Kevin's Birthday Party At Home

This year there was going to be no gathering of friends, but a party does not need a crowd.  Just the right mood and setting.  To a mother, her child's birthday is always an occasion of great happiness and celebration.  Naturally, I went on overdrive to make his day special in every possible way.

D-Day

Kevin turned 6 this year.  He wanted Red Velvet Cake and a pinata.  He is always easy to please and he knows Amma (Mommy) will take care of the rest.

The Night Before

The night before his birthday, Kevin went to bed excited and without a fuss, because he wanted to give us enough time to prepare for the next day!  Krish stayed up late with me into the wee hours - both giving me a hand and also keeping me company.  Krish is my sounding board.  All my ideas I run by him.  He has great taste and immense wisdom.  But this night, he was up mostly because he was too excited to sleep and also he derives so much joy by just participating.

Grand Breakfast Tea

All the little joys I have enjoyed in my life so far, I have introduced to my sons too.  One such shared interest is a penchant for tea parties.  I even got Kevin a Mellissa and Doug Tea Set one time that he uses to make fresh mint tea by himself.  So I made all the arrangements so that when he came down he would be greeted with a Grand Breakfast Tea, set just the way he would like it!

Recipes I used

• Anna Olson's Red Velvet Cake
• Crepes
• Toast with nutella spread, banana topping and kalonji sprinkle
• Hot mint tea - just fresh mint steeped in hot water

Decorations

One other thing Kevin had wanted was that there be a dog in his party decorations.  This was a last minute request.  So I just made a hand made poster cut-out of his favorite kind of dog - beagle.  I had already made the banner the week before, so I just hung the cutout along with it.

Since the time I discovered it in 2012, I have bought two bundles of construction paper from Costco, and I can't recommend it enough.  We have made banners, party hats, 3D paper crafts, treasure chests, book marks, cards, boxes - the list is endless.

Gift Table

I set up a table, covered it with a red table cloth and placed his gifts on it, one from each of us - Daddy, Mommy and Big Brother Krish.

 

Treasure Hunt

The morning began with a Treasure Hunt!  I placed 6 clues along with 6 books to mark every year since his birth.  He had so much fun reading and cracking the clues.  I knew Krish would help if he got stuck but surprisingly he figured out all with no help!  My only regret is that I did not save the clues.  They would have made as much a treasure of memory as the pictures.

Right after the treasure hunt, the kids took a nice warm bubble bath complete with their brand new bath toy and book.

Playtime

After breakfast, they played with the new toys.  Then Krish finished his schoolwork while Kevin continued playing.  The up shot of having virtual school this year was that he got to choose to not do any school work on his birthday and chose to work longer and catch up on his work the next day.

Favorite Lunch

We got Kevin's favorite food delivered from his favorite restaurant - Olive Garden's Five Cheese Baked Ziti.  There is always a silver lining and I am forever grateful for it.  Kevin loves it when Daddy is also there the whole day and this year Daddy had work of course, but he could work right here from home.  Kevin could go check on him and talk to him anytime, and as soon as, he wanted!   

Pinata

Hitting the pinata is the most looked forward to activity for the kids at every birthday party - be it theirs or their friends'.  This time their dream came true - which is to hit the pinata until it broke apart without having to worry that one of their friends might crack it open before they got their turn!

This time I made the Pinata myself - by just filling the candy in a shoebox, gift wrapping it and tying a rope to it.

Now I know what the excitement is all about!  Because the kids kindly let me take turns with them.

I have resolved to get myself a pinata for my birthdays too hereafter. :)))

My blessings

Bedtime

I read every one of the books to Krish and Kevin before bed time.  Kevin loved his special day and was sad that the day was ending.  But every day is special to me thanks to Krish and Kevin.  I had so much fun showering him with hugs and kisses - and because it was his birthday, he wriggled out of my arms less. :)))  Happy Birthday, Kevin Darling!

Krish's Book/Harry Potter Themed Birthday Party

What Krish had in mind was a tall order!  A Harry Potter themed birthday party with a setting, a cake and many other ideas that I could not attempt to create, even in virtual reality.  After I ran out of room on the page, on which I was jotting down his ideas, I said no.  These ideas are absolutely great, but no, I cannot do it.  And yes, he may go to his daddy.  But had he that kind of resources, he would rather have produced a Harry Potter movie himself.

