Saturday, February 16, 2008

'Fabulous' at 5


" ‘Fabulous’ at five"
Sun.Star Davao, Feb. 16, 2008

If “High School Musical”, Disney Channel’s blockbuster original movie, captivated millions of kids, tweens and teens worldwide, you can just imagine their eager anticipation for its sequel,

“High School Musical 2 (HSM2)”.

HSM2 brought in a total of 17.3 million viewers in the United States, almost 10 million more than its predecessor; in Asia, nearly 9 million viewers in the Philippines alone, making it the highest rated international cable broadcast in Asia.

So, it came as no surprise when Chelsea Denise, only daughter of Dennis and Cherylyn Uy, especially requested for a “High School Musical 2” theme for her 5th birthday party last January 31. The precocious child is a certified HSM2 fanatic. She collects everything from DVDs, music CDs, dolls, toys and apparel.

After three weeks of creative planning with Davao’s brilliant organizer, Annie Paz-Lim, the delightful invitations were sent out—-charming wall clocks with HSM2’s well-loved characters posing with the bubbly Chelsea as its design. The cute clocks came in red, blue, yellow, apple green and silver, all wrapped in beautiful pouches with individual name tags.

The invitation’s introduction read, “What time is it? It’s party time!”.

Needless to say, all the kiddie guests were super excited to attend Chelsea’s grand birthday celebration!

“High School Musical 2” theme party

“The whole affair carried the HSM2 theme”, shares ‘glam’ mom Cherylyn.

The Uy residence’s imposing gate had a gigantic HSM2 banner to welcome the guests to the fête which was held at the garden. Mylar balloons in shapes of guitar, trumpets and stars were placed all over the sprawling lawn.

Chelsea had two dress changes for her birthday bash. Her first outfit was a bubble dress with petal appliqué in chartreuse, lime and aqua green by designer-friend Debbie Co while the second ensemble was inspired by ‘Gabriella’s look’, an off-white balloon dress with aqua blue sash tied as a ribbon by Jan Vega of Limited.

The dainty fondant cake by All About Cake’s Tanya Rabat-Tan was designed like Gabriella and Sharpay’s closet with handbag, jewelry case, luggage trunk, pearls, bling-blings and shoes.

An outdoor ‘Broadway Theater’ with a giant projector screen showcased the HSM2 movie while kids eagerly watched and sat in mats, blankets and kiddie chairs munching on goodies.

Likewise, exciting games were played like ‘Musical Chairs’, ‘Dress your Dad’ and ‘Shoot the Ball’ for yayas. Kids scrambled to get as many chocolates and yummy candies from the piñatas.

Fabulous fête

Cherylyn and Annie wanted to have a ‘school fair’ concept so the guests were given HSM2 tickets for the different game and food booths which were dressed up in vibrant hues and adorned with whimsical hanging charms. Each booth had personalized booth names with photos of Chelsea striking her signature model pose.

The fun booths included:

‘Chelsea’s Beauty Bar’. Manned by top fashion designer-turned-make-up artist Otoi Mercado together with hairstylist Joan and manicurist Gina, the trio made sure that everyone looked pretty for the party. Guests had assorted trendy hair accessories, hair color spray and lip tints as their beauty booty.

‘Chelsea’s Accessories’. Bling-blings galore for the kikays’ picking! Heart and fruit-shaped necklaces, chunky bangles with stones and charm bracelets, thrilled the juvenile fashionistas to no end.

‘Glimmer Me Tattoo’. Using a variety of glitter tattoo designs and colors, these adorable adornments were proudly sported by boys and girls on their arms, hands and even faces!

‘My Dad’s Mini-Golf’. Playing at Daddy Dennis’ miniature golf course, junior Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstams who could successfully putt were given big rubber balls as prizes.

‘Shoot the Ball’and ‘Dart A Balloon’. With concentration and a little bit of luck, guests aimed and hit their targets and won prizes such as bling-bling pens, HSM2 toys, stuffed animals, etc.

‘Giant Inflatable Slide’. Davao’s latest party craze from the makers of Allegro Ice Cream. A tummy-twisting descent from 6 meters high! (For bookings, call (082) 2342292-93 and look for Heidi).

‘Picture Me’. Young and old alike posed ala their HSM2 idols and brought home their personalized picture cards.

‘Dessert Bar’. Heavenly desserts like choco moist cupcakes decorated with colorful icing and Chelsea’s favorite stuff—bags, cellphones, shoes and sunglasses; lemon bars; chocolate cakes; M&Ms; chocolate fondue; marshmallows; and cookies ‘n cream cups satisfied the guests’ sweet cravings.

In addition, food booths such as Allegro Ice Cream, Juice Bar, Potato Corner and Shakey’s Pizza made sure that no guest left the party hungry.

Priceless

As give-aways, all the kids got HSM2 personalized t-shirts while teens and moms received Chelsea Cheese Curls, blankets and mats. The yayas got striped and polka dot-designed beach bags, too.

When the party was about to end, the vivacious Chelsea eloquently thanked her parents and all the guests who celebrated with her. She was giggly and all smiles.

“Chelsea was really overwhelmed with the presence of all her friends, classmates and family. You can see on her face that she was ecstatic. As parents, no amount of effort can replace the happiness of our child. Seeing her happy, makes us happy too!”, expresses Cherylyn.

In true Sharpay style, Chelsea’s “High School Musical 2” party was “absolutely 
FABULOUS”!

Special thanks to Imagine Fotofun Digital Express for the party photos.