Birthday Parties

Colorful Rice Krispie Cake

7 Alternative Birthday Cake Ideas

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Last week I was virtually salivating over a birthday cake made with Pimm’s and Champagne poured into a mold to form a jiggly Buckingham Palace. Along the same lines a loyal reader sent me a link to CupofJo’s several unique non-cake birthday cake options.

I added some research of my own, and now share some of the more creative recipes I came across.

Crackle! Pop! Celebrate!

Food blogger Not Without Salt shared a recipe for a Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treat Cake with layers of peanut butter chocolate icing. It would make for a crunchy bite of cake, but kiddos would likely love this one.

Rice Krispie Treat Cake

Sprinkle Bakes, a baking and desserts blogger I regularly retweet for #yummybday made the even more attractive version Rice Krispie Treat Sprinkle Cake.

Colorful Rice Krispie Cake

Fruity Festivities

Not Without Salt is also the source for this cake made entirely of fresh fruit. In summer this would be a perfect alternative if the guest of honor eats gluten-free. As a huge fan of watermelon, I’m all over this idea. Ironically, despite the blog title, there is no salt in this recipe!

Tasty Fruit Cake

Birthday for Breakfast.

What better way to start a birthday off than with a Cake Batter Pancake Cake? I am in firm agreement with How Sweet It Is food blogger Jessica’s view that “the world would be a better place if more sprinkles were involved.” Using sprinkles in the cake batter that she cooked up as pancakes, Jessica created a tasty treat that would likely bake much faster too! Still, it could use more frosting!

Cake Batter Birthday Pancake Cake

Brownie Birthday Binge

Not as creative as the first few options, this one still takes the cake (ha ha) for chocolate lovers. No wonder this brownie stacks up as the first playful, alternative cake displayed in Foodnetwork.ca’s slide show.

Brownie Birthday stack

Ice Cream Birthday Dreams

This Have A Yummy Day ice cream wreath recipe involves making the ice cream from scratch. However, the idea alone would be easy enough to replicate with store bought. I’d want to try this one actually, with pieces of cake or brownie on the serving tray too. Oh, and definitely a chocolate sea salt caramel ice cream as the base.

ice cream wreath

Chip in for Cookie Layers

This last one would surely be my son’s favorite. He’s asked for cookie cake the last two birthdays, but this one might be in the running for next February. The Cake Blog’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake layers thin cookies with buttercream between the layers holding this tower of goodness together.

chocolate_chip_cookie_cake

Any other suggestions you’d share for alternative birthday cakes? I’d love to read about it in the comments section.

Birthdays at Buckingham

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I know, I know. I probably appear to be quite the monarchist. But there have been so many news stories about the British royals and their June birthdays.

Prince Philip turned 95 on June 10 this year. In the midst of all of the birthday fetes he had to attend alongside his wife the Queen (who gets two birthdays, remember), he took the time to write a much-publicized letter back to an English constituent who’s mother shared his same birthday.

MP John McNally explained he didn’t actually expect an answer: “To be honest I never thought I would receive a response or at best I might get a polite letter from his office,” he told the Daily Mail. “But my mother has always talked about how they share the same birthday and I thought ‘why not.’”

A letter, dated 25 May 2016 and written on Buckingham Palace paper, arrived in his return mail:

“Dear Mr McNally,

I was interested to know that your mother shares the same birthday as I do. I have to say that the older I get, the less I appreciate birthdays. Please give your mother my best wishes.

Yours sincerely. Philip.”

The Prince is reportedly not a fan of birthdays — sort of like Prince last week! Philip refused to have any kind of official celebration himself on June 10 this year. Instead confining his big day to the briefest of mentions during the service at St Paul’s that very same day commemorating his wife’s 90th.

Queen Elizabeth was more in the spirit of celebration when she remarked to the gathering:

“To everyone here today, and to those holding street parties elsewhere, I would like to say thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you continue to give to me. I hope these happy celebrations will remind us of the many benefits what come through when people come together for a common purpose, as families, friends or neighbors…I much appreciate the kindness of all your birthday wishes and have been delighted and moved by the many cards and messages I have received.”

No explicit word though on whether the Queen or Prince Philip, who is more renowned for his sense of humor, appreciated the jelly replica of Buckingham Palace, complete with corgis, unveiled at one London celebration of the monarch’s birthday.

Apparently, the wobbly castle created by drinks brand Pimm’s took more than 200 man-hours to make and used 35 litres Pimm’s No 1 Cup and champagne.

I will have to get the recipe for a future #yummybday post. In the meantime, learn more about the fun the Queen enjoyed along with jelly castle.

 

 

No Birthday Parties at the Gym for me.

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There are already 1,068 reasons I couldn’t actually live in New York City. Now, while it may be fun to visit the Big Apple, I’ve come across reason 1,069.

