How To Choose The Perfect Birthday Party Theme For Your Child

It’s been almost a year since I gave birth to a very adorable little angel who gave us a lot of happiness and love in our hearts. 

And in the past few months, I’ve been looking for some creative ways and ideas to celebrate her first ever birthday party! It took me a lot of ideas to come up with a theme for my little Blake’s birthday bash. I have thought of integrating ‘The Adventure Time’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, and the one which I thought was very cliché nowadays, the ‘Despicable Me’ theme. 

We all know that the most fun yet challenging portion in planning for a children’s birthday party is choosing the party theme. Most of the time, it depends upon the age, and gender of the child.

For one to two year old kids, it would be great to make your mind up on themes that are popular and recognizable by all of them. For older kids who are all set to choose what they would want for their birthday bash, it is best to base their party theme on their preferred cartoon or Disney characters.

Below are some of the guidelines in choosing the appropriate party theme for your kids:

Oftentimes, there are a lot of parents who are having a hard time choosing the perfect birthday party theme for their kids. Well, to help you out on your party theme dilemma, here are some of the pointers to consider in choosing the party theme for your little ones birthday party:

1. Perform a research on the internet. Consider looking through the internet and look for sites that present the latest party themes for birthday celebrations for you to have an idea on what’s on trend today. In this step, you will have an extensive choice of decisions for your little one’s party and you’ll know how to administer your time in setting it up. Pinterest and Catch My Party are some of the great sites that you may want to visit to look for great birthday party theme ideas.

2. Pick a common party theme and make your own customized version. Nowadays, there are so many popular theme parties to choose from. But if you want to be exceptional, you can make your own versions to suit your kid's character. You may combine two or more party themes and come up with an innovative one that will surely be a definite blow to the visitors and guests without considering their ages. 

3. Decide on a party theme that suits your kid's personality well. We, as parents, must know what our kids’ personalities are. So to make sure that he/she will value and enjoy the party, prefer a birthday theme that will articulate his or her uniqueness. Thus, you are also showing your child's behaviour to the group she is a member of.

4. Make sure that the party theme is appropriate on your kid’s age and gender. This is significant as it can make certain that the child would understand the party. To steer clear of him feel uncomfortable and awkward, ensure that the party theme is most excellent suited for his or her age as well as his or her gender.

For example, if the birthday youngster is a boy, the most common party themes are a 'Pirate Party' just like ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ where little boys can act like pirates in a pirate ship themed setting, or Cars wherein the cake is shaped like ‘Lightning McQueen’ and everything in a car racing theme.

For girls, the most in style birthday theme is the 'PrincessParty' where the birthday girl dresses up like an ancient day princess and the environment is set up to look like a castle just like the Disney princesses, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Show White’ and ‘Belle’, and also the boys dress up like their princes charming. Another one is a 'Pop Star Party' where girls can perform like and style up as their favourite pop stars, ‘Taylor Swift or Katy Perry’ or many other concepts such as Frozen and other Disney characters.

As for my daughter, I have chosen to incorporate a Minnie Mouse party theme.

When I was a kid, I’ve been an avid fan of the popular Disney character, Minnie Mouse. A black and pink motif looks cute for a little girl’s theme. I also love the sight of the kids wearing Mickey and Minnie mouse ears as an alternative to party hats. That’s why I’ve chosen it to be my little angel’s birthday party theme. 

Have a look at my ‘Blake’s first birthday ideas’ board on Pinterest to view cute Minnie Mouse birthday ideas.  

The Greatest Transition of My Life

Parties, night-outs, trendy clothes and gadgets, shopping, getaways, meeting new people, band concerts, mosh pits, road trips, ditching the class and sleeping over at a friend’s house are just some of the actions that gave me “guilty pleasures” on my teenage years. Those were the times where all I think about is to have a good time, to have enjoyable moments with my friends. I didn't care about everything that could happen after all those pleasurable times until that day arrived and all the guilty pleasures were gone.

It was way back 2009 when I and my relatives went out of town to visit Batangas, a province that’s 3 hours away from our province, Bulacan. We stayed at my aunt’s house, there also lived my cousin (her daughter) whom I also considered as a sister. They were celebrating their barrio fiesta at that time. Her classmates also visited her and she introduced me to them.

I was very aloof at that time, yes, I’m not that kind of person who will start the conversation when you introduce me to new people. It kind of gives me the feeling of being uncomfortable when new people are around. Yup, I’m afraid to talk to new people. I don’t know but that’s one of my negative personalities. I’m not actually anti-social, it’s just that, I’m afraid I might say something wrong and bring awkward moments to the situation. But truly, I appear unfriendly, at first, especially for people I just met. But try to ask those people who were with me every day, they’ll probably tell you the opposite of other people’s first impression of me. lol

Okay, back to my story! So my cousin introduced me to her friends and that I was just quite blah blah blah… Until this guy approached me with all his courage to talk to me even though he’s wasted after getting drunk from the after-party. We talked all evening and he even showed me how good he is at performing magic tricks. To be specific, card tricks. Yes, I was amazed. Stunned not only by his skills but also for the way he approached me and also with the way he started the conversation. It’s like he’s very different from what my personality is. Then his friends decided to go home already for it’s getting late. Wondering how we kept our communication? Yup, he asked for my phone number and I didn't rebuffed his appeal. I think he’s a nice guy and I’d also love to keep in touch with him.

