It’s a boy for my best friend Bianca Santiago-Reinoso and her husband Raoul! This is Bianca’s second child (we threw her a Sugar Plum Fairy baby shower back in 2012 for her first baby, Liana–you can read about it HERE) and to update you she just gave birth the other day to Juano Andres (yes, the baby we just celebrated is finally out in the world)!!! These are very exciting times for the Reinoso family, and we are equally happy for them! We’ve actually been ecstatic about this baby since we found out Bianca was pregnant. And like all girl friends, we couldn’t wait to throw her a baby shower.

The theme was BASKETBALL. Apart from the gender being a boy, Bianca’s husband Raoul is a basketball fanatic (also one of the owners of basketball specialty shop TITAN), so it was only fitting that we came up with this theme. It was so much fun to plan this, only because it veered away from the usual baby blue/stork themes we’ve already seen before. This party was all about the sport, which meant basketball-related games, and lots of burgers, fries and basketball lolly cakes.

The ladies behind the baby shower were Carla Fargas, Kate Paras, Nicole Hernandez and myself (oh and lets not forget Raoul who got everyone together and made sure Bianca, Liana and guests attended the party). Carla was in charge of the games, Kate helped with the decorations and hosting, Nicole did the conceptualization and made most of the decorations herself, and I made sure we had a venue and planned the food and drinks. I love how everything came together for this happy event, and to think it was all planned via What’s App chatroom!

We are so happy we found the PERFECT venue for this baby shower. It was held at The Hub of Marriott Hotel Manila (at Newport, Pasay City), which was so spacious and cozy. We had a dining area with a fantastic view, couches where we could lounge, and like I said, space to hold our sports-themed games. It is such a great place to hold a party, and you can dress it up according to your theme! All we had to do was bring in the decorations and hotel staff helped us set up. Marriott has amazing service, and you really don’t need to stress when planning a party or event. And can I just say, the FOOD was incredible! We wanted easy, comfort food like beef sliders, tacos, salad and dessert, but Marriott delivered above and beyond our expectations. The buffet they provided was delicious, I swear guests came back for seconds and thirds. Compliments to the chef who took care of our party that day–he really checked up on us to see how we liked the food! And a huge THANK YOU to Ms. Michelle Garcia for taking care of us–she really made sure we had the best baby shower, ever! Marriott rocks!

Another hit at the baby shower was SPUD BUDS!!! In case you haven’t heard about them, well, they make the yummiest potato balls, potato skins and fries with a generous load of toppings like cheese, bacon, beef, chicken, etc. They have a kiosk in SM Mall of Asia but you can totally book them for private parties and gatherings! All you have to do is email: spudbudsph@gmail.com.

I love the games at this baby shower. They were so creative and fun, Carla did a fantastic job planning it. Kudos to Mari and Kate for hosting so well. We played BABY MAKER, where we had to guess which well-known athletes were morphed with Bianca and Raoul’s faces; LACE EM UP RELAY, where two teams had to do and undo the shoelaces of a baby’s shoe; and BABY BOTTLE BOWLING, where we used baby bottles as pins and a ball to knock them down. These were SO MUCH FUN! Again, I am happy we had so much space to do all the games comfortably!

Bianca was so happy most of her family and friends from high school, college and work could make it. I was glad to see that everyone enjoyed the food, games and great company! And of course, that they were there to celebrate Bianca and her baby boy.

Special thanks to MOTHERCARE for sending over gifts to Bianca! 🙂 You guys are always so generous! Thank you Mariel Bartolome and Ben Chan, of course.