Fitness birthday parties.

Yes, you read that correctly. There are gyms in NYC that are offering private birthday parties in their fitness centers. The guest invites friends for a group class, picks the playlist, and everyone sweats together for the birthday event.

One fitness birthday celebrant in NYC stated, “I can’t think of celebrating another year of life not working out, and I want to share that with the people I care about. There’s certainly a health component but there’s a gigantic fun component to it as well.”

Fitness Birthday Party

What me and my friends would look like at a Zumba fitness party. Photo credit: Edson Hong via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Well, don’t worry, dear reader, I will not be hosting a fitness group birthday party any time soon. Yes, I’ve learned I enjoy Zumba and Cardio Hip Hop classes for active exercise that sees me dancing and smiling (no matter that I am horribly uncoordinated). Yet, I would not go so far as to inflict fitness on others as a way to celebrate my special day.

Whether I even inflict fitness on myself on my birthday is something that I play by ear each year — and it typically loses out to another hour sleeping in or rolling over when I do wake up to read a book.

This said, I do think my athletic child would likely love taking over a gym with a climbing wall and ropes and loud dance music on his birthday. So, if Charlotte, NC, gyms want to open their doors for pre-teen parties, I’m in.

In the meantime, the only parts of the fitness birthday parties outlined in the NYC article that appeal are the customized T-shirts, custom playlists, and Champagne to drink afterwards. That knowing I could eat my cake guilt free after burning calories busting a birthday move.

 

The Frosting on the Birthday Cake

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birthday

Photo credit: V Threepio via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Why do frosting tubs never contain enough of the sugary good stuff to ice an entire cake?

I’ll admit, this thought didn’t cross my mind until I read this ChicagoNow blogger’s point of view, but she is so right.

She complains the consistency in the industry to give us cans of frosting that are always short about 4 ounces is all part of an “evil confectionary plan” and groups herself with the “Frosting Embittered Mothers of America.”

Noting that if just one company sold a bonus-sized can they would corner the market, and we would all enjoy “frosting freedom,” Kim Strickland sees only one downfall to her plan. The inability after a cake icing experience to sneak downstairs to steal a spoon of leftover icing from the container in the fridge.

Her too-familiar plight made me want to see what other advice is out there to deal with the icing issue.

Of course, there’s the make your own icing solution. Yeah, I remember back in the days before being a working mom when that was fun. If you have that much energy, you might appreciate this seven-minute recipe. Me, I see the first line about needing a double boiler, and I’m out.

I also encountered this idea for stretching the frosting in the tub – whip it up in a blender before use. Brilliant. Only now I have to wash another dish and the blender beaters, too.

Another site suggests whipping the icing with a bit of milk. Plus, they mention letting the cake cool completely before trying to frost it. Of course, we all know that’s what we’re supposed to do, but maybe I’ll be more motivated to do so next time.

I may need to bake many birthday cakes just to see which of these solutions is the best answer for me. Now that’s a good idea!

 

birthday

Photo credit: yummysmellsca via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

 

Celebrity Birthday Guest Lists

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Party invitation

Photo credit: Special invite via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Celebrity birthday extravagances are regularly reported in the news. Why do we even care? We alternately envy or judge these famous folks for their audacious displays. Yet, it’s not as if we can imagine ourselves there celebrating alongside them.

To celebrate their 200th episode, the cast of Big Bang Theory shared their best birthday bashes. Jim Parson’s partner threw him two parties to mark his 40th — one in Los Angeles and another in NYC. “I kind of kicked and screamed ‘this is a bad idea,’ and it was the best birthday I ever had,” he said.

Although I am a fan of the show and Sheldon in particular, I didn’t get an invite to either of these events.

But what if the celebs come to us?

Katy Perry was in the habit of inviting a fan on-stage when she sang her Birthday Song (surely that tour is over by now).

Recently I read about Dave Grohl inviting a fan onstage to play drums for the Foo Fighters on the fan’s birthday. But, they’re already a fan-centric band. After all, check out this video made by an Italian town left off the European tour. A thousand people gathered to play Learn to Fly in an effort to persuade the band to visit them — and it worked.

Last year Kenny Chesney opened a national tour with a Nashville concert on his birthday that his Mother came too as well.

Movie stars do it too. For example, Nollywood actress Ini Edo kept her promise to bond more with fans and viewers by showing up at a Galleria to watch her movie with fans — on her 33rd birthday.

The one that really grabs my attention though? Gary Barlow, the frontman of Take That (a band that was gigantic in my year abroad in Scotland) has offered to attend fans’ milestone birthdays. This comes on the heels of one fan’s successful one-year campaign to have the singer appear at her friends’ wedding. Now, he’s inviting fans to hound him on social media and suggest birthday bashes to crash.

