Ice Cream Birthday Party
Wells turned five recently and we threw her a little party in the backyard. It was perfect. Stress-free, simple, low key, full of fun and laughter. Lots of cake and ice-cream and happy children!
She requested:
1. A pool (a blow up would have to do and she was good with that)
2. Ice Cream with Chocolate sauce, cherries, and sprinkles in a cone
3. Party Hats
4. A Pinata filled with Halloween candy
We made a simple ice-cream sundae bar with neopolitan ice-cream scoops served in clear plastic cups (the wine kind). The kids got to add their own toppings. Chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and cherries. Most of the kids topped it off with a waffle cone! I will say the one thing that I underestimated was how much the adults would want to make ice-cream cones!
I made vegan chocolate cupcakes so I wouldn't have to worry about Tagg eating the wrong kind. That always gives me so much anxiety. I used my icing in a bag trick to make them look a little more professional and added on some pink sprinkles. We also had a special tub of his coconut milk chocolate ice-cream and let him go first through the toppings bar to avoid cross-contamination.
I also filled a few little pink galvanized tubs with ice and squeezable applesauce and filled my silver punch bowl with chips so the kids could have something besides desert. The party was mostly outside (or in the playroom) and not during a meal time so I didn't feel like we needed to make a bunch of food the kids weren't going to eat anyway. I made that mistake last year.
I borrowed some pretty confetti milk jars from a friend and filled those with pink lemonade and pretty paper straws. That's always such a hit because it looks so good but is virtually effortless. As usual I just decorated one area and that was the main table. I used a black and white polka dot sheet as the background and hung some tassel and pink paper lanterns.
I found both the pink polka dot and the gold and white confetti hats at Target. Decoration and useful. I forget how much kids love a party hat! I made the little sign out of a sticker letters and white foam board.
We also had a cooler full of beer and a cooler full of water bottles and laCroix. A giant bowl of strawberries and blueberries and hummus and carrots were on the table up on the deck. I originally wanted to do a cheese tray and pretty drink for the moms but I ran out of time. I think it's so awesome when people go the extra mile but usually just something to drink or nibble on is enough. No one is looking for perfection.
We bought two blow-up pools from Target and had the sprinkler ready to roll. I don't think it even got turned on because the kids had a water fight with Matthew instead. He lost :) The pinata was also a big hit with the kids. I tried to convince Wells we didn't need it but she insisted. And it is a nice way to end the party with a bang. I gave the kids little paper treat bags to put their candy in in lieu of a traditional goody bag.
As usual I was too busy having a good time to take more pictures. I hate that. That's one thing I always wish there were more of after a fun time like this!
_______________________________________________________________________________
And remember we're in the last final days of the big NORDSTROM SALE. Prices to GO BACK UP after THIS SATURDAY! You know you'll be kicking yourself for paying full price for some of these favorites this fall!