Takara Tomy Toys

I bought this Takara Tomy train station as a Christmas gift for my son during the Toy Kingdom MOA sale in September.  I failed to blog about it then because I had to strategize a way to purchase it, have it wrapped and hide it from my son who was with me the entire time.  The salesman conspired with me and we got my son to believe that I was leaving the item with him for storage.  The salesman told my son that he still lacked points, the equivalent of 10 perfect scores in school exams for me to be able to claim the gift from Santa Claus.  It was a very effective way to motivate my son into studying well as he indeed aimed to get a perfect score for his exams.  Anyway, with the help of my stepmom, we were able to get the large box into the car without Ethan seeing.  When he saw it in the car we just told him its Tita Nanet's gift for her inaanak's birthday, it just looked the same with his box we were suppose to claim.  We stored the item away successfully until Christmas Day.  Good job to me and Tita Nanet!!!

Mobigo

In November of last year, my son was privileged to be given a Mobigo touchscreen as a pasalubong by relatives from the US.  It is an electronic learning device with a touch screen and a QUERTY keyboard.  The keyboard can be flipped in or out depending on the need or requirement of the game.  The device is easy to use by little children. All they have to do is pop in a cartridge, turn on the device and start playing.  Most of the games are user friendly and the child can easily browse his way through the game.

Party, Party at the Fun Ranch

My family and I were lucky to be invited to party with an old college friend for her daughter Zoe's 7th birthday at the Fun Ranch Alabang.  Fun Ranch Alabang is a totally fun play destination for kids south of the metro.  I've heard about the Fun Ranch a long time ago and planned to bring my son and 2 of his cousins on a playdate on his 6th birthday but we never came around to going there because of conflict of schedules and interests.  So as soon as we got the invite from my friend Suzanne Tagarino, I told myself this was the chance for the family to check out the place and I am so glad I accepted the invite.

The Party and the Party Place
 The party was held at the Upper Barn which could accommodate approximately 100-150 guests.  We arrived at exactly 4pm and found the birthday celebrant loitering the entrance of her party venue.  The theme of her party by the way is Barbie, typical of a 7 year old "fashionista". The room was huge and glamorously decorated allover with Barbie pink party favors.   There was a buffet table at the back of the room, one buffet table lined up with Sassy K's chips and dips, and Sinfully Sabrina's yummy treats.  There was a cotton candy machine, a photobooth, a small playplace like the one commonly seen at McDonald's and a small stage with a big "Z" and a "7" which is the first letter of the bday celebrant's name, and that she is turning 7.  There was also this guy walking around wearing a bright yellow shirt and a bright yellow wig which I assumed was the party emcee.  Downstairs, or the biggest chunk of the venue is the expansive play area covering about 200 sq. meters or more.  It is about 3 stories high which is like a large labyrinth with obstacles and a giant slide.  There is also this area for tiny tots who are not yet ready for the big ventures where they can stack foam bricks, a ball pit area, and a captain's ship with a small slide.  There's also this musical keyboard like the one from the Tom Hanks movie "Big."  I also checked out their restrooms on the 1st and 2nd floor and they both were clean, spacious and smelling heavenly.

Balloon dog Ethan captured during the party.

The Food
Aside from Sassy K's chips and dips which Ethan really loved, the Sinfully Sabrina's sweet treats, the cotton candy and bottomless iced tea decorated with a mustache straw for men and a pouty lip straw for women.  The Fun Ranch buffet table was simply delectable.  It was simple and very delicious.  They had this miniature corndogs which my son loved, the tasty barbecue and roast chicken, rice, salad and rice.  As soon as the party host announced that the buffet table was open for guests, people started lining up and food was served by the Fun Ranch. I give them an A+ for the food and the good service.

Smack!!! Kisses to you!

Ethan enjoying the cotton candy.

Something more one can do with the mustache decor from the bottomless iced tea

The Party Games and Magic Show

The kiddie guests with the bday celebrant Zoe.

The party host was very energetic and professional.  The games played were common but with certain twists that made it more fun.  The kids played "The Boat is Sinking with the dancing twist,"  "The Longest Greeting" which was ala "The Buzz" style (The player is seated beside the bday celebrant and is interviewed first by the host - Boy Abunda style), "The Bring Me" game where the first one to sit on the seat provided with the item and shout out what the item is wins, "The "Happy Birthday Sticker hunt" where a group of 4 kids search the venue for bday stickers and the group with the most stickers win, and the "Text Trivia game" where the host would ask a question and the kid who has typed the correct answer on his or her mom/dad's phone wins.  My son was so happy because we totally rocked at the Text Trivia and Bring me game that he was able to bring home 5 die-cast metal matchboxes as his prize.

The magic show was the usual but still spectacular for the kids.  The magician's specialty is making doves appear from anywhere.  The highlight is a picture frame of a dove suddenly turning into a real one.