Imagine the twittersphere insanity if someone like Taylor Swift or a 1D band member did the same!

Pet Birthday Bash Fun

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Birthdays are for everyone — even pets. I discussed this a little previously and ended up asking how people celebrate their pets’ birthdays. Apparently all my followers are cricket pet owners, because that is all I heard from the likes of you!

Yet an infographic a friend forwarded got me thinking about this trend once more. After all, according to this fun facts list: an average of $50 billion is spent annually on gifts for pets. That’s in the U.S. alone. That’s a whole lot of squeaky toys or interactive toys hiding treats for dogs and noisy or feathered mice and scratchy boxes for cats!

Evite must recognize an opportunity. It offers several pet birthday invites in its gallery and offers several suggestions in its pet birthday guide. These include:

  • Decorating with paw prints leading to your door and dressing the pet up (that would not be a present at all for my dog who HATES wearing costumes).
  • Invite other pet friends, but keep the guest list small and the party time short so that animals don’t get too stressed out.
  • If kids are attending, have them woof, meow or otherwise “sing” “Happy Birthday” to your pet in his or her own language.

According to an American Pet Association Poll dog owners celebrate their dogs’ birthdays in the following ways:

  • A special treat
  • A new toy
  • Singing or wishing dog happy birthday
  • Giving dog a party with other dogs or pets
  • Taking dog to favorite place
  • Taking photographs

An ASPCA blogger suggests a pet birthday party is fun for the whole family. Letting the kids plan the party and shop for the gift is a good way to give them something fun to do.

The birthday party also lets you lavish some attention on your pet, the ASPCA points out. Although, considering 70% of animal owners sign their pets’ names on greeting cards we might not need to be too worried about pets being overlooked.

For more animal birthday fun, I encourage you to check out the funny images taken from around the Internet of animals of all kinds celebrating their big day. Here’s just one sample for you (and the image starting this post came from the same list):

Pet Birthday Fun

 

 

 

 

Winter Birthday Party Blues

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We all know, scheduled c-sections aside, we can’t usually choose when our baby’s born. Few of us are able to actually schedule conception after all.

This leaves many a parent struggling to plan a winter birthday party for a child. Sure, we pride ourselves on the fact that our child is still in school and can be feted appropriately (at the schools that still allow birthday celebrations in class, that is). But, we envy those who can invite everyone to the house to play in the backyard or who can host a neighborhood pool party with lifeguards providing watchful eyes while the parents enjoy some relaxation in the sun.

As proof, I point you to my son’s second birthday. Ridiculously (hindsight is 20/20) I planned a beach-themed event. I live in the southern United States, so it didn’t seem that crazy. Yet the day of the party arrived and there was an actual snow storm. Not even what my Canadian self would describe as a “Charlotte-snow-storm” where the snow is barely on the ground long enough for us to witness it. No, a real one. We spent the morning sledding, then came home to a number of party guest cancellations because people couldn’t get out of their driveways. Fortunately, I’d learned from the first-year-old Charlie Brown party to invite many people, and we still ended up with a crowd. They were greeted outside our door by this snowman

Winter Birthday Party

Since then, we’ve enjoyed most of our parties somewhere else where the kids can run around like crazy inside, and I needn’t clean up.

But I might have thought differently if I’d read beforehand this great advice (edited below) for winter birthdays from a Philly Parenting blogger:

  1. When in-house, always have a plan. Chunk the party into 15 to 30 minute segments (younger ages need smaller chunks), and allow some time to play freely, but not enough time where things can reach dangerous levels of chaos.
  2. When inside, consider rotating. For bigger crowds, use “stations” where kids rotate in small groups through three or four activities.
  3. Make preparing food or materials part of the party. Decorating cupcakes, designing their party bags, making slime or playdough can help focus the madness and keep kids occupied.
  4. Watch a movie. Or host a BYOD (bring-your-own-device) party — Minecraft marathons work similarly well.
  5. Set up a photobooth. This is super easy, cheap, and especially fun for the school age/tween crowd. Share the photos with parents and kids electronically after the party.
  6. Brave a slumber party…

She suggests that’s the last resort. Having now hosted two of them for birthdays, I know why.

In the meantime, indulge me in this other memory from our snowy/beachy party — my son had no problem enjoying the beach-themed cake I made.

Winter Brithday Party

What Birthdays Are About

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Photo credit: Kalexanderson via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Maybe you’ve already seen the viral video going around of a teacher moved to tears by his students when they throw him a surprise birthday party.

Not everyone loves a surprise, but this feel-good story is proof of the value of birthdays.

