How To Pull Off A Successful Drive-by Party: This Pinay Mom Did It For Her Daughter’s 7th Birthday
A socially distant hi-and-bye is so much better than a Zoom call!
Birthdays are always a good reason to get together with family and friends, but the pandemic has robbed us of that joy. In the last year and counting, families have resorted to video calls as the best way to celebrate special occasions without the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19.
For Kat Castaneda-Tomawis, a preschool teacher, a video call with loved ones just isn’t enough to mark her daughter Ameelia’s milestone 7th birthday.
“We still wanted to prepare something special for Ameelia despite the pandemic. But even if most of the people we know are fully vaccinated already, we didn’t want to take the risk and hold a social gathering. After all, the virus is still out there, mahirap na. Pero minsan lang mag-7 ang anak namin and we want to share this important milestone with our significant loved ones,” she tells OneLife.ph. Thus, the idea to hold a drive-by birthday party was perfect.
A drive-by party is exactly what you would imagine it to be: guests inside their cars drive by the home of the celebrant for a quick, socially distanced greeting and a photo op, instead of gathering inside a venue. It’s a far cry from a traditional birthday party, but it certainly beats doing a celebration virtually. In fact, drive-bys have become a thing in other countries in the last year.
Kat says that her kids are aware why gatherings are not allowed at the moment and understand the situation. When she suggested the idea of a drive-by birthday party to Ameelia and showed her some videos, her daughter loved the idea.
“At first, she wanted a Pitch Perfect party because she’s so hooked on PP songs right now. We also considered an Eric Carle book party,” says Kat, but they eventually chose an ice cream-themed party because Ameelia also loves the Korean girl group BLACKPINK, particularly their song “Ice Cream.”
Kat started doing her research in June, a month before her firstborn’s birthday, making sure to incorporate her daughter’s personality and her preferences into the theme.
“I made sure to include her in the whole process – from choosing the books to give, the colors of the slime kits, the design of her cake, etc.”
How to set up a drive-by party
Once the theme was set, the mom of two began searching online for suppliers. She got the e-invitations from Etsy and edited the text herself.
She ordered the balloon set-up from Smile Party Events and the ice cream balloons from Shein, while also DIY-ing the buntings and Thank-you labels.
Kat says most of the contents of the kiddie loot bags, like the Eric Carle books (@mylittlegenius.ph), homemade playdough (@dough_it_yourself_ph on Instagram), and ice cream slime kit (@hellodanislimes), were bought from Shopee.
“I think this was the hardest and pinaka-matrabahong task for me because I prepared different giveaways for our guests – different loot bags for babies, for older kids, and for friends.”
And what’s a party without a cake? Kat ordered Ameelia’s ice cream truck-themed cake and cake pops from Sugar Plum Pastries. Other sweet treats for both kids and adults alike included candies, donuts, chocolates, and Dairy Queen Dilly Bars.
Kat also set up an online gift registry at Rustan’s. It was ideal especially in this situation since all transactions were contactless. “The store sent Ameelia’s wishlist to the guests through Viber, then delivered the gifts to us two days after the event.”
A quick but meaningful celebration
Ameelia’s 7th birthday party was “attended” by around 85 drive-by guests, including her village playmates, schoolmates, and her Titos and Titas. Some came from Antipolo, some were from Taguig, while many of them resided in the same area in Katipunan, Quezon City.
“An hour before the actual drive-by, the family already sang Happy Birthday [for her], followed by the candle blowing and picture taking because we knew it would be impossible to do those once the event starts,” says Kat.
“The drive-by concept is actually new to most of our guests, so I did not ask them anymore to decorate their cars. But some of them prepared birthday banners, balloons and poppers! Again, super happy with the effort!”
Because they wanted to keep it short and sweet (and safe), Kat says they strictly followed “just an exchange of gifts and a quick picture-taking with the celebrant, which lasted 5-10 minutes per car tops.”
The occasion was extra special not only for the birthday celebrant, but for the whole family too.
“It became a mini reunion since we haven’t seen them for two years! Some guests said they parked in another street pa because they didn’t want to go home yet, parang nagkamustahan muna. It was also our first time to see friends together with their babies,” Kat adds.
Tips for a successful drive-by children’s party
If you’re planning to hold a similar celebration for your kids, here are some tips from Kat:
Send the e-invite early.
Kat says sending the online invites a few weeks before the date helps you anticipate the number of guests who will drop by and prepare accordingly. Be sure to give clear instructions in the invite, too.
“It was written in the invite that the drive-by will be from 3:00-3:30 PM only, but my husband said baka mabitin o magkagulo so we extended it until 4:00 PM.”
Inform your village administrator that you will hold a drive-by party.
You might need to secure a permit first if you live in a village, and even if it is not needed, it’s always best to give a heads up to the security office.
“A day before the event, my husband coordinated with the village security office, and they assigned two guards to help us with the traffic flow. Some guests mentioned mas strict pa sa MMDA ‘yung village guards and I think this helped us a lot in managing the whole event. It took us an hour and a half to finish the drive-by,” says Kat.
Secure the food bags and loot bags properly.
“Since nag-da-drive ‘yung mga guests, make sure na ‘yung pagkain naka-pack maigi, hindi matatapon inside the car. Pick food na hindi delikadong i-byahe, hindi matutunaw o mapapanis agad. Ideally, ‘yung pwede pa nila kainin pag-uwi.”
Safety first: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR MASK.
“Even if it’s just a hi-and-bye thing, don’t be complacent. Make sure to wash your hands often or have an alcohol and antibacterial wipes on hand, especially since you will be giving [loot bags] and receiving gifts. Don’t forget to use mosquito repellant lotion also since this is an outdoor activity.”
Stick to your budget.
“Of course, there’s always this thinking na we have to give our guests more, since nag-effort sila to go to your event. But know that the guests will appreciate what you have prepared for them no matter what.”
In hindsight, Kat regrets not inviting more guests. “We were holding back at first. We skipped inviting some of our friends from the South (Alabang, Las Pinas, etc.) because we did not want them to go through the hassle of travelling all the way to Katipunan just for a 5-minute ‘hi’ and ‘bye.’ But our guests said it was all worth it – seeing Ameelia, our family, and other friends as well. Minsan lang naman eto and we’re happy we did it!”
All photos courtesy of Kat Tomawis
This article originally appeared on OneLife.PH