Anyway, his daddy was successful in scaling down his expectations to settle for Harry Potter themed decorations from Party City, and he had already bought him a costume for Halloween last year which added up to complete the picture.  And of course, for the cake, he came back to me. :)

Our first choice was a Harry Potter Book Cake as given in this tutorial by Zoes Fancy Cakes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26hfA_vt14Y

But, as I keep saying, I have seen money and effort going in trash, in the form of fondant, and I had resolved to keep fondant decorations to the minimum.  Also, I was leaning towards making a small cake and a couple dozen cupcakes in lieu of one big one.  In the end, we struck a deal - he would like at least the main characters on the cake - Harry, Ron and Hermoine.  And maybe some kind of books.  Since the theme of the party was Books - with a highlight on Harry Potter :)))

My skills are limited when it comes to sculpting faces.  But after watching this tutorial, Cute Kawaii Harry Potter Cake Tutorial by Little Cherry Cake, I felt confident enough to commit to making the characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkReZhURocw

This time I made the cake on the day of the party.  Again, we booked the same clubhouse in our community and decided to have it between 4-6 PM just as Kevin's birthday party.  The food, the plan, and all, we just repeated.  I made the cakes only the morning of the party.  Which I think was a mistake - the chocolate cake and frosting I make, tastes best after it sits for a day or longer.  On second thoughts, it was not a mistake - I got to have many cup cakes the following couple of days ;).

The invitation, this time, we designed on the Walmart website.

Krish put the words on it, and when I picked this picture of his, he objected saying that this picture had nothing to do with the theme.  I convinced him otherwise.  I do not remember what reason I gave though.  But the real reason is - he looks so cute!  That is my mocha by the way.  So I exercised my motherly rights and spun some tale, for the greater good. Ha ha ha!

Krish set up his books in the spare room in the clubhouse and apparently, the theme was a hit!  It was the most serene birthday party we have had.

Of course, hitting the pinata is always the best part of a birthday party and the perfect way to end the day.

As usual, thanks to my friends, Surabhi and Eiko, I have lovely pictures to share and cherish!

Kevin turns 5 - Ninajago Theme Again

Kevin's choice was clear.  Ninjago theme again!  I had a lot of fun with DIY this time.  I find doing things like this therapeutic and calming.  It takes a lot of time, but for me it is completely worth it.

The Venue

First, the venue.  This was the easiest part.  The clubhouse in the community we live.  We had had the kids' birthday party the previous year there and it was just like hosting in your own home - only it gave us the option to not have to both prep and stage in the same place.  We prepped at home.  This saves cleaning up before the party, though it doubles the cleaning up afterwards.  But it gives you more energy to entertain the guests.

The Invitation

Kevin always makes decisions quickly and with clarity.  While I was waiting for him to join me in designing his invitation card, I was browsing Ninjago pictures on the official website.  He walks up, sees a picture, tells me this is what he wants as his invitation, waits for me to explain that with this picture all we can probably do is just include the information and nothing more, he understands, he is happy and that was it.  Done.  As simple as that.

I need not even have signed up for PicMonkey for this!  But he was completely content, so no regret, no worries.

I had the invitations printed at Walmart and they included envelopes for free.

The Food

The food was homemade by yours truly.  I love cooking and since the party was at 4PM, we planned a menu, that, in my opinion, was fitting for tea time.  Also, tea party is another of our biggest favorites anyway!

The Menu

Lemonade
Asian Salad (from Costco)
Vegetable Puffs
Cucumber Sandwiches
Paneer Rolls
Mac and Cheese
Crepe Station - Crepe rolls with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Nutella on the side
Fruit Platter

The Spread

The Cake

The theme being Ninjago, the cake I knew was going to be easy, since I have done one once previously - Kevin's 4th Birthday.

Cupcakes are the easiest to make and prep.  I do not even bother piping the icing, I just slather some and stick a fondant decoration or something to make it tie in with the theme.  I somehow like the lack of finesse when it comes to the cakes I make.

A whole cake called for more decoration to cover the messiness I spoke about before.  I found out that though fondant looks great nobody ever cares to eat it - even I myself wouldn't - I who would shamelessly eat everything with a (lot of) hint of sugar in it.  The small decorations I make are alright because the kids love to have one on their serving - to play with, nibble on, or just for the fancy of it!  So I decided to make a small cake so Kevin could cut it like he wanted and cup cakes in addition to serve everybody.

The cake is what we spend most time on usually - looking for ideas or just thinking about it - and that is the only unknown factor.  I always put together the ideas only the last minute.  I go with whatever creative mood I am in.  It has always worked out well for me and the kids have always loved it that way as well.

Cake - Chocolate Cake by Foodess
Frosting - Cream Cheese Frosting by Paula Deen

The Favors

Having had to deal with innumerable party favors this year, I decided to keep it simple.  I went with Kevin's favorites - paint and play dough.  And, as usual, the party favors also doubled as decoration.

The Party

We ended the party with Pinata ofcourse - Kevin picked his favorite dynamite pinata!  And what was special this time was, Kevin started the game with Krish finishing it!

Thank You

I had made Thank You cards back when Krish was born, 9 years ago.  I still had enough left and we used the same this year.  Kevin took the thank you cards to school with goody bags to share - Oreo and popcorn!  Again, his favorites. :)))

It was an absolutely fun birthday party for us.  As usual, thanks to my good friend, Surabhi, I have some beautiful pictures to cherish.