Emme's 6th Birthday Party

Photos by Ashley Barrett

I love nothing more than planning Emme and Sailor’s birthdays. I’m always excited to see what theme they come up with and as Emme has gotten older, I have really enjoyed including her in the planning process. 

As she has started to get older, I have found myself keeping things a bit less over the top. An urge that is difficult to resist! But now that she has friends that have so many different interests, she’s been really clear that she wants to focus on activities that everyone will enjoy. 

We are still loving a bounce house, but this year I opted for hiring a company that sends the most energetic and fun ‘coaches’ to lead the kids in a backyard field day. 

This is something that is so easy to create at home as long as your up for nonstop action and can keep the kids moving. 

They led them through relay races, parents vs. kids dodgeball, and so many other games that were huge hits.

Since we were trying to work in a ‘Greatest Showman’ theme, I kept the food simple with sliders and hotdogs. I also had a few carnival food carts on hand to make funnel cakes and soft pretzels. For kids parties I always make sure the food is grab and go so it doesn’t mean kids have to be out of the action long when they get hungry. 

For decor I also opted to keep things minimal. I always have fresh flowers in the house and I decided to use them to play up the theme. 

I found really cute popcorn containers that matched her party favors and used them as vessels instead of our regular vases. I added pops of red to my usually neutral arrangements and  some of the ‘squishies’ that were left over from Emme’s party favors to give them a really fun feel. 

For dessert Emme had two requests. A ‘big top’ cake AND cupcakes. Luckily we have a bake shop here in Los Angeles that makes really great ‘cupcake cakes’.  I love these cakes because they make serving so easy. Kids can just grab and go! 

After our little cake tasting adventure, I had a small cake made for Emme to blow out her candles with and it was so delicious!

One of my favorite elements to every party is a little special surprise. I feel like it breaks things up a bit and, if nothing else, gives parents a little side action. This year, I really went for it. I did a show when I was pregnant with Emme called ‘Animal Practice’. One of my cast mates was this amazing monkey, Crystal. She obviously turned out to be the star of the show. I was so taken with her and her training staff, we reached out to see if she was available. Crystal was on a job but her delicious friend, Dexter, was available. 

And we surprised her guests with a little visit. I know I said earlier that I was trying to keep it low key, but I couldn’t help myself! And I was surprised to see that the kids were having so much fun with the backyard games, Dexter fit in like any other guest.

This party came together so easily and Emme had so much fun being a part of the planning. I love a party where every detail is styled to perfection, but for this one I let Emme lead the charge. She really wanted to run around the backyard with her friends in celebration of her big day. The result was a laid back, wonderful afternoon. The smile on her and her friends’ faces was priceless. These really are the moments that I’m trying to savor in every way. I can’t believe my little girl is already 6! I wish time could slow down a bit, but we all know that in a blink of eye our babies will be grown. Until then, I’m grateful for afternoons like this and will treasure these memories.

Xx,
Jo