English teacher Kyle Simpler enjoys a cake (featuring his favorite cat Felix) and the students have decorated his Burleson High School classroom. Considering the 59-year-old says he’s typically private and his family doesn’t make a big deal of birthdays, the Inside Edition, HuffingtonPost, and 30,000 video views of his arrival in his classroom are certainly a change. Yet, I’d argue, it’s being made to feel special that has the true impact.

I live with a high school teacher. I can bet he too would be thrilled if his students showed him some birthday love. Not only because it’s his birthday, but because it shows appreciation of the hard work he does.

There are other examples online of students surprising their teachers on their birthdays. What I love about these videos is the joy on the birthday celebrant’s face, but also the enthusiasm the students feel for being part of this special day.

We enjoy being part of someone’s birthday. Even over the Internet. Seriously, google searching “students surprise teacher birthday” netted four pages of the same Texas schoolteacher story retold by news outlets around the world. Why? Because it makes us smile, wherever we are, whether we know the person or not, to see someone enjoying a birthday and feeling the love.

That, my loyal readers, is the true value of birthdays! Think I’m weird to love birthdays this much? Look again at the love shared on these special days and you’ll have better insight into why I am such a big birthday fan.

 

Seeking a Trendy Party? Try Retro!

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When I think Retro, I think 80’s. I google searched “retro party ideas” and was treated to soda shop props and other ideas from the 50’s and 60’s. This too fits with my idea of retro.

Yet, it turns out Retro can also mean going back to the basics of birthdays. Canadian Family offers a slideshow for its “Perfectly Retro Birthday Party” involving “Old-school games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Pass the Parcel” and a cake made with love for a “relaxed homemade vibe.” They also suggest using colorful plates and cups to “dress up simple party foods.”

This was when I started laughing. Yes, I’m all in favor of lowering expectations on parents for the birthday party bash. However, I find it funny that we have to label a low-key party “Retro” to make it socially acceptable.

Yippee! Now parents only need to say they’re going retro to play some familiar and low-budget games, take an easier route to decorating, and accept that the homemade cake may not be as glamorous as the fondant concoction from a bakery.

What else could one do to remain on theme:

  • Have a dance contest – I’d suggest freeze dance, the kiddos get a kick out of trying to stay still the longest. If you really must invest in the birthday you could get a phone docking station that looks like a vintage radio.
  • A piñata, of course, would be in keeping with how birthdays were celebrated “back in the day” before indoor trampoline parks were invented. Personally, I’d go for one that looks like Pacman.

  • Centerpiece_pacman_1.jpg

    Image source: CoolPartyblog.com

  • There are many more “Old School” party games suggested by Red Tricycle. The ones I remember playing are the clothespin drop and bobbing for apples.
  • The Retro party also suggested loot bags with a few things in them and a nametag decorated by the birthday honoree. I’ve bought plain paper bags and lots of stickers and crayons and let the kids decorate their own. I’m a trendsetter. What can I say?

Fictional Birthday Fun

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“HIPY PAPY BTHETHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY”

Don’t worry. This entire blog is not in gibberish. The above is a quote from winnie-pooh.org regarding Eeyore’s birthday wherein Owl writes a birthday message on the (now empty) honey pot Pooh plans to gift his gloomy friend.

“I’m just saying ‘A Happy Birthday’,” said Owl carelessly.

“It’s a nice long one,” said Pooh, very much impressed by it.

This blog has previously featured messaging to kids regarding their birthdays and the positive character traits they should manifest on this oh-so-exciting day. More recently, though, I was thinking of famous fictional birthdays.

  • Eeyore’s regrettably forgotten birthday was one that came to mind.
  • Harry Potter, too, at age 11, suffers the overlooked birthday fate. Until Hagrid shows up — with a cake no less — although he admits it may have been squashed a bit. “I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.”
  • Bilbo Baggins Eleventy First Birthday is featured on a Huffington Post list of the 10 Best Parties in Literature. After all, he invites the entire shire for feasting and Gandalf’s fireworks.
  • One more that I came across cried out to be included. Per The Telegraph’s Five Best Fictional Birthdays: “Teddy Robinson, at his own birthday party in Teddy Robinson Stories (1952), loses his head completely and sings to his guests: ‘I’m glad you came/But all the same/The party’s really for me.’”

Yet I struggled to remember or find more examples of fictional birthday parties. There were many, many suggestions made for how to host a party in the vein of a various beloved fictional character. Here’s a great round-up of book party ideas.

Still, I found little on fictional representations of characters’ actual birthdays.

Nevertheless, some sites shared the fictional birthdays of familiar characters. You might want to check out Flavorwire’s Infographic (featuring TV and movie characters — I share my birthday with Kitty of That ’70s Show and Peggy from King of the Hill) or Fictional History’s (a more literary version, although not every day of the calendar is full).

In the meantime, help me out. You’re readers. What other birthdays in fiction can you recall?