Oh, the things we do for our children…Last night, I was reminded of just that when I was making wizard cupcakes for Jesse’s Harry Potter themed birthday party. The cupcakes were iced with a cream cheese frosting and then topped with an upside down sugar ice cream cone. But, of course…The cone had to have a yellow lightning bolt on the front, which was drawn on with colored icing. We even added our own little touch of filling the cones with large Sixlets, placing the cupcake upside down on top of the cone, and then flipping the finished product to hold in the cone’s surprise. The remainder of the cream cheese icing around the sides of the cone was then covered with chocolate sprinkles.
Jesse watched as I went through the process and gave me encouragements such as, “That looks great Mom; you’re doing a great job, Mom; they look perfect!” I’ll have to admit that his kind words helped with the frustrating task at hand. Jesse was set on a Harry Potter birthday party this year, as he had read through the series the previous year and just watched the movies a few months ago. I tried to explain to Jesse that most second graders do not know as much about Harry Potter as he does, but that did not deter him. It was difficult to find Harry Potter party items, and I attempted to suggest to Jesse that we pick another theme…That was a no-go. So, there I was: making wizard cupcakes.
The party is this afternoon, and I’m quite confident that I have successfully figured out how to throw a decent Harry Potter celebration. The wizard cupcakes will be accompanied by “magical ice cream,” which will just be vanilla ice cream topped with a variety of Pop Rocks. To drink, we will be having “Party Potions.” These will simply be small bottles of water with varying food coloring and “Party Potion” labels. They will be accompanied by black and white striped straws. Decorations consist of burgundy, emerald green, and gold colored balloons, HP place cards, HP napkins, HP plates, gold spoons, and gold stars to hang from the ceiling. There are favor bags with wizard wands, HP glasses, and “Spell Books” that are filled with Hershey Kisses. I had a terrible time finding indoor games for the party so I used my imagination and am creating “Wizard Tangle,” which will just be the game of Twister with the emblems of the Harry Potter houses on the circles. Also, we will play “Musical Hogwarts Express,” a variation of musical chairs with Harry Potter music. Four children have RSVP’d so the party should be decent sized.
Not only is Jesse getting a birthday party with friends, but he is also having a birthday party on Sunday with family. We will try to use the same decorations for that party, but there will be owl cupcakes instead. We will be serving lunch, which Jesse chose the menu for: macaroni and cheese, best corn ever, and spinach balls. I believe we are expecting 12-15 guests for that party.
That’s still not all! Jesse’s birthday falls on a Wednesday this year so he has chosen to bring in peanut butter balls for a school treat. I will be making them the night before and sending them in birthday-themed cupcake wrappers. The night of his birthday, he has chosen cheese and mushroom pizza for dinner. For dessert, Jesse wants fruit and marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondue. He has requested that we play a game of Twister, and we plan to give him his birthday gifts from us that night.
Every year, we make it a point to go all-out for the boys’ birthdays. It takes a ton of work and money, but the end result is extremely well worth our efforts. Every single year that the boys have a birthday is a cause for celebrating to the max, as this signifies the day that they came into this world. In fact, I cannot think of anything more important to celebrate! Jesse and Kayden will always have memories of amazing birthdays as they are growing up. And, someday, I hope that they will carry on the tradition with their own children.
Epiphany of the Sam Kind 