My son is turning two in a few weeks.
Right now, it’s not the tantrums or the potty-training or the willfulness that’s got me feeling a little anxious - it’s his birthday party.
For months I have felt a vague niggling in my brain reminding me that Benjamin’s birthday was approaching and that I needed to get on the ball and plan something already. But as quickly as the thought would enter my head, it seemed to get pushed out by a more immediate concern: e-mails that had to be sent, papers that had to be graded, dinner that had to be made, laundry that had to be washed, bills that had to be paid.
One thought in, one thought out - this is the life of a working mom who really, really should get more sleep.
But then my mother, mother-in-law and grandmother started asking me what they should buy Benjamin for his birthday, and I had a mild panic attack: Right. Benjamin’s birthday. We’re going to need a party.
More importantly, we’re going to need a cake.
When I was a kid, my birthday parties were very modest - and I loved every one of them. As I was born in August, my parties were almost always held outdoors, and there were usually two of them: a friends’ party and a family party. During the friends’ party, we’d play simple games like the egg-on-a-spoon race or the marshmallow-on-a-string game, with the puffy white treats dangling from my mother’s clothesline.
My grandmother always made these fantastically decorated (and tasty!) birthday cakes, which she always created according to our particular interests that year. Looking back, it’s so obvious I was a child of the ’80s: I had a roller-skating cake, an “Annie” cake, a Rainbow Brite cake - even a Michael Jackson cake in the shape of a sparkly white glove and had the words “Happy Birthday, Steph! Beat it!” swirled across it. For my siblings, cousins and I, this was how the themes for our parties emerged - we chose the cake image first, and decorations and the other stuff were sort of an afterthought.
Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s in central Pennsylvania, none of my friends had insanely elaborate parties like the ones you see nowadays on reality TV shows, and neither did I. Stressed-out, overindulgent parents and bratty kids? Not exactly my kind of entertainment - or my kind of party-throwing philosophy.
I don’t ever want my son to feel as if his birthday is the source of discontent and stress, and I don’t ever want one year to go by that doesn’t focus on what’s truly the bigger picture: That his dad and I are over the moon, head over heels in love with him, that his existence has made us happier than we could ever imagine, and that his birth has given us a much greater gift than we could ever give to him.
But the kid still needs a party.
If I were a more together mom, I would have had this thing planned weeks and weeks ago. But, sadly, I am not that woman, and so here I am still looking for ideas for this soiree.
Fortunately, I’ve found some really fun ideas online for at-home birthday parties - some of which I’m excited to be implement at Benjamin’s bash.
- Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer real paper invitations to Evites or mass e-mails. Stationery websites like Tiny Prints and Minted offer beautifully designed invitations. Etsy also offers a large Paper Goods category, with invitations made by independent artists and designers. Miss Pickles Press offers all kinds of stylish and clever paper goods.
- If you’re crafty, you can easily put your own spin on a party by making the decorations. Party hats, little paper flags on toothpicks for cupcakes, tissue-paper flowers or pom-poms are all fun, simple little touches that can make the affair more festive.
As you can imagine, some of the greatest ideas come from the grande dame of DIY herself, Martha Stewart. Her online gallery of kids’ birthday party ideas for handmade decorations and party favors is truly inspiring - and one I’ll be visiting a lot in the next few weeks.
One of Martha’s ideas that I love is to choose balloons in one color or in two or three complementary colors. Blow up the balloons, and then use double-sided tape to affix them to one another and then to a wall in the shape of the number representing the child’s age. If the kids get restless, you can remove the balloon wall art and let them burn off some steam batting the balloons around.
- Not so crafty? Allow Acme Party Box Company to do the decorating for you. From bunting and napkins to candles and felt crowns, this super-chic site knows the devil (and the delight!) is in the details. Buy themed supplies “a la carte,” or choose a party box containing everything you need. (Acme even has cool stuff for grown-up gatherings, too.)
- I’m a fan of cupcakes for so, so many reasons, but they’re a particularly good choice for a small party. We all love cake, but I don’t necessarily want half of one hanging out in my kitchen afterward. I love these rainbow cupcakes, which I saw in Parenting magazine. Another great resource is the cookbook Hello, Cupcake!, by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.
Cake Pops are all the rage - especially since Starbucks recently started selling them. They’re super-cute and super-fun but definitely more time-consuming than your standard cupcake or sheet cake. Check out the Cake Pops cookbook or the bite-size treats’ original home, on the food blog Bakerella, for techniques and decorating ideas. Angie Dudley’s blog is a great go-to spot for all kinds of tasty baked goods with a bit of whimsy.
- I have yet to meet a kid (or an adult) who doesn’t love ice cream. Consider skipping the cake and throwing an old-fashioned ice-cream social instead, with these ideas from the web’s preeminent design blog, Design*Sponge. Let’s Entertain’s cute confetti pops are sure to be a hit, too.
Ice-cream cake is always a crowd-pleasing dessert, but it can be a bit messy. Take a clever tip from Real Simple magazine: Use unflavored waxed dental floss to cut the cake more quickly and cleanly. Click through the gallery to find more great cake tips, from baking to serving.
- Having trouble staying organized with your party-planning? The Real Simple site also has a handy Party-Planning Checklist, which can be used for any type of entertaining, large or small.
- This last idea is my absolute favorite, and I’m basically planning Benjamin’s entire party around it: polka-dot milkshakes, from Sweet Paul Magazine. Sweet Paul, which began as a blog of the same name, is a seasonal online magazine that I just adore. The Spring 2011 issue is devoted to all things kid, and proves that when you have a baby, you don’t have to throw style out with the bathwater.
My plan is to make two flavors of milkshake - probably strawberry and blueberry, which is, hands down, Benjamin’s favorite food. If they turn out as amazing as they look in the magazine, I will be one happy mama.
And, truthfully, even if the milkshakes aren’t perfect, I’ll be one happy mama anyway. At the end of the day, it’s the birthday boy, not the party, who matters most of all.
Stephanie Anderson Witmer is a mom, a freelance writer and editor, and an assistant professor of Communication/Journalism at Shippensburg University. Follow more of her adventures in parenting at her blog, SmittenBlog.com. She lives in Carlisle.
