My 40th Birthday and Baby Gender Reveal at Jollibee Burjuman

Ever since I attended a birthday party at Jollibee in the Philippines many (many, many) years ago, I knew I wanted to have one as well. No, not for my future kids (because I was still single then), but for me. I didn’t care if others might think it would be “too childish” or “not appropriate” because I was way past being a child. I wanted to have a birthday at Jollibee. So you can imagine my delight when they opened the franchise here and put up branches that could hold parties.

Since I was turning the big 4-0 this year, and as the saying goes “Life begins at 40,” I decided this was the perfect time to fulfill my dream. My birthday fell on a Saturday which was a weekend and peak day for parties, so as early as January, I booked the date and time I wanted and paid the downpayment of the party fee (Dhs500) at Jollibee in Burjuman.

Browsing through the food packages, we decided to order ala carte for our guests instead because it was way more cheaper. Chickenjoy and Jolly Spaghetti are staples in this famous Filipino fast food restaurant so that’s what we ordered for everyone. We added fries, rice, a few Cheesy Yumburgers, and vanilla ice cream because the minimum cost (if we didn’t avail of the packages) was Dhs1,000.

Next thing to do was find a cake supplier. This would have been an easy task and could have waited until 2 weeks before my birthday, but because I wanted a different kind of cake, I knew I had to start my search early. You see, aside from turning 40, I was also pregnant, and Hubby and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to let everyone know the gender of our third baby on the same day. However, I didn’t want to do a gender reveal like cutting a cake or popping a balloon; I wanted something different to make it more exciting. After several inquiries and message exchanges, I decided to go with Chammy's Bakes & Cakes because of three reasons: I had already ordered from her before (so I knew her fondant cakes looked good and tasted delicious), she was willing to make the kind of cake I wanted even though it would be her first time to do so, and the rate she quoted was reasonable.

No invitations were made or printed; I simply created an event through Facebook and invited the people close to me. Because of the limited space, my guests were family and relatives who were here in Dubai, the ET barkada, and my Pinoy Mafia colleagues. So to everyone else I know who I wasn’t able to invite, I hope you understand ☺

Knowing that there would be just a few kids who would be attending, I didn’t prepare or request for loot bags from Jollibee anymore. Instead, I opted to bake red velvet cupcakes and buy assorted sweets from Carrefour, Lulu and Baqer Mohebi and set-up a candy buffet so that everyone could get their fill of sugar rush according to their taste.

If you're wondering why I chose that particular design for the cake, it's because I'm delivering in spring, and spring signifies new life, and life begins at 40 ☺

Fast forward to my birthday and day of the party.

The time I had given the guests was half an hour earlier than the booked time, and although most of them arrived promptly, the venue wasn’t ready until a few minutes after the time of my booking. I was a bit annoyed, but since the crew assured me we could extend the use of the hall because of the delay, it was ok. After all, we were the last event for the day, so there was no rush. And since everyone who confirmed was there, we didn’t have to wait long for the program to start.

And it was a blast! The crew who hosted the party did a fantastic job in making us enjoy all throughout. There was never a dull moment as Dhess (who was also pregnant) and Dyann entertained us with their funny and wholesome quips, and the games that the kids and adults participated in made everyone laugh and have a good time.

Naturally, Jollibee also made his appearance, showing us his dance moves and being equally funny without having to say anything.

Of course the part everyone was looking forward to was the gender reveal. Since we already have two daughters, everyone was excited to see if this third one was the long awaited boy or if we would be having another girl. To make it more exciting, I had printed the two gender symbols (Mars and Venus) on blue and pink papers. Each guest chose the symbol they guessed the baby would be and wrote their names at the back, and after the reveal, we raffled off a name from those who were correct and gave the winner a prize.

So what are we having? Well, watch this video to find out ☺

I know I’m biased, but wasn’t it a cute and exciting idea? I’m so glad and relieved it was a success. Even those who guessed wrong were happy for us.  As much as I would love to get the credit for this gender reveal concept, I can’t. I got this idea from Newlyweds at Work, my tribe of online wives and mommies who are so helpful, supportive, talented, and creative.

Anyway, I’m so, so happy I celebrated my birthday at Jollibee! Honestly, there were several times I would jump and move around so much that I forgot I was pregnant. That’s how much I enjoyed myself. And even though days had passed since the party, my family and I, our friends and their kids still talked about it and watched the videos that were taken ☺

So if you thought parties at Jollibee were only for children, think again. Adults can also celebrate their birthdays and other special occasions there and I guarantee you’ll have a fantastic time.