Celebrating Raj's 11th Birthday at Makati Diamond Residences

To celebrate my son's 11th birthday, we booked a Two Bedroom Suite at the Makati Diamond Residences.  

We love that the Makati Diamond Residences is located just across the Greenbelt Malls, which was one of my celebrant's requirement for his to follow birthday gift hunting and shopping.  

The hotels luxurious lobby and top-of-the-line amenities and health and wellness facilities not to mention it's very amiable staff was very impressive.

We arrived two hours earlier than check-in time and was swiftly ushered to the hotel's Club Lounge.  We were offered drinks and snacks, while waiting for our room to be ready.

No wonder, the room took a while to finish - 

My son's birthday surprise :P

The room was nicely decorated ~

 Our accommodation is a two bedroom suite, linked by a seating area. 

One of the two (2) bathrooms (no need to rush while doing your thing)

My comfortable staycation bed ~ 

NOTES:

Guests staying at one bedroom suites or higher has Club Lounge access (open from 6am to 10pm)  Amenities and services include:

• Complimentary food and beverage privilege (breakfast from 6am-10am; evening cocktails from 5pm-7pm; refreshments, including beer, coffee/tea, chilled juices and soda from 6am-10pm)
• Complimentary Wi-Fi and Local calls
• Welcome drinks and snacks
• Access to the business center and health club amenities, including indoor lap pool and fitness center and TRX sudio
• Shoe shine service
• Use of meeting room for two (2) hours, including use of tablets and laptop inside the Club Lounge
• Private cinema access (for those staying in a two bedroom suite and loft units)

Guest have multiple dining options using the Dining Card, which allows guest dining choices outside the hotel.  Check this link for additional information ~ Makati Diamond Residences Dining Card

FINAL VERDICT

• My family enjoyed our stay at the Makati Residences. We had a comfortable and relaxing, worry free staycation.
• Location is A+ (30m to Greenbelt, 500m to Landmark and Glorietta area).
• Very good and amiable staff made our stay extra memorable.
• Unfortunately we were not able to explore the business center and health club amenities as we only stayed overnight and there was also so much to do outside the hotel.  

For booking and inquiries, please visit Makati Diamond Residences webpage ~ Makati Diamond Residences

Makati Diamond Residences 

118 Legazpi Street, Legazpi Village Makati 

Philippines

Trucklines: +632 3170099 or +632 8789699

www.makatdiamond.com 

 

Celebrating Our Lola's Birthday Luau Style

My Lola just turned 94 years old ~ Luau Style!

Two weeks before her birthday, I asked her how does she want to celebrate her birthday.  With out blinking her eyes she told me, she wants to go to Hawaii (me and my big mouth).

One of her daughters, who resides in the States celebrated her Golden Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii, Lola saw the pictures and I guess that gave her the idea.  As she obviously wasn't in a travelling condition (yes plus the budget constraints)...

We decided to give her a Luau Birthday Party instead!

She was so prepped and excited.

I was kidding her the whole time, that she should ready her bikini as she is having a Luau Pool Party. 

What's a Luau without water right? So we rented a private resort near our place. 

We ordered a Luau inspired cake with matching themed cup cakes.

My cousin who owns JPJ Food Craze cooked for us,

such  labor or love. 

(My cousin and my mom).

Goofing with a pineapple... 

Our Lola, looking radiant as she inspects the revelry.

With her apo sa tuhod.

Blowing her candles (she only blew one, blowing 94 candles would take forever to finish).

And look who dropped by ~ Mr. Spidey~ Checking on our Lola!  How cool is that?

It was a sunny day, perfect for a Luau Birthday Party.

Swimming time ~ Kids!!!

Happy Birthday Nanay ~  We love you!!!

Now we could start planning for your 95th Birthday.

Check out also, post from Nanay's 93rd Glam Birthday Party ~

Glam Party for Nanay's 93rd Birthday

Glam Party for Nanay's 93rd Birthday

How do you throw a birthday party for a Glam Lola?

My maternal grandmother turned 93 this year and we were all excited to give her a fun party that she and those dear to her would enjoy!

My grandmother is a "kikay lola"! 

She always loved dressing up and making herself pretty, unfortunately life wasn't easy then raising a family of 9 children.  

She would always put off her gratification for her family. 

So on her 93rd birthday, we have decided to give her a surprise "glam" themed party. 

My Lola looks forward to her after Sunday mass trip to Jollibee and since she likes it so much... a Jollibee party was in order.

She thought it was  just another Sunday after mass brunch when we walked in.

Here are some of the pictures from birthday celebration:

Jollibee and Hetty came and danced for us. 

Our dear Jollibee host with my cousin Shane of Bloom, Blossom and Grow blog.

It was a blessed day indeed (a bit teary eyed here as you can see)...

My mom making a wish...

Her Glam Tarp

Lootbags and give aways.

We prepared additional items mostly GC's,  cosmetics and kikay items for the adults.

Party set up...

Cakes and cupcakes' inspiration came from the ever reliable internet and recreated by a good friend, Toy Cakes.

Fun games... no KJ in this party :P

The famous bring me...

