KIDDIE party host extraordinaire Jymmes Infiesto-Severino has zealously hosted over a thousand parties since 2009. When she was in 4th year college, her dad James Infiesto, one of Davao City’s pioneering professional party hosts and magicians, would let her do the parties’ introduction and balloon twisting before taking over to conduct the games and proceed with the program.

“Little by little, he would let me handle the whole program when he felt I was ready. And, the rest is history,” the bubbly Jymmes recalls.

Now that hosting parties have become rare due to the pandemic, Jymmes shares that she misses the adrenaline rush from brainstorming, preparing for the themed games, wearing different costumes to organizing the playlist to fit the theme.

“What I love most about hosting kiddie parties is I get to witness special milestones. I feel younger again whenever I am around kids. I also see the “young at heart” side of people,” she intimates.

A whole llama love

Recently, Jymmes got to relive her “party girl” days when her daughter Marvelle Jaden celebrated her first birthday.

“I love a colorful party, so the llama caught my attention because it is associated with the fun

filled fiesta which matches perfectly with Jaden’s vibrant personality,” the full-time mom explains.

With her dream team composed of husband Migs, close family members and very limited close friends, they joined forces to make the llama-themed intimate home party as lively and unforgettable as it could be.

For the delightful llama decorations, Jymmes’ mom Cyndy and sister Heart assisted in buying the balloons, ordering a few Styrofoam works, and decorating their space at home. They ensured that the centerpieces, balloonderitas, and backdrop were all on point. Adding a whimsical flair was the Chairs et Cie pink chair lent by Doc Danna Reyes.

Migs’ high school classmate Richelle Vernaiz of Heaven’s Confections beautifully created the scrumptious llama cake, cactus cookies and cake pops which were generously gifted by Jaden’s grandmothers Mama Yeng and Mama Joy based in Australia.

As party giveaways, Jymmes ordered the llama party bags online and filled them to the brim with adorable llama notepads, pencils, stamps, and design-your-llama stickers from her Tita Lot.

Meanwhile, Jaden’s Mita and Grampy helped in setting up the inflatable pool and preparing the venue while the audio-visual presentation was lovingly made by Jymmes’ sisters-in-law Amanda and Nikka. Jaden’s Ate Nicole, on the other hand, skillfully wrapped and designed the goodies-filled “pabitin”.

Aye to DIY

“I really want some of our food to be Mexican-inspired. So, my resourceful husband did our tacos’ tortilla wraps from scratch following a TikTok video. I even bought green and pink lemonade and labeled them as “Cactus Juice” and “Pink Llama-nade”, Jymmes details.

The tasty nachos, dips, and paella were from the couple’s Ninang Judith while brother-in-law Alex made the cathedral window as dessert. Not to be forgotten was Jaden’s ultimate favorite strawberry ice cream courtesy of her Ninang Nani.

Certainly, a merry Mexican fiesta is never complete without the ubiquitous piñata so Daddy Migs found artistic inspiration from Pinterest and did the framework from unused boxes. Mommy Jymmes then intricately wrapped it in crepe paper.

For their family’s costumes, Mommy Jymmes purchased a dainty white dress online for their little señorita, a white “ukay-ukay” (secondhand store) dress for herself and pulled out Daddy Migs’ white long sleeves from the closet. Next, she sewed multi-hued lace and flowers on the clothes and on their baby’s headband and shoes to achieve the festive Mexican-inspired get-up.

Of course, the talented mom expertly hosted Jaden’s fiesta de cumpleaños while her dad James brilliantly performed a spectacular magic show. The darling celebrant was absolutely enthralled and overjoyed!

For parents who wish to organize their own DIY home parties during the pandemic, Jymmes has these useful tips: “Go for it! Be creative. It is so much fun checking the best options online at the best price. Doing it DIY makes the celebration more memorable and becomes a family bonding time, too. Above all, it feels very rewarding to witness your child’s happiness after all the hard work”.

Muchas gracias to Maxine Severino for the party snaps.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit http://momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com/. S