Office Hours
summer feels + recipe for a kids birthday party
Tomato Season
my daughters pick out the largest beefsteak tomato.
”this will last us for the whole week!” they squeal. but when we get home, I teach them how to eat slices of it over the sink, juices dribbling down over our chins. “when the tomatos’ are good, we eat them”
I show them how to indulge and savor. how to cannonball with a large splash. how to spot dolphins behind shrimp boats, where to look for hermit crabs, how to slurp oysters noisily straight from the shell. when life is good, we enjoy it.
we stay up late playing card games, wake up long before the sun to see sea turtles hatch, and keep our favorite songs on repeat. today at the store they grabbed the largest tomato they can find. “this won’t last long, not with mom around” that’s right, ladies. we don’t put life on the shelf for a later date, we live it wholeheartedly right now.
Recipe for Kids Birthday Parties
A friend requested my recipe for kids birthday parties a few months ago and I’m finally getting around to writing it out.
Not to brag, but I feel like I hacked throwing adorable, intentional, inexpensive (relative) birthday parties for younger kids when my oldest daughter turned 2. Six years later, the formula is still working beautifully.
Ingredients
1 Morning start time
1 Loose theme
2 Non-cake kids snacks (I typically stick to fruit)
1 Cake
2 Breakfast food items (breakfast casserole, muffins, chicken minis from Chickfila, etc)
1 Large carafe of coffee for the adults
2 Creamer options (one non-dairy)
1 Focal activity for kids
1-2 simple activities for kids
Assembly:
For the love of all things good in the world, do not skip the first ingredient. Throwing a young child’s birthday party after lunch is signing yourself up for torture. As soon as your kid wakes up, they will be asking “when is the party?” nonstop and you will go insane. 9:30-11:30 is the sweet spot.
After you set the time, pick your theme and gather your decor. I keep a bin of decor that can be used for a variety of themes then grab a few small items to make it feel special. When one daughter wanted a space themed birthday, I ordered a rocket ship disposable tablecloth and some star balloons for the walls. When the other daughter wanted a donut themed birthday party, I ordered a donut table cloth and made a little donut stand out of cardboard. Paper plates and napkins are also where I add special touches. Some years there has been no theme other than “cute and bright” and that has also worked wonderfully.
Make the invitation on Canva. It is free, you can find hundreds of types of birthday invitation templates, and you can customize them all. I text the invites to people and keep a notes app list of who is coming.
Pick your one big activity. Historically, we have let our kids pick between a bounce hose in the back yard or a face painter. We have been able to find these super reasonably priced around our town. This year, my oldest wanted to have a movie party so watching The Parent Trap was the big activity. I make sure whatever they pick will create fun and activity for the majority of the party and that it will include everyone.
Pick your small activities. I mostly use small activities for birthday parties for 4 and under. We had a jungle party one year and I got a cool jungle coloring book off Amazon and set out all the pages with fresh packs of markers. Total cost was $6 for everything and it was a simple way for kids to be engaged. One year I set out water beads for kids to play with and one year I got a cardboard house from Target for kids to play inside and color. These are in no was necessary but having shy kids makes me always appreciate when there is a quiet low-stakes activity they can participate in while they get warmed up.
Mix it all together. Decorate the night before the party. Wake up and set out the snacks, coffee, and activities. Welcome everyone in, kick everyone out by lunch time. Spend the rest of the day as a hero.
A few additional thoughts- we always host our kids birthdays at our house. There is something really special about them inviting their friends into their spaces! We do not have a large house or a home that was designed for hosting but we make it work. I make my kids birthday cakes because I love baking, it feels sweet, and it saves money. But if you hate baking, grab a sheet cake from your grocery store and put some fun decor or really cool sprinkles on it to make it feel one of a kind.
This year, my oldest wanted a movie party so we had a night party for the first time ever. Because she was older this worked because she understood her party was later. The theme was just “girly” so I got an iridescent table cloth, hung disco ball balloons from the ceiling, and found cute paper plates at HomeGoods. The big activity was watching the movie, the small activities were a scavenger hunt to find sleep masks and painting nails, the food was popcorn with lots of candy they could mix in, and I had sparking water and rosé wine for the adults. Same formula, just pushed back to a 6:30 start time.
I know that was a lot of information but hopefully it helps. After throwing 12 kids birthday parties and 8 morning bookclubs for little girls using this same recipe, I can honestly say it is almost foolproof. My costs are low and the memories are high which is what matters. Also, as a note, do what feels natural to you. I had a mom one time tell me I was “over the top” for throwing homemade birthday parties. She preferred renting out a gymnastics place or a pool pavilion for her kids celebrations. I’ll tell you what I told her- renting something out seems way more intense and expensive to me. For me, it is lifegiving to plan and throw backyard birthday parties. But is a nightmare to you then do whatever makes the birthday feel special and simple your way! (Also, don’t tell someone you only interact with occasionally that they are over the top for how they do something. It is freaking rude.)
Celebrate big and make the kid the focus. Everything else is just extra frosting on the cake.