I found this post about a simple birthday party and I love it! My children will be 5 and 2 within eleven days of each other at the end of September and I have been planning a small party for the both of them… your blog gave me great advice that I plan to use!

Thank you for a terrific blog! You are amazing! Your ideas are phenomenal and your writing is so real and so fun! I am looking forward to new posts and searching through older ones!

Thank you again!

I couldn’t follow your structure exactly since the only little kids were my babes. The rest of the guests -immediate and extended family- totaled 15 adults and big kids (11 and up) who I knew would mostly want to visit and eat.

It was a beautiful day- thank goodness- my house is small. We put chairs outside on the back porch and that is where the party lived.

I called Mom to help with the food- yay. We made the simplist menu I have ever contemplated. Meatballs, bread (with a simple herb dipping sauce), and a million roasted veggies. It was a roasted veggy bar of wonderful proportions. Every roastable veggy I could find. Yum. Rough chopping, oilve oil, garlic salt and pepper, and a few minutes in the oven was VERY doable and the eaters were satisfied. We finished EARLY with the food and had time to get a little creative before everyone arrived. The babies helped. Made some stuffed strawberries, and some of those pretzels with a melted kiss on top, and then a cherry sour on top of that. (my version)

cake- I made it like yours and poured on the icing. I decorated with some candies – a flower for each baby- this was a 5 min cake decor- yay! I used buttermilk- because I had it.

Activities. I had grand plans for this but in the end it was talking and watching the babies open gifts and play. The big kids put together the new picnic table and baby stroller (thier own idea), then they took turns rolling each other down the hill in the huge picnic table box. GREAT fun! The babies did do a sticking craft! – paper crowns and stickers from thier birthday cards.

decor- haha- I obsessed about this forever- visions of pennants, strings of hearts, and butterflies danced in my mind. This was the part I needed to give up for my own health and well-being! I made two candles set in wine glassed filled with sprinkles (all things I had on hand) and we had the two adorable babies dressed in matching Raggedy-Ann outfits which Grandma supplied. They were what everyone came to see anyway. It was lovely.

Thank you for all your inspiration and the concept that a party doesn’t have to be so complicated. The best part was everyone getting together, and the spontaneous fun created by a group of people who love one another.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we didn’t even buy the babies gifts except for a pair of over the shoe skates that I got at the thrift store for $1. The gifts that our family brought were more than enough and so thoughtfully chosen for each girl.

and no treat bags were sent home unless you count the mending I ask Mom to take…haha.