30 minutes playtime at the big playplace
The much awaited part of the party for the kids was the time they get to play at the huge activity area for 30 minutes.  Being new to the place, it took some time for my son to figure out how to get to the top of the slide.  He had to make his way through the maze without our help.  My husband was so concerned that his 30 minutes would run out without him trying out the big slide but eventually my son figured out the passageways and had a grand time.

Ethan and my husband right after the 30 minute playtime

A portion of the huge span of mazes, obstacles and slides at the play area.

Overall
Overall, we had so much fun today.  Typhoon Quiel was making his presence felt outside but it was just okay as we were enjoying so much.  Our big thanks to the Tagarino's for having us and for presenting us with a really good time.  Given the kind of enjoyment we had here, I pray my husband and I can come up with the budget to provide our son a party like this when he turns 7 in 2012.

Tom's World Kids' Fun Day

On stage, before the start of the show

Last September 25, 2011, my son and I were lucky enough to be a part of the Tom's World Kid's Fun Day at the SM Southmall.  Tom's World is my son's favorite hang-out at SM Southmall and at SM Center Las Piñas.  Tom's World is by far the coolest arcade we've been to here in the Philippines, and can be found in almost every SM Mall.

Photo with the mascots after the event

Me and my son before the show starts

Yup, Dad was here too before the event.

The Tom's World Kids' Fun Day is like a way for Tom's World to give back to all its avid kiddie patrons.  For a minimal fee of Php200, you get 2 reserved seats for the venue (each child has to be accompanied by an adult companion), a free Fun Day Shirt, a souvenir photo, a lootbag with lots of goodies, 2 Kimi icecream sticks, free tokens to use after the event at Tom's World and a free pass to Austinland.  Tickets were sold weeks before the activity, and only 150 tickets were handed out.  I was lucky to avail of the ticket early and got seat number 033 which is still near the stage.  I am impressed by Tom's World at how organized they were during the event.  The activity was held at the SM Activity Center, south from the main entrance.  The mall was packed with people as it was also the same time the Cheerdance competition was held.  The activity was scheduled at 2pm but we were encouraged to arrive around 1pm for the picture taking for the souvenir photo.  It was also easy to locate ourselves as the seats were already numbered accordingly and there were Tom's World staff ushering people to their seats.  The show showcased a series of amateur talents from Perfect Rhythm Voice Studio, then there were parlor games like the longest greeting, the find your shoe game and the popular Bring Me game.  The highlight of the show was the performance from the Mirasol Acrobats and Glen Cuevas "the Magician."There was also a raffle draw squeezed as an intermission for each performance.  Sponsors for the prizes were Perfect Rhythm Voice Studio, Island Cove, KFC, and Tom's World.  We were not so lucky to be drawn in the raffle but my son was lucky enough to get a prize for being "The Most Behaved Boy with the cutest smile" just before the Magic Show.  The finale of the event was the mascot appearance of Z (from Zagu), Chuckie (KFC), Kimi(Selecta), Cherifer Boy, Auntin, Joy and Tom.  Kid's were requested to line up batch per batch for the photo op with the mascots.

After the event, the lootbags were handed out.  Then Ethan and I set off to Tom's world to redeem our ice cream sticks and to avail of the free Tom's world tokens and unlimited pass to Auntinland.  My son had a grand time that day.  The show ended around 5pm and he got to play at Auntinland, well, until 7:30pm.  My back and foot was aching but it was a great feeling to see my son having a great time.

The Sponge Bob and Patrick Meet and Greet

The Sponge Bob and Patrick meet and greet was held last August 20 (Saturday) at the 2nd Floor event center of the SM Center Las Pinas.  The turn out of kids plus their parents or guardians was surprisingly good.  It figures that Sponge Bob has quite a large number of fans in the Las Pinas area.

Anyway, I preregistered my son 3 days ahead of the event hoping that it entails certain privileges.  It turns out that the 1st 200 to preregister would get a free 3R copy of their photo with te 2 mascots.  I only learned about this on the day of the event.  Another thing I learned was that to be able to get a photo with the 2 characters, one has to present a proof of purchase of any Nickelodeon item worth P300.  This was contrary to what the information personnel told me when asked the time I preregistered.  Anyway, I still went on and purchased 2 Sponge Bob shirts just so we could push through with what we came there for.  The crowd was awfully thick by the time I got through with my purchase and registration and all seats were already taken by that time.  I managed to locate ourselves near the stage right in front of where I figured the mascots would be coming out from.  My son was already irritable at that time and I too was getting a little uneasy and tired.  There were regular parlor games to get the ball rolling but only a few kids were able to participate.  Then finally the host announced the cue for Sponge Bob and Patrick to come up the stage.  It was actually a very short presentation, barely a minute of dancing the Sponge Bob Square pants tune.  Then came the calling of names to line up for the picture taking.  The kids names were called according to the number they had registered.  There were likely around 300 kids who registered for that photo op with the 2 Nickolodeon characters.  I voiced out a little of my irritation to the SM Center events and the Nickelodeon staff for the lack of organization with regards to the entire event.  Then my son and I went on and had our picture taken.  The moment was short and not memorable but it was an experience.  To fill in what was lacking, I treated my son to some Twisted potatoes and Zagu.  We lounged around the area awhile just relaxing as we watched other families make the most of the stage.

