Recipe for a Happy Birthday │Jack's 6th Birthday Party

Over the course of the last six years, my idea for what is a good kid's party has evolved. And by evolved, I mean relaxed.

We have done a Trucks Go! Party; a Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Party; a Curious George Jack Party; a S'mores Party; and an Explorer Party; and Jack has had a wonderful time at each gathering.

This year, Jack told me he wanted a Halloween Party. Eleven days after Halloween, I did not want to throw a Halloween Party. His back up idea was Ninjas. I could work with that.

Since I have two boys, and Jack currently loves Ninjas, and Nerf Guns, I decided to combine the two. So we did. Here is my recipe for a fun kid party.

1) Let you kid help you make the cake. It doesn't have to be pretty.

2) Have a simple craft to keep the kids focused on the party (we could have skipped this, but the kids had fun painting Ninjas).

3) Send the kids on a scavenger hunt. Jack specifically requested a scavenger hunt again this year because he had so much fun last year.

4) Include fun props on the scavenger hunt (but NOT WHISTLES – we did that last year and I learned that whistles are a bad idea). This year's props included colorful glasses and mustaches. I wasn't sure if a bunch of little boys would like the glasses, but they did and they looked AWESOME with their nerdy glasses, mustaches and nerf guns.

5) Have a nerf war at the park. WIN. WIN. WIN. Especially for boys.

6) Have a pinata to hit. I don't think Jack believes it's really a party unless there is a pinata.

 

7) Sing Happy Birthday and eat cake. And cheetos. Cheetos are always a good idea for kids. And Capri Suns. That's it. No major planning or prepping of the food.

Done. Balloons and streamers are fun, but not necessary (we minimally hung them his year and they were all black to go with the Ninja theme).

It also doesn't hurt if you have a Flag Football game the morning of your birthday and your coach has the team sing Happy Birthday to you after the game!

After the crazy gaggle of friends left, some of our extended family came bearing gifts. When Jack was two he requested an electric toothbrush for his birthday. When he was four he requested his own kayak (we waited until he was five).

This year he requested a harness so that he can get on the roof with Daniel. I'm having a hard time picturing what he will want in future years!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who were able to come celebrate Jack turning SIX with us this year!

Baby Hulk │Isaac's 2nd Birthday Party

Stomping in puddles: how this guy is celebrating his second birthday. Temp link to Birthday blog post in profile. #isaacistwo #simplelife #kidsandpuddles #optoutside #lifewithatoddler #isaacalexander #mohaus2017

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Apr 18, 2017 at 10:12am PDT

On Isaac's actual birthday, he was happy to stomp in puddles and we decided to take him to our favorite local Mexican place, El Metate, for dinner. Isaac LOVES salsa.

At age two we thought he might still be a little young to be sung to at the restaurant, so we skipped the official birthday festivities there (they smash whip cream into your face). We still enjoyed our meal (and I didn't have to cook). Plus, salsa!

Celebrating Isaac's 2nd Birthday with our small group. #lifewithatoddler #isaacistwo #isaacalexander #smallgroup #mohaus2017

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Apr 22, 2017 at 1:56pm PDT

It was probably a good thing we skipped the singing, because on Saturday we celebrated his birthday with our small group. This meant singing to him and enjoying cake with friends. He was incredibly bashful for the singing part (see above video).

We must be settling comfortably into parenting two children if Isaac's official birthday party is any indication. While we love him dearly, due to this busy season of life, there was very little planning for this party.

Instead of an invitation, there was a last minute email sent to family 10 days beforehand.

Instead of Pinterest worthy-(ish) decorations, there were window stickers from the Target $1 bins.

We continued with my family's traditional Pistachio cake, to make the party sort-of themed, I stuck Jack's Hulk figurine in the middle of the cake and added pulverized Oreos and Reese's to make it look like Hulk was smashing his way out of the cake.

Our family brought Isaac some delightful gifts – everything was a hit, especially the costumes! Isaac and Jack have been playing with all of the goodies non-stop since everyone left.

For lunch I made grilled chicken and pulled pork carnitas. My philosophy is: you can't go wrong with Tex-Mex. And it's fairly easy to pull together for a crowd.

Isaac was still a bit bashful for round two of the Happy Birthday song with family...

We are grateful for everyone that was able to make the drive (in torrential rain no less) to celebrate our youngest boy.

A look back at Jack's 2nd Birthday Party