My oldest daughter turned six this past week. It’s been a big year for us – she’s started playing T-ball, she started Kindergarten, we’ve lost three teeth so far and we’ve gone from reading her bedtime stories to her reading us bedtime stories. She’s changed so much in the past few months – most noticeably she’s turned into quite the social butterfly. Her world now revolves around her friends – so much so that she invited everyone in her class to her birthday party. And apparently, I’m insane so I went along with it and 12 out of 20 kids came.
Today’s blog post is a little different – I don’t have a specific recipe to share. I just you might enjoy some of the pictures from the party. Since I was mainly catering to a bunch of five and six year olds, I had to think about them – both their limited palates and attention span. However, I did invite the parents to hang out during the party so I wanted to make sure they had a little something to nibble on while they waited.
The drink table consisted of citrus lemonades – both pink and regular. The addition of lemon, lime and orange slices gives it a fresher, more citrus-like taste and looks pretty, too! I always use a plate under my drink dispensers to catch drips, and I purposely bought water bottles with sport-spouts to help discourage spills.
The dessert and snack table was just a grouping of snacks, treats and of course, cupcakes. The fruits and veggies were actually very popular with the kids, and I did see quite a few hands in the candy dishes, too.
The cupcakes were french vanilla cakes, topped with vanilla buttercream and of course, sprinkles and a cherry. I also made a basic chocolate cake with a caramel buttercream. Her cake was a three layer chocolate filled with raspberry, frosted with chocolate fudge frosting. (It was also quite possibly the ugliest cake ever, lopsided and uneven…maybe because I was baking it at 1am the night before.)
We decided to ask her friends to bring non-perishable food items in lieu of gifts this year. We collected a whole basket full of food to donate to our local food pantry.
Because I knew there was no way I would be able to entertain a group of Kindergartners for two hours, we hired a clown duo for games, a magic show, balloon-animals and face-painting. I am admittedly more than a little bit creeped-out by clowns, but the kids loved it. The face-painting was a huge hit. Maddie wanted a butterfly to match her shirt.
The magic show kept the kids entertained for quite a while. It was very interactive, he always wanted helpers and volunteers, and they were all “wowed” by his magic. I’m not sure about his fashion choice, but I suppose it’s typical clown attire?
The best service they provided was the face-painting and balloon animals. The kids absolutely loved it. Some of them went home with full-face make-up so I hope their parents weren’t upset with me. 😉 He made some of the wildest balloon-hats I’ve ever seen, and could do almost anything the kids requested. Definitely worth the investment!
While it was a lot of work and possibly the longest two-hours of my life =) it was all worth it to see the kids having fun. Maddie told me it was the “best birthday EVER” and to me, that’s all that matters! After everyone left, we ended the night with our traditional balloon release. Here are my girls ready to go outside – it was so windy that the balloons were immediately whipped into the tree right next to our porch, and they’re still there this morning. Oops.
I know the parties will get smaller as she gets older, but it was a lot of fun to make a big deal out of her first real “friend” party. I know it’s something she’ll always remember. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
One Comment
Francesca
I think you put on a lovely party for Maddie and I am sure that she and her friends had a lovely time. Well done for going to so much effort and for pulling off such a successful event.
Hope you’re not too exhausted and didn’t have too much to clean up afterwards!
Happy birthday Maddie