Supplier Ratings: My Little C's 1st Birthday!

Hello all! We've just come back from a tiring, but super fun weekend. It was a memorable weekend, because last Sunday, my Little C turned 1! Big C and I hosted a small lunch get-together for close family and friends, instead of hosting a grand children's party. Here's a list of the suppliers who were part of Little C's special day and my ratings for their services, for the information of other mommies who want to know more about these suppliers. For the most part, I'm really satisfied with the suppliers that we got, because most of my suppliers are tried and tested.

1. Baptism ceremony - We held the baptism ceremony at St. Stephen's Parish, where the family attends mass. J was also baptized here, as well as the other kids in the family, so this was a no brainer. It's an added bonus that the church itself is beautiful, air-conditioned, and has a large parking area for the ninongs and ninangs. I also loved that the pastor personalizes the baptism ceremony. It wasn't just a generic by-the-book thing. He talked a bit about the name we chose for our son and the legacy that is set for Little C to follow. He  also explained in detail the important role of the godparents in helping the parents raise the child, and I thought that was wonderful. (Supplier rating: 5/5)

With Little C's NInongs & Ninangs before the baptism ceremony

Pastor baptizes Little C

 2. Lunch reception - We are loyal customers of Gloria Maris Greenhills, and this is where we held the lunch reception. The staff of GM is always really accommodating and easy to talk to, and we were allowed to choose the dishes we liked instead of just being limited to their set menus. We were able to reserve the small hall at the top floor, where they usually put big events. The food was good and the guests went home satisfied, which is really important in Chinese celebrations. (Supplier rating: 5/5)

3. Cake - I have to declare that I am a Sugarbox loyalist. They made our wedding cake, J's 1st birthday cake and my sister's wedding cake, so when it came to Little C's birthday cake, I didn't even bother to look elsewhere. J and Little C's Auntie Emily did a marvelous job with the cake, and the cupcakes that we gave out to the guests. Emily is really easy to deal with, most of the arrangements were made through email. All I did was to send her the peg of the cake that I wanted and just let her work her magic. With Emily, I never need to stress about anything. She is reliable and her cakes are always gorgeous. (Supplier rating: 5/5)

Little C and one of his uncles checking out his MMC cake by Auntie Emily of Sugarbox Cakes!

4. Souvenirs and prizes - Even though we didn't have any games, I still wanted the kids who attended the party to have something special to bring home. This year, we had a modified version of the good old-fashioned pabitin, in the form of a balloon burst. The kids had fun collecting the balloons, and each balloon had a number rolled inside, corresponding to a prize. This is one aspect of the party I didn't delegate, because I enjoy working on stuff like that. My always-helpful mom and my sisters went with me to the land of party supplies, a.k.a. Divisoria, and we shopped for goodies for the kids.

Souvenirs and prizes care of Mommy

 5. Inflatables and play area - Instead of a generic children's party with a program, I opted to rent a set of toys to set up a small play area for the kids. While searching on sulit.com.ph, I chanced upon Rent-a-toy.ph, which is run by a fellow mom. Caryll rents Little Tikes toys and other play items for kiddie parties. I got the Simple Joys package, which has a ball-pit, a small slide and a seesaw, and added one of their inflatables. I think this is one of the best ideas I've had in a while. The kids had a blast! Once J saw the inflatable slide, he was happy for the rest of the afternoon and we had to drag him away to get him to eat. As another plus, the adults were appreciative of the fact that didn't have to deal with an overly loud kiddie party. The staff members who stayed for the party were courteous and unobtrusive, and I appreciated that they were there on time. By 10:30, they texted me that they were already done setting up for an 11:30 event. (Supplier rating: 5/5)

The birthday boy in the ball pit

The birthday celebrant inside the inflatable slide

Kids on the inflatable slide, which was a big hit!

6. Kiddie Party.com - (Just to let you know, I saved the worst for last.) I booked KP as a supplier because they were already an established name in the business, and their prices were competitive. But I have to say that I am very disappointed and unhappy with their services. Talking to their account executives (AE) was easy enough. They were accommodating, and they did simplify the process. From KP, I ordered the balloon centerpieces, the stage set-up (which I sprung for even though we didn't have a program because my son loves Mickey Mouse) and the balloon burst. However, on the day itself, I was very stressed out to see that when I got there at 11:30, there were no balloons and no stage!

I called the AE who I dealt with and I demanded to know where they were. I was panicked because guests were arriving already. She told me that she'll look for them and call me back. (It's only now that I realized that she never did call me back.) Thankfully, my brother-in-law spotted them downstairs, so I went downstairs to check on them. When they finally arrived, I asked the person in charge why they were late, and she said, they'd been there since 10am but the guards at GM sent them around and around they were unable to make their way upstairs to the venue. I was skeptical, so I talked to the GM personnel and they told me that the KP people had just arrived.  If they had been there early, they would have been immediately sent up to the venue to set-up. I'm inclined to believe them because my cake supplier and Rent-a-toy had been able to set up early. Also, according to my BIL, when he and his family arrived at about 11:15, he saw that they were still downstairs.

Anyway, I left them to set up and the end result itself wasn't bad. The balloon burst was nicely done and the centerpieces were cute. However, I can't stress how disappointed I am by how they dealt with the situation.

Today, one of their other AEs called me to ask how the party was, so I asked her to call me so that I could let her know what happened. I told her that I don't know what I find more unacceptable: the fact that they were late, or the fact that their staff lied to me. After I finished speaking, I waited for the AE to respond. She just said, "Okay, ma'am." So I was already PO'd by this point, and I asked her if she had anything to say to me. I was waiting for an apology, so she did apologize, but it sounded like an afterthought, only  given because I was obviously fishing for one. I asked her if the feedback gets relayed to their boss and she said yes. I don't know if that's true, but I do want to let the other mommies know about my experience just in case they considering hiring KP for their kid's party.

(Supplier rating: 0/5)

Stage set-up, which turned out alright in the end.

Birthday boy Little C examines the balloon burst with his uncle. :)

In the end, despite the hiccup caused by the KP debacle, the party itself was a success. We were a bit disappointed that there were a lot of people who were unable to make it because it was Mothers' Day, but we understood the situation, and it doubled our appreciation for the people who were there that day. I would especially like to thank my two cousins from Singapore, who shuffled flights around, just so they could stay for their little nephew's party.

That's it for now, mommies!