McDonald's Kiddie Crew Grand Graduation 2011

The Handprint Mural

The Little Artist's Nook

28 May 2011 (Saturday) World Trade Center - The event we attended as with last year's was still from 8AM-12NN.  My son Ethan accompanied by my husband and I arrived at the venue 7:30AM as advised, and a large crowd has already assembled at the WTC entrance.  The lobby entrance opened at exactly 8AM and we scampered towards the registration booth for the map which turns out to be a 6x4 activity card with a list of activity booths.  While lined up waiting for the activity entrance to open we were hoping freebies would be handed to the kids as with last year's event, but there was nothing.  Well, that was not the only disappointing thing in this year's McDonald's big event.  I was expecting for something bigger and better as I was certainly overwhelmed with last year's grand graduation that I made it a point my son would take part of the activity again this year.  Unfortunately, I was wrong and my son also felt dismayed with the show and activities presented to him this year.  However, as a mom I made a point to have my son enjoy no matter how disappointing the event was.  So, we tried the Little Artist's Nook, The Giant Slide, The Amazing Bounce, The Wizard Hatmaking chamber, Face painting, The Toss Game, The Handprint Mural and the Picture Booth. The Little Magician School, Mad Science and the Velcro Wall caught my attention but my son was not interested in it.  As for my son's friend Kali, too bad that all they had time for was the Toy Booth that McDonald's had set up.  They were not even able to enjoy the picture booth.  They were first timers and all I can say for parents planning to enjoin in this event next year; try to go around the venue and experience as many of the booths as you can so as to maximize what you paid for and what you are there for (that's to have a good time.)  The show this year was quite a drag for me really as I was not really taken by the story, it did not have the WOW factor for me.  However, I think the kids find the show okay, and they got to enjoy dancing the Ronald McDonald dance which they learned from their Kiddie Crew Workshop.

Ms. Jackielou Blanco, Jillian of GMA and Ronald McDonald during the show.

Face Painting after the show

Picture taking outside the WTC before the rain pours down on us.

Anyway, the event ended an hour earlier than expected.  The crowd diminished fast and those who had time (like us) stayed a little longer.  Well, we stayed to avail of the face painting services which was located  at the WTC lounge and to take pictures outside showing that it was about to rain.

Easter Celebration at SM Center Las Piñas: A Review

The SM Easter Basket.

 

Rating for the Easter Celebration is 3 stars.  It was so lame that there were only 4 participants and there were 3 categories for the Easter Bunny costume contest.  I attended last year's Easter celebration here as well and there were a relevant number of participants.  I guess the failure begins with the lack of information dissemination, or probably the delay in informing the community of the activities.  I scout early for activities I can schedule my kid to join in so I can prepare early.  I actually even requested that they post their Holy Week Schedule and Easter Celebration activities posted on Facebook. The information booth should at least have flyers or even just one poster with all the information needed weeks ahead of the activity so people can see what SM Center has in store for a certain celebration.


As for the rest, that is where the 3 stars came from.  The Easter basket and bunny ears was a remarkable change from last year's.  My son loved the bunny ears that he wore it even at home.  The Easter egg hunt was same as last year but with fewer eggs to collect and smaller ones too.  Nevertheless, I think it was just fine since the candies inside the eggs were much better that last year's boring chocolates. The stage and decor were great.  I loved that the stage was filled with lavender, pink and yellow balloons.  The idea of the photo area and the big easter egg was a beautiful idea.  The clown as a host was effective, and was in fact very good at what he was doing.  The games were an effective way to buy time and was very fun and entertaining.  The spot the egg contest and the egg in the jar was fun but there was no thrill in the announcement of winners which made me speculate that there was already a ready winner.  What made me further speculate was how the winners reacted when their names were called.  Well, if my son's name would have been called, I would surely be surprised.  The kids who won however did not display any sign of excitement or thrill that they won.  Hmmmm....this was really suspicious...tsk! tsk!  Oh well, at least my son and I enjoyed going around and counting those eggs.  The puppet show came in as a bit drag to me but the kids seem to like it so what the heck!  The puppeteer turned magician was great as I was impressed of his energy level and flexibility.  The magic tricks were not fantabulous but enough to impress the little kids and some adults like me who thinks like a kid.  And lastly the SM Photo booth was great.  My kid and I got the chance to be fun and looney trying hats and wigs and have our picture taken even if the line was long, we had to change headgear within 10 seconds and have a ready smile for the next 2 shots, and the man that handed us our photo looked like a character from Pirates of the Carribean because he does not know how to smile.  Oh yeah, last but not the least...there were also 2 lady bunnies that sealed the detail of the celebration and the really big pink Easter bunny.