It was also around this time last year that I was helping out preparing for my former company's Christmas Party for more or less 400 employees which was also held in Makati Shangri-La Rizal Ballroom B & C. So  before I start posting more about the main program let us just give credit first to the organizers and sponsors as I could pretty much relate to them. Kinda like a post mortem. I kid you not that organizing such events are not easy so the misses really are more about things to improve and lessons learned. Let us start the ball rolling...

Pre-event

Hit: Blogopolis.ph was an effective tool and had the right amount of information to get someone excited for the event.  I especially like the Speakers and Panelist Page since I get to familiarize myself with their works. I also like the clean and slick color scheme and design layout. Now that I look at it again, the color combo resembles that of Sulit.com.ph which was one of the major sponsors. Not sure if this was intended or just a happy accident.

Hit: Easy to buy tickets thru Multiply.Com. Gone are the days for complicated steps in buying a ticket instead with just few clicks you can already get one or two or more. The payment channels are also very accessible especially for non-credit card holders like myself (we have a no credit card policy at home). So passing by BPI to deposit my payment is just like paying at the nearby sari-sari store. (Although I read in a tweet that on a later date medyo nagkaproblem ata with buying online)

Miss: There was no information available what happens after you buy the ticket. I had to ask pa via twitter what to expect and sinabi lang is wait for my RFID to be delivered at my shipping address then after few days I got a text confirming if I already made payments. Ako pa yung nagoffer na ipapadala yung picture of the deposit slip thru email so they could verify it. Sana nakalagay na sa FAQ section yung process after buying the ticket.

Miss: The Multiply auto reminder kept sending me notifications to make my payments kahit  na I'm already paid na. I thought the difficult combination of the Reference Number would make my deposit unique for easy identification kung sino yung bayad na.

Hit: Holding it at November is just the right timing. People just came out from a long weekend and they are not too busy either with the Christmas Season. Nowadays kse sobrang daming Christmas party kang aattenan so sakto lang yung mid-November. Besides, birthday month ko pa naman to. Feeling ko dami kong handa for my birthday hahaa.

More post on the Nuffnang Philippines Blogopolis Series

Miss: Holding it on a Sunday. Many did not make it up to the networking night because they had to leave for church even panelist Jane (Between Bites) left at around lunch time to attend church service. Indi naman ako affected here kse I attend Saturday church service at Victory Fort. Hehehe. Pero as I suspected, which was later confirmed by Sir Eric (Nuffnang), it is really because of the availability of the venue. Talagang mahirap na nga to because a lot of companies make their bookings talaga early for the Christmas Parties.

Hit: The price tag. I became a Nuffnanger just this year so my earnings from it sobrang modest pa talaga. So having to shell out Php 999 is just the right amount for me to invest in such an event. It was not intimidating for newbies to register kse hindi sya sobrang mahal. Especially after coming home with 4 lootbags in my hand, new learnings in my head and new ties with fellow bloggers. 

Semi-Miss: Hope they could also offer discounted tickets. We are a duo kse, I blog and my hubby takes the photos. Medyo it become steep na for both of us kung 2K na yung babayaran. Besides he had an event also during the morning so late afternoon na sya talaga makakapunta if ever. Sobra syang nahiya when he arrived 7pm to come upstairs with me when he picked me up kse wala daw syang ticket. So pinilit ko lang syang magpapicture  sa photobooth and he waited by the door as I wrap it up sa networking night.

Me and Hubby at the Photo booth

Pre-event pa lang parang ang haba na ah! I'll cut it for the meantime and just continue on my next post.

Mentions: Nuffnang Philippines Blogopolis | Jane Chua of Between Bites | Sulit | Multiply

NuffnangPH announced that the very first Philippine Bloggers Summit will be held at the Makati Shangri-La then kid us to come in -- dress to the nines. But their official website for the event did not mention what to actually wear.

But I decided to dress a little bit for the day as my tribute to Makati Shangri-La for being in the TOP 5, yes country men TOP 5, in the ranking of Conde Nast Traveler Best Hotels in Southeast Asia. So I pulled out the black dress I got from my cousin-in-law base in Canada. I haven't worn it yet because I was saving it up for a special occassion...that special day that my tummy won't bulge in it hahaha. But it was not happening anytime soon so I just decided to bring my PD&Co. Blazer to cover it up when I get tired of holding my breath (to get my stomach in) for the whole day. Seriously, I did!

Of course, I was going to wear my Lulu Swing Cancan shoes with it which was a given. But what I was surprise of is that I was getting a lot of compliments not just from the bloggers but also via twitter regarding my pic tweets of the event with me wearing this intricate mustard necklace:

My eye catching Mustard and Gold Necklace

I was looking out for an accessory to match up my Lulu Swing Cancan but I fell in love with the color even more when Lulu Swing Mustard Minuet came out recently. So when I saw this at Market Market BGC Fashion Market I thought I could match the two together.

Color of Mustard in Lulu Swing Cancan & Minuet

I think I actually blushed when Tippy Go of Googly Gooeys said "Kanina pa nga kita napapansin dahil sa necklace mo *giggles* " when I approached her to ask for a picture.

With Tippy Go "Tipsy" of  Googly Gooeys

But you know what, I got this one really cheap! As I've said before I am not good with accessories and jewelries so I don't spend on it that much. I got it only for Php 250 after haggling with the tiangge tindera in Market Market to give it to me for Php 200 from the original price of Php 300! I guess for this one I got more than my money's worth.

Aside from my OOTD (Outfit of the Day), my favorite thing for the day has to be my Blogopolis RFID Card by LetsTrendItPh or as I call it the Tap Card. It was my all access pass to the cool surprises Nuffnang prepared for us that day. But the tap card is so fun to use I'll make another post about it!

I'm betting you have favorite things not just for the day but everyday! Please do share it with me together with Lulu Swing and Miss-Match.com.ph by joining their contest dubbed as "My Favorite Things" and win for yourself pretty shoes JUST LIKE ME! Yes, darlings I won the other Lulu Swing Promo with Pink Me Up... so I just want to spread the good news and give others a chance to win this ongoing promo. Check out their contest page for mechanics. Good luck!

Learn more about the promo here.

Hand me down Black Dress, PD & Co. Blazer, Lulu Swing Cancan Shoes, Mustard Necklace, Blogopolis RFID Card

Continue reading here when I unbox my First Lulu Swing Shoes

Mentions: CNTraveler Top 20 Hotels in Southeast Asia | Nuffnang Blogopolis ONLI in the PHilippines |  Googly Gooeys | Lulu Swing Shoes | Miss-Match | #LetsTrendItPh | Market Market BGC | Makati Shangri-La | PD & Co. by Paperdolls

2011 Year End Party (Modern Filipiniana theme at Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangri-La)

Except that I am a bit disappointed that I am on the heavy side nowadays, I actually enjoyed preparing for this celebration. Here's a run down:

• Went to Yangco Bldg in Tabora, Divisoria for the Filipiniana Bolero, Php 350
• Bought Multi-way dress (used 3 styles that night) in The Ramp Glorietta, Php 1,500
• Asked the lovely Ms. Maika Guillermo, my kikay sis from church for a simple hair and make-up, Php 300