Planning Your Child’s First Birthday Party

The happy, colorful venue

A cake fit for a little princess

A child’s first birthday is a special occasion. More than a celebration of the many things that make your child such a bundle of joy, it is also an occasion to give thanks for the past year’s many adorable milestones. It’s no wonder then that moms and dads pull out all the stops to make this event a truly memorable one.

When Hanako Sycip started planning for her daughter Megumi’s first birthday, one of the first things she did was call her party planner, Michelle Lao of Party Magic. As Hanako had no idea about how she wanted the party to look and feel like, she was very open to Michelle’s suggestions; one of which was a baking party. Hanako says, “Since my family used to run a chain of coffee shops, it was easy to see how things could come together by having baking as the central theme of the party.”

Michelle was ecstatic. She’d always been a fan of baking, and she and her sister used to bake all sorts of goodies with their mom. She and her team went to work immediately, thinking up all sorts of details to make the party place a happy one. Every crook and cranny had to be dressed up, from the ceiling and the tables to the stage itself. There were rolling pins and cups and pans as well as tea sets, jars, and cookbooks.

The party, which was attended mostly by family members and close friends, proved to be quite a success. Apart from the fabulous food and the delectable desserts, the set up had all the guests talking. Hanako says, “They loved it! The guests thought the set up was so pretty to say the least. The caterer’s choice of linens perfectly complemented the centerpieces as well. Instead of using toy props, Party Magic brought in real baking tools and equipment which made the stage, in this case, believable. Imagine, we had a good old Kitchen Aid with rolling pins and real desserts on stage!”

It was definitely one celebration to remember, and as early as now, Hanako is thinking about Megumi’s next birthday party. She says, “Megumi is crazy about animals these days, turtles to be exact, but you know how fickle little kids are!”

It’s all in the details. There were tableaus like this one, with lots of baking paraphernalia.


Everything looked so nice that the guests wanted to start baking.

Cupcakes for everyone!

The baked goodies for family and friends.

Designer: Party Magic
Host: Jen Belen
Food: Classic Chef Catering
Food carts: Pizza Pedricos and Fruits in Ice Cream
Dessert table: Simply Paris
Photographer: Andy Samaniego