Our best dressed gets an award!

Good family friends happily graced the event with us...

With my mom's (extreme right) friends, who treat our Lola as their own.

With my family, parents and sister's family.

More apos....

More apos...

And more apos...

Grandchildren posts would have been longer, unfortunately 3/4th of our family now lives abroad.

Her apo sa tuhod, who takes after Lola's "kaki-kayan"!

With her pamangkins...

Blowing her cake.  She was a bit teary eyed though while blowing, I guess she was a bit overwhelmed.

Mr. Dante Ward of #SnapClickStudio provided our photobooth. 

Check out these really wonderful (really funny and crazy, not glam at all photos) from Snap Click Studio >>> #GlamBabe's Birthday

Lola obviously having so much fun!

Happy Birthday Lola Ising! 

KidZania Manila Invasion: For First Timers

My children have been asking for a trip to KIDZANIA since it opened in Manila a few months back. 

We finally gave it a go and bought tickets online via TicketWorld.  The boys were just so thrilled.

MamaSpeaks, welcomes you  to KidZania!

What is KidZania?

KidZania is an indoor role play city where kids can be anybody they want to be. It is it's own nation, where kids actually rule! And my boys are ready for some action.

Our timing was perfect. There were fewer crowd than KidZania's normal full house.   Waiting time was under 10 minutes (well except for the blockbuster Fire Station) ~ Lucky us. 

My 7 year old finished 11 activities (excluding lunch break, bus tour, opening an account and getting a passport) in his 9am-4pm shift. Not bad at all!

First stop ~ the Bank

At entry, the kids were handed KidZanian checks worth 50 kidZos.  Kids (yes parents wait outside, as for all of the other activities) must cash-in their check in the bank. 

  They can then open a bank account, to get an ATM card.  It is real fast and easy.  

Next Stop ~ Immigration

Before role playing, the boys applied for KidZanian passport. Applying for a passport requires parental consent and costs P250. I pre-applied the kids on-line, so the Immigration officer needed simply to retrieve their application from the database.

A passport gives your children a citiZen  status.  CitiZens get special benefits such as discounts and higher pay.  

Naturalized CitiZens for instance gets:

• 5 kidZos discount on redemption items at the Department Store
• 5% discount on National Store and Photography and
• earns extra 2 kidZos per activity

A passport is a good investment, especially if you plan of coming back for more of KidZania.

Third Stop ~ City Tour Bus

A ride on board the tour bus cost 1 kidZo each. Taking the tour bus before doing any activity was a good call, as it gave us a good vista of the town for easier navigation afterwards.

 Parents wanting a break, would appreciate the Parents' Lounge located at the Mezzanine level. Here adults can charge their gadgets, or have coffee.

The boys had a blast playing make believe.  Here are pictures from from the activities they did.

As a radio talent at the DZMM/MOR Radio Station 

As a baker at the Goldilocks Bakeshop 

As construction workers

 Developing treats at the Oishi Creative Hub

 Flying a plane as a Pilot at the Cebu Pacific Hub

 As a patrol police officer at the KidZania Police Department (KZPD)

There are dozens of activities kids can try, a shift is not enough to finish them all. 

Here are the other activities we would come back for:

As a dentist  ~ just look at the make believe child seated on the dental chair. She looks life like.

As a fireman at the Fire Station ~ would definitely do this on our next visit.

As a court observer in the court house

Things to remember when visiting KidZania:

1. Activities may either earn your kids kidZos or cost them. Work activities earns, while activities that teaches cost kidZos.

 Use the map you receive upon entry as guide to check if the activity earns or costs kidZos.

2. Check the census plaques (like the one below), which are helpful guides to learning about the town's different activities. It contains information on age requirement, length of activity, number of visitors who may join the activity and whether the activity will earn or require spending of kidZos. 

Note: CitiZens pay 2 kidZos less or earns 2 kidZos more than published rates.

3. A visit to the KidZania website will  help you choose activities pre-hand.  Prioritize your child's personal interests, but try to encourage him on other activities outside these interests as well.

4. Get your tickets online to avoid disappointments.  You don't want to go there learning there are no more tickets left. When getting your tickets via TicketWorld you would notice that there is a ticket availability indicator (green means light crowd, while red means full house) ~ if you are not particular on the date, I suggest you delay your trip to a less crowded day.

5. Bring your camera and take lots of pictures.  Have fun and enjoy an educational bonding day with your kids.

6.  Most of the activities are for children ages 4-14 years old, however, I noticed that my older child (age 12) was not so keen on joining most of the activities. I think he has already outgrown role playing. It was however, perfect for my 7 year old, who was all over town.

Thumbs Up for KidZania Manila ~ Perfect place for Kids is a perfect place to dream and play!

We had a wonderful day at KidZania ~ we would surely be back for more.

 KidZania Manila is located  at the Park Triangle, North 11th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Tel No: +632 711-KidZ

For inquiries check KidZania's media pages:

facebook: www.facebook.com/KidZaniaManilaKid

instagram: @KidZaniaManila

twitter: @KidZaniaManila