Thank you for all your sweet birthday messages, comments and emails yesterday! I loved every one 🙂
Growing up, I always had the best birthday parties or at least in my eyes they were 🙂 My mom would make a big colourful sign for the occasion, lots of yummy treats and always a few little surprises. There were many years of bonfires, swimming, sleepovers and fireworks (because sometimes my birthday fell on the May Long Weekend. I always thought they were for me).
Recently my mom and I were reminiscing about some of the birthday parties she held for us kids over the years. There was always a theme – mermaids, dalmations, Snow White (can you tell we liked Disney movies?). I wish I could have found some photos to share, but back then people didn’t take as many pictures as we do now. I take a minimum of 10 picture for every food display angle I do and if I had to pay for film instead of doing it digital I wouldn’t take that many either.
For my Little Mermaid birthday I remember lots of swimming and some gummy fish set in blue jello to look like aquariums. I would have gone nuts for this Under the Sea theme, complete with a “sand castle” cake.
My sister loved her Snow White themed party (and would have loved this one), although she had a giant red apple pinata that was so well made that you couldn’t break it open. We still laugh about that one. I think my dad or someone’s son had to crack it open with a baseball bat in the end.
She also requested this Martha Stewart’s Igloo Cake one year, which was just about one of the hardest cakes my mom ever made. It involved so many steps and we never did find a way to make those marizpan penquins nut-free, so she had plastic ones instead. But I have to admit it tasted pretty darn good.
The most memorable year was when my parents hosted an outdoor carnival in our backyard with lots of games. The most popular one was a big kiddie pool full of water where kids could “fish” for toys in the bottom using a rod with a magnet on the end. Trying to be clever, my mom dyed the water blue to look more like the ocean, not unlike this tub from Crafts-N-Things for Children.
Of course there was one little boy (the local doctor’s son) who had to get right in the water to fish…and came out with legs that were so blue you thought he had a medical condition.
For my first big sleepover birthday (with many a squealing girl in the pool), we did a bonfire theme. Recently we found the video from that party and I’ll admit that you can hardly hear what we are saying from all the squealing. Why do preteen girls do that so much?
The cake had little bonfires on it with pretzels logs, similar to these cupcakes by Trish at Sweetology.
Even though I haven’t had pinatas, sparklers or gift bags in many years, I’ve still had some great birthdays.
Like the year my university roommates surprised me by “renting” my parents’ rental property next door and surprising me with a night out.
Or the time I celebrated my birthday with new friends while at the Cannes Film Festival, and had drinks with the actress Jena Malone.
And quite a few cakes. (This was the year the power went out and my sister had to make it by candlelight on the back porch.)
And even a belated surprise birthday last summer (Amy really got me with that one!)
And this weekend will be good too, when I head out with some friends to the local Drive-In.
As long as there are friends, cake and lots of laughs, I’m happy to celebrate my birthday for many years to come 🙂
