May is the month of Santacruzans and Flores De Mayos. Beautiful girls and women in pretty gowns join the pageant parade in celebration of festivals where offerings of flowers are made to the Virgin Mary.

Now these pageant parades can get quite expensive so we had to go about it on a very tight budget. The main items that are needed are a dress, shoes, and tiara. She would also need accessories, and hair and make up done.

We went to SM North and with the help of a very fashionable friend we scoured the stores for the right dress. Santacruzans usually require long gowns but luckily the event head allowed short dresses for the children. As we looked around I could see that dresses were going from Php800 to Php2000 which was very much out of my budget. It was in a small makeshift store called Lhasa that we found the perfect dress at only Php600 down from Php 1300. They had temporarily occupied a space near the exit to the Annex Building.

The following weekend we looked for shoes. Manels at SM Fairview was having a close out sale. We found a pair of pink heels a bit on the high side but for only Php200. We found a few tiaras but the most affordable ones were at the SM Dept store near the ballerina section. This tiara only costs Php149.75. Hair and make up was provided by the organizers for a minimal fee which was a big help. Her earrings were lent to her by her aunt.

All in all it was a great experience for her. She enjoyed the whole to-do and parade. Till next year!