Papa's surprise 60th Birthday party

Before the month of March ends (my father's birth month), I'd like to post this entry on Papa's 60th birthday celebration last year. I really had fun with my mom preparing for this surprise party.

On the day of his actual birthday, after mass, we had lunch at Yakimix para akalain ni Papa un na ung celebration namin. Little did he know we were preparing for a big celebration in the evening. Kinunchaba namin si Tito Tony and Tita Phines para yayain siya in the evening para sila namang friends ang magcelebrate kuno. Yun pala dadalhin si Papa dun sa venue at sisigaw kami lahat ng "surprise"! Classic lang noh?!

 
So here are the details of Papa's surprise 60th birthday party:

Venue: We held it at Tramway Garden Buffet in Timog. You will see in my other posts na medyo favorite lang naman namin tong place na to for various celebrations (dito rin ginawa ung surprise 60th in Mama at ung binyag ni R). It's so affordable here kasi and the buffet dishes are quite extensive. Buffet is at Php338 per head. We also rented their center function room for Php3,500 which can comfortably sit 100 guests.

Menu:
Staple Dishes: Yang Chow Fried Rice, Pancit Canton Guisado / Pasta
7 Main Dishes: (Examples: Steamed Fish, Sweet & Sour Pork, Vegetable w/ garlic, Fried Chicken, Mapo Tofu, Fried Wanton, Pork Tendon)
Side Dishes: California Maki, Fried Pao, Century Egg, Japanese Steamed Egg, Chinese Dimsum, Vegetable Salad, Tossed Lettuce/Carrots/Cucumbers/Onions (Salad Dressing: Thousand Island Sauce), Macaroni Salad
Dessert: Seasonal Fresh Fruits (Examples:Watermelon/Papaya/Pineapple), Buchi, Ginataan

Decors and cake: These were all DIYs. The poster and balloons were care of Tita Phines. As for the cake, we just bought a chocolate cake from Red Ribbon and I printed a caricature of Papa.

Program:
After shouting "surprise!" We blessed the food and enjoyed the sumptuous feast. Then we showed an AVP which I prepared: 

Click here to see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8UQT8INu_A&feature=youtu.be

Then came honoring speeches from our relatives and Papa's friends from way back and those from the Couples for Christ community. First was Tito Ernie, who described him as McGyver, the handyman. Tito Danny naman described his brother as caring to his siblings with a strong unshakeable faith that lead to his healing. My Lola Anita described him as loving son-in-law, even joking that he was more concerned with her than her own children. She also told us that when Papa courted Mama, he also courted Lola as well by bringing her flowers and seafoods. Then came speeches from Tito Benny (my mom's eldest brother), Couples for Christ leaders, Tito Boy (our neighbor), Tito Danny D. (who equated Papa's friendship to gold), Tito Tony (one of Papa's closest friends), who made jokes about being a senior citizen. Tito Lito followed (another close friend of Papa), then Daddy A, me, then my brother, and lastly Mama who described Papa as unselfish and kind. Papa then thanked everyone and blew his cake. We and all the guests then extended our hands for the blessing of the celebrant.

Ang sarap pala mag60th birthday. Mas masaya pa kesa sa 7th birthday, sweet 16th or debut. It's where you'll learn if you've already made a difference in this world, how many lives you have touched and if there's still more you need to accomplish. Exciting din kasi may senior citizen discount card ka na at libreng makakapanuod ng sine sa Q.C.!

Life begins at 60 pala.