Most people will tell you throwing parties are hard work, expensive and complicated. I guess this can be true depending on the scope of the party you are throwing, but as far as a child's birthday party it does not have to be the giant headache that people fear.
Since my daughter is about to turn two, I have decided to write about the party we are planning for the big day. Millie's birthday is on May 30th which happens to be Memorial Day this year. In honor of this traditional outdoor bbq holiday, I have decided to go with a similar theme.
Last year we did it BIG! We had her first birthday on the patio of the Brooks Museum of Art in our beautiful and historic Overton Park. I had a fancy cake AND cupcakes with purple icing, champagne and a sit down brunch. The guest list was huge and it took a truck to get her gifts home. It was almost like a wedding reception and totally my vision for her first birthday.
I was thinking this year we would scale it back just a tad. :-)
We are going to get all our food from the local farmer's market, the party favors are handmade and presented in reusable bags and the cake is going to be made by me this year, not a fancy bake shop. We will have all the little kids running around and being silly, with the grown ups sipping on homemade pink lemonade. I can't wait for my darling's party and with that, here is the menu and party favor ideas I want to share.
The idea here, is low-stress but beautiful and cost-efficient. The last thing a little kid needs on their birthday is a stressed out parent. You should enjoy the day too. After all, their birthday would not exist without you!
Party Favors:
Recycled crayons:
You know all those broken crayons laying around your house? They are underneath couches and behind dressers. Well, go and collect all of them and make new crayons!
- Pick a shape or several shapes with small cookie cutter molds.
- Collect all the broken or unused crayons, remove their paper and chop or crumble into small pieces. You almost want them to be sprinkle size.
- Place on a baking sheet wax paper to keep the crayons from molding to your bake ware.
- Place your tiny molds (I suggest stars and hearts, because they have points) and then sprinkle the crayon piece in.
- Bake at a low heat of no more than 300 F for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the molds and let stand for a minute. Voila! You now have beautiful multi-colored crayons that look cool and are now usable again.
Individual granola bags:
If you buy your granola, no one needs to know. However, here is a recipe for homemade granola that will be less sugar than store-bought.
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup of chopped almonds
- 1/4 cup of dried raisins or cranberries
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of good cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of local honey (helps prevent allergies if it is local)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pecan oil (any nut oil is good, but pecan is just so darn tasty)
Place all dry ingredients and mix well. Add the brown sugar, oil and honey to the dry mix stir will until the entire mixture is coated. Place on a baking sheet and cook at 350 F bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool and then start assembling the granola into cute little party bags.
To encourage our little ones to reuse instead of throwing trash in the garbage, do cloth grocery bags as the party favor bags. They come in all sorts of colors, designs and sizes now. You don't have to have large bags with store names on it. This also gives a child a sense of personal accountability when they have their own bag, instead of just using moms.
Menu:
- Fresh fruit and veggies, sliced and placed perfectly on reusable platters. Served with humus and smashed avocado.
- BBQ pasta salad
- Pink lemonade
- Veggie burgers with local cheese and caramelized onions.
- Spinach and Italian cheese pinwheels, made with whole grain tortillas
- Big pink cake!
The menu is super easy to prepare a head of time, tasty and healthy. I will report back after the party with pictures and how things turned out. Pray for sun !
Cheers!
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