Play dates

The very young, aged between four and six, have found a new way to socialize. This is called a play date. This being summertime, the parents, mostly the mothers, have devised a way for their kids to keep their friendship going by getting together while they are out of school. They take turns at hosting the gathering, each one is normally held in the hostess’ home. A manageable group is composed of about six to ten kids.     

A popular activity for a play date is cooking, more specifically baking. There are the Magic Ovens produced by Smart Planet and distributed in Manila by [email protected]. The ovens, selling at P1,500 per, are tagged the perfect mini donut/cupcake makers, as they make donuts and cupcakes in less than four minutes. The donuts are healthy as they are not fried. They come with a manual and recipes. Young girl participants always feel excited, their eyes full of glee as they mix, place the dough in the oven and wait for a short time to have their baked products. After they are done, the children can put some décor which can be bought in many cake décor shops around the metropolis. Needless to say they need to be supervised.

Other than play dates, there are art classes being offered during the summer months. You can check with your clubs or village administration offices for their respective schedules. There are also ballet lessons available. In other words, a family does not really need to go out of town to provide their children with wholesome activities to do during summer.

While browsing around Rustan’s at the Ayala Town Center (ATC), we looked into the Flower Shop located on its second floor. Surprisingly, we discovered a few items which any homemaker will be happy to get, other than flowers. They carry a selection of Messy Messy cleansing powders and solutions. Among them is the all natural laundry detergent powder in 2-kilo packs at P300 per. It can be used either in washing machines or manual washing. This is a coconut-based powder that does not contain fabric softener. The Squeesy Clean glass cleaner is at P255 for a bottle of 16 fluid ounces. This is composed of virgin coconut oil, olive oil and lemon essential oil. The dish cleaner, P180 for a 500 ml bottle, is vanilla flavored, again made with coconut oil.

There are other gift items in the store, like room fresheners, some in beautiful jars that can be plugged to emit a pleasant fragrance. Visit the store one day and get some new household items.

Among the food shops in the South Supermarket, our favorite stop is the French Baker, where we never fail to take home some of their products, like the coffee bun and the latest custard bun, at P50 each. In our recent visit, we got the malunggay-ube loaf, also P50 per, perfect for breakfast even without any filling.

Enjoy your summer, shopping and eating (your fave food)!

E-mail me at [email protected].