I love my kids and I love to celebrate their birthdays, but we keep things super simple: homemade cake, family party with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and baby cousin, just a few gifts. And they absolutely love it. Perhaps if I were the Martha Stewart type, planning a giant party would be a fun thing, but as things are, I think it would stress me out, overwhelm my kids, and be out of our budget.
For Benjamin’s fourth birthday, he wanted a pirate party.
Arrgh!
For his third birthday he wanted a dinosaur theme:
And for his second birthday he asked for a farm party:
My word, he’s adorable!
Anyhow, our family arrived and we had the birthday boy’s requested menu: shrimp and grits and smoked gouda cheese as well as a delicious salad from the garden that wasn’t requested by the little pirate but was delicious nonetheless, followed by a gluten-free chocolate cake (he’s highly allergic) and ice cream. I must say, this cake was awesomely delicious and I wouldn’t have known it was gluten-free, except I made it so…I did know. Check out my amazing cake decorating skills:
Not impressed?! OK fine, but my four-year-old was SUPER impressed which is all that matters. Last year’s dinosaur cake was pretty cute, too:
But I think I liked the carrot cake I made for his second b’day the best:
Tiny carrots are just so cute!
The birthday pirate had a blast giving all his extended family temporary pirate tattoos and eating all the chocolate coins from the top of the cake. Success.
And my husband looked so handsome holding our new little niece!
I love these wonderful pirates:
(Chocolate-faced birthday boy.)
I have seven younger siblings and we often had “simple” parties just like that–and we loved them! (I blog about our life and adventures on the link below!) They’re fun and special for the birthday kid, without overwhelming the kiddos or the mama. 🙂 Plus, I love your cake decorating skills–so very like mine!
SO fun!!
http://osususannawhathaveyoudone.blogspot.com
Well, something somewhere didn’t like my link, but clicking on my name works, too! 🙂
What a great tradition! My mom & dad made our birthday cakes and our dad decorated them. I made birthday cakes, when you and Garrett were growing up. My favorite was the “ice cream cake:” two layers of cake with one layer of ice cream in between. I covered the three layers with whipped cream — instead of icing. We all had summer birthdays, so the whipped cream “slipt and slid” down the sides of the cake– nevertheless, it tasted good!
Love it!! Such a cute little pirate/explorer/farmer.
And – hey – at least you can frost a cake. That skill completely escaped me. I promise every time I try it just turns into a train wreck mess of a cake. So I started making cookie cakes, haha!
Your love as a mama comes shining through in this post. No need to have a Martha Stewart style party! All our kids want is a little thought and effort on our part to make them feel special, and it’s obvious that all of your parties accomplished that mission. Thank you for sharing these adorable pictures of your beautiful family and fun party! Happy 4th Birthday, Benjamin!
His face says it all – he’s very content with his home party! 🙂 All three cakes look very exciting to me. And yes, he is adorable!