Hey sweet friends,

Our youngest daughter’s birthday was last week, and I had a nice little sleepover planned with a couple of friends, and a few simple birthday decorations.  All was well in my world until four days prior to the party, as I was sitting next to my mother-in-law on the sofa, and my daughter dropped five of the most anxiety provoking words a parent can hear, “Can I have a party?!!!”

Like an exploding piñata of terror, thoughts of invitations, themes, cakes, weather forecasts, and Oriental Trading Company party favors started shooting through my head.  Yet, as I sat politely next to my mother-in-law (slash master event planner) I said with a hipnotized-like composure, “Sure sweetie, lets do it.” What….was….I…..thinking?!!!

The only way this last minute birthday party was going to work is if I let go of trying to have an unrealistic Pinterest-worthy party, and well, just set low expectations for everyone, including myself.  Behold, a new life motto!

First I tried to book some of the cool stuff like Teacups and Trucks, Lowcountry Party Animals mobile petting zoo, and Pure Fluff, but I quickly realized that I was way too late in my planning.  Next I tried, the ice cream truck, and Charleston Jump Castles.  While the ice cream truck was overbooked, alas Charleston Jump Castles saved the day.  They had a ton of parties the same day, but had one bouncy “thing” left.  It was a 44 foot inflatable water slide that they could set up in our yard.  Woohoo!  This year’s birthday theme was clearly going to be “redneck county fair!”  Giddy-up, y’all!

Take a look at this beast:

As you may already know, we love baking wild birthday cakes every year for our kid’s birthdays.  However, considering the short planning time for this party, I had to figure out something quick and easy.

Thanks to my dear grandmother who left me with a box of her favorite recipes, I was able to whip together a 70 year old cake recipe called “Busy Day Cake.” Instead of making the recipe as a cake however, I decided to bake cupcakes to easily feed a large group of kids.

I must say that while grabbing a few boxes of store bought cupcakes would have been totally great, there was something very heartwarming about using my daughter’s great grandmother’s recipe for her birthday cupcakes.  I can only imagine how excited my grandmother would be to know that we made her cakes for such a sweet and special event.

Additionally, the recipe itself was delicious.  The cupcakes tasted to much better than store bought cupcakes, and they were a breeze to prepare.  I did use canned frosting from Pillsbury because it’s  just so delicious, and I had zero time for making homemade frosting.  The kids at the party certainly didn’t seem to care, because the cakes vanished off the cake platters platters in about 12.2 seconds.  Victory!

Here is a peek at the old recipe and finished cupcakes.  Thanks, Nana.

I believe it was a very wise woman by the name of Ke$ha, (you do you, sister) who said, “I embrace  imperfections and celebrate them.”  I like that.  I’m so glad that we never tried to make this party even close to perfect, but instead celebrated the silliness and whimsy of the day just the way it was meant to be.

Have you had to put together any last minute birthday parties?  Please reach out and let us know what themes and vendors you have loved the most.  We would love to share your ideas on the blog!

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