Everything that’s happening in my life now started that night. He became my boyfriend after months, and months passed, we had our firsts, I fell in love with him so deeply. My mindset was changed and all I imagine was him. I believed that my world was only revolving around him. We've experienced a lot of things. We even experienced leaving both our homes just to be with each other. Yes we’re totally teenagers. We’ll do anything just to be together. Funny? For some, yes it’s really funny. But for those who have been there, it’s not. =)

There are times when we both hurt each other and stuffs like that. Sometimes, our fights are pointless. We argue over small things. Maybe those things were all because of distance. That 3-hour away distance is not easy for teenagers like us. We only get to see each other once or twice a month. And do you know what the hardest part of our relationship is? -- Temptations. We cooled off and gave some space for each other ‘til we decided to end the relationship that has been hurting us both. That’s hard especially when you've been attached to someone so deeply and suddenly you have to let them go for some reason.

Months passed and we gave our relationship a second chance. He reconciled and I forgave him. He told me that he realized what he has lost. He explained me how sleepless his nights are after our breakup. He even admitted that he was absolutely an idiot for what he did. Months came and I can say that our relationship became stronger after the breakup.

Time passed by and I felt something wrong with myself, it was September when I immediately called him and told him what I’m feeling. He visited me and brought a pregnancy test to examine if I was pregnant. We both looked over the PT as it goes through the lines. It was a double line. I was pregnant. Tears fell down my face. I was very scared at that very moment. He hugged me tight and he whispered me ‘thank you’ and even told me how much he loves me and that he’ll be responsible for everything that’s going to happen. Still, I was shocked and I can’t say anything. I’m very afraid for my family’s reaction about my situation. He courageously faced my family telling them that he’ll take care of us. (Me and our baby)

Time passed and I gave birth to a beautiful angel. The very moment we saw her, our hearts was filled with happiness. She’s very innocent and angelic. We named her “Blake” after the Hollywood actress “Blake Lively” from the popular movie and TV series, “Green Lantern” and “Gossip Girl”.

Today, we’re now living a happy life. Truly, while I am writing this article now, I can sense how blissful and contented I am with what I have now. I have a joyful family, compassionate, dependable, and loving husband by my side (I call him husband even though we’re not married yet) and a very cute angel that inspires us and gives us a huge motivation on why we should wake up every morning. Seeing them both each morning is the greatest gift God has ever given me. I couldn't ask for more aside from their good health and safety. Other than that, both our families are very supportive to where we are right now. And if I will be given the chance to come back and correct everything and turn them back to where they should be just like other teenagers, I wouldn’t be changing anything. This life that I have right now is what I want. I can’t compare the happiness of having a family to those “guilty pleasures” before. Everything is legal; we have a stable job even though we’re still young. We can still get the chance to go out on holidays and go to getaways. Our social life has expanded because we gained friends from our work places.

We can say that this transition in our life has fully changed us from a teenage girl to a woman and him, from a teenage boy to a man. We now know how to deal and talk about problems pertaining to our relationship, parenting strategies and even financial issues. We deal with our relationship maturely now compared to those days when we fight over small things.

Being a teenage parent is not always as negative as what you’re thinking. It depends upon the people and how they will handle the situation. The two of us both took risks and struggled to face the outcomes of our acts and now, we’re both living happy together and contented with everything that God has given to us. It's just a matter of acceptance, responsibility and contentment. We should stop comparing ourselves to other people's lives so that we could live a happy life. Always remember that it’s better to take every risk than to regret that you didn't do anything to make a certain thing happen. =)

Do you know any successful teenage parents? How did they make their transition from being a teenager to parents? Share them in the comments below and I'd love to hear from you. :-)

The Day I Gave Blogging A Try

Curious, hesitant and unsure, those were the feelings I felt when I thought of starting my own blog. I’m a mother at the age of 18, your typical kind of mother who’s willing to look for different ways to earn money to sustain the needs of a family. I’m working at an IT office. Yes, my income is just enough to provide the necessities of my family but for a business-minded woman like me, I won't settle for "just-enough". I’ll still keep on researching for ways where I can have an extra income using my own abilities and skills (on the internet). Until one day, I came through this blog and found out about “Power of Blogging” on how blogging can help you reach your goal in life. Of course, it is not applicable for those people who are not into these kinds of fields. I’m the kind of person who loves computers and internet. Searching the web is what fascinates me so I think I could give it a try. I have heard of many people making a living from this kind of online opportunity. When I read the content regarding blogging, I asked myself: “Is making money online really possible through this?” and “How’s that possible?” That’s when I develop my curiosity over creating a blog.

Though I haven’t finished college yet (but I’m willing to and eager to after I reach my financial stability goal), and not that proficient in the English language, I still wanted to give blogging a try on my spare time. Since I love writing, I think it would make me improve my English writing skills as an 18 year old aspiring blogger. Plus, I'm pretty sure that it is one of the most productive ways to spend my spare-time.

To start everything off, what I did was I created a Google account. I also made a blogger account wherein I’ll post the contents that I’ll be making and this one is my very first content. Maybe if I reached the number of posts required to set up “Google Adsense”, that’s when I’ll start generating income on it. I searched for free blogger themes so I can customize it. I only have a basic knowledge on HTML that’s why it’s not easy for me to make my own layouts. That’s one of my imperatives whenever I get the chance to pursue my college again. I think I’ll be studying more about content writing, graphic design, website building and development. As of now, I’m only relying on the information posted on the internet on my journey to creating my own blog. So in this blog, expect a burst of thoughts, opinions and views because I will be posting more about style, beauty, life events, reviews and everything that will mesmerize me.

I would never waste time doing things that I know will not benefit me. For some, it’s hard. But I know that if you love what you do, then you'll succeed in it. That’s why you should blog about your expertise and interests. It's somehow hard but I believe that if you set up a goal for yourself, you'll succeed in the things that you've wanted to do. I just hope that my blogging journey will succeed. I’m open for criticisms and opinions but as much as possible, I’m hoping for a nice atmosphere here in my journey to blogging. So, welcome to myself!

With love,
Bea