Elijah Turns One – Korean Dol Celebration
Little General- "Jangoon"
What is a Korean birthday without a Christian service?
Grandparents and Great grandparents in the background
Aunts & Uncles in the foreground, Maternal family & guests in the background
Uncle Paul, navy chaplain
Good job Papa for the Asian Pear tower and Mama for the watermelons. No comment on the oranges.
Elijah hasn't noticed his hat yet
Everyone urging him to take the money- too interested in food
This photo is like a magazine ad- the only one looking into the camera is Elijah
Holding the paintbrush is in his genes
He noticed the hat
Maternal grandparents
Nice shot with paternal grandpa
Thoughtfully reading "Your Baby's First Year"
Paternal grandpa & Paternal Great Grandma in the hat
Drumming the fake rice cake towers
Thankful to our guest who found an extra pair of socks in her car
Cake and Clapping
King's Hawaiian makes sheet cake!
Coby and Elijah shake on it
Venue: Alta Vista Community Center, Redondo Beach (310) 318-0670
Rice Cake: Seoul Bakery, Gardena (310) 848-6835?
Food: Nakwon Catering, Koreatown (323) 466-3737
Birthday Cake: King’s Hawaiian Bakery (310) 530-0050
Photography: Elijah’s Great Grandfather Un Young Kim
Overall I’m happy with how everything turned out at my son’s Dol. We had, including children, around 85 invited guests. However, this is my notes and evaluation about the party details:
Elijah’s hanbok I bought already made so the owner gave me a sizable discount and made it a quick sale. That worked out for me so I didn’t have to come back to Ktown with a baby in tow.
The venue was awesome. Relatively inexpensive compared to other community centers around the Southbay. Some strict rules about decorating and sound but located in a very restful surrounding with wide roads and plentiful parking. Great staff. A few of our older guests had a hard time finding it due to small/hidden street signs. But a treasure find thanks to a playgroup mom’s referral!
Nakwon catering provided great food and it was plentiful. However, two waiters did not seem to be enough. The two servers exceeded one hour for setup which was awkward when we concluded the first part of our program and the food was not ready. They did not bring enough napkins for the number of seats even though I faxed a seating chart a week in advance. Also the napkins arrived a different color than what I ordered.
Seoul Bakery misplaced my order so when I called that morning to confirm they were clueless! I panicked, went into the bakery to show my receipt etc. and thankfully they did come through and deliver as promised so perhaps that was just a fluke incident.
I have to give credit to http://theimfamily.blogspot.com/2009/07/ozzys-chut-dol-korean-first-birthday.html because it was just about the only visual info I could find while researching! My watermelon arrangement are an homage to her original post. But I recently came across this photographer http://www.jkophoto.com/ with some great Dol photos for ideas.
A dedicated post on the centerpiece to follow.
Thanks for sharing your photos. I’ve always wondered what the inside of the rec room at Alta Vista looked like. I’ve been to many birthday parties under the gazebo right next to the small park. Anyways, I was wondering if I could ask you where you rented/bought the “dol towers”? I’m planning my daughter’s first birthday party. With my older daughter we had her party at a Korean restaurant where they prepared all the fruit and had the towers at the restaurant. This time around we’re trying to save money and do most of the preparation ourselves (we haven’t picked a location yet) so any advice, tips would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Kristen