.00/kilo from Brera Delicatessen
Creme Brulee Cake-from The Pastry Cart