Hi Hive Friends! It's me again Momshie Kri! For this blog, let me share with you how we surprised our papa for his 60th birthday bash!

(Our gwapo birthday celebrant)

Turning sixty years old is such a great milestone for all of us. It's a time for all of us to reflect on a lifetime of achievements, experiences, and the people who have been there. Milestone birthdays are special, and celebrating my papa’s 60th was an opportunity to honour his life and the incredible person he is. Turning sixty is such a significant event, marking the passage of time and the accumulation of experiences, wisdom, and memories. My family wanted to ensure my papa's 60th birthday was fun, unforgettable, and filled with love and simplicity.

(birthday celebrant with his angels)

My family comes from humble beginnings. My father grew up and was raised in a poor family, but his parents showered him with love and care. He was a tricycle driver, but despite the fact that he often made less than the minimum wage and was struggling financially, he worked harder and always showed us love and support. Even now that I have my own family, he remains my children's loving and supportive grandfather. My papa is not just a tricycle driver “lang”; to us, his daughters, he is our superhero.

(papa with his sibs)

When you are going to ask me to describe our papa, his role and how he was as a father and head of the family, many words come to mind—literally a lot! So, let's begin. My father does not believe in or practice authoritarian or authoritative parenting. He is more of a responsible and open-minded dad; he ensures that our voices and feelings as his daughters are heard. He does not punish us for making mistakes instead, he always has an ear to our sides of the story on what had happened. He constantly reminds us that we should always know our boundaries and limitations; we already know the difference between right and wrong. He seeks our input in decision-making. He doesn’t want us to be the rebellious type of children. He also kept on reminding and emphasizing the importance of humility that we should always be kind and have respect for other people regardless of gender, profession and social status. He always encourages and pushes us to achieve our goals and to dream big. And that marks a significant impact on us.

There are many forms of love, and our papa was the first man to demonstrate what true and selfless love truly means. He sets the standard for what we should look for in a husband. As their children, we have our individual flaws and differences in terms of attitude. However, our parents ensure that none of us receive and feel special treatment, they treated us all equally, nothing more nothing less. Indeed, we are truly blessed that God made them our parents.

(tatay's love to his grandson, a genuine one)

He is the clown of our family, always making cranky jokes and keeping us informed the latest happenings in the neighborhood (in short Marites HAHAHAHA) never a d. I think and I strongly believe I inherited my extroverted and having a strong sense of humor from my papa, not to mention his incredibly funny dance moves HAHAHHAA

(look at that smiles thou! one big happy family)

Planning the Surprise

Here’s how we planned and organized a heartfelt and simple celebration that turned out to be surprisingly perfect. The planning for my papa’s 60th birthday surprise began weeks in advance. We knew he doesn’t like to have a fancy birthday party but instead a he only want to have a simple dinner celebration with “lechon” only with few of his closest friends and of course us, his family.

The goal was to create an intimate, comfortable environment where my father could feel cherished and appreciated. Coordinating with my mom and siblings, we meticulously planned every detail and we opted to contribute money to the surprise. The invitation was sent secretly to his siblings and friends. Keeping the surprise was not that easy because papa is so meticulous, keen and is so attentive to his surroundings and that’s make the preparation difficult

During His Big Day

During my papa's special day, my parents got up early and went to the grocery to get some ingredients for the food and preparations. My mother takes an active role in the preparation of food. She supervised the kitchen and prepared all of my papa's favorite food to eat, including grilled fish, garlic-buttered shrimp, and other seafood dishes. My cousin prepared the big surprise, the lechon, which was my papa's ultimate wish to have. Papa had no idea there would be lechon or cake, so it was a complete surprise to him.

(ofcourse his ultimate wish the lechon)

After a long and tiring day, at three p.m., my father chose to nap, which is also when the lechon arrived. My mother woke him up, and we surprised him by singing the Happy Birthday song with genuine smile in our faces and joy in our hearts. The joy, delight, and contentment on his face were obvious. He shed tears, which he said were simply tears of joy.

The birthday celebration my father envisioned to have was a success, the celebration was filled with eating, funny story telling, deep conversations, and laughter that echoed throughout the entire house. We shared old photos, reminisced about previous travels, and simply enjoyed each other's company. It was a night full of affection and respect for the man who has always been there for us.
As the night came to an end, we really realized that the simplicity of the celebration had made it truly special for my father's birthday. There were no grand gestures nor costly decorations, just pure happiness, unfiltered love and a great family bonding.

Our papa was indeed so happy and thanked us for his wonderful birthday celebration, and we could tell he genuinely appreciate the intimate celebration that we believed he truly deserve, and it made us his family also happy and fulfilled . The birthday celebration was indeed just a simple reminder that sometimes, the simplest and most genuine moments can create the most lasting memories.

I remember one time I sat on our couch watching television. One of the advertisements caught my attention and left me wondering: the coffee commercial asking," Who do you get up for? " (Para kanino ka Bumabangon?). Now I can answer that it's for my family. My parents are my core, my foundation, my constant, my support system, and the source of my entire happiness.
Seeing my dad so happy on his 60th birthday celebration made me realize life is truly wonderful. I am contented and truly blessed!

I Hope you all enjoyed reading. See you on my next blog mga madii 😍😘

With much Love,

Kri 🌹