You only get one chance at a fourth birthday party and when it’s for your little girl and she’s picked ‘rainbow unicorn’ as the theme, you’ve got to go all in. I baked two dozen rainbow cupcakes in a process that involves magic and powdered unicorn horn…otherwise known as white cake mix and food coloring. Do you think little girls like rainbow cupcakes with icing? I don’t know, let’s ask this group of girls.
Child Harbat on the far left was so excited she stymied a brightly lit room and ultra-high shutter speed with her birthday excitement jitters. She was like this from breakfast through bedtime. Why? Do you think it had something to do with…THESE?
That’s right, we found party supplies that had both rainbows AND unicorns. Apologies for not having a picture of the decorated party table, but I was too busy keeping children from falling in the pool and checking the time to see when we could get the kids inside for cupcakes before Screamageddon commenced. You see, when you get together four-year olds, there reaches a point when every well-planned game, every calm activity, every entreaty for peace is steamrolled by the power of screaming. At Child Harbat’s party this happened when I suggested the kids come inside and have Zhu Zhu races in the hallway. If you’ve been living in a cave for the past four years, Zhu Zhu Pets are mechanical hamsters that scurry in random paths on the floor emitting purrs, squeaks, and chirps as they search for hairs and fibers to get tangled in their wheels. When you have an extended family of Zhu Zhus set loose in a contained space with live acoustics and cupcake-fueled four-year olds, the results are apocalyptically loud. Witness for yourself.
Perhaps I’m painting an unrealistic picture of my daughter’s birthday. She did spend a quiet moment of reflection on her swing with a stuffed bunny. Perhaps she was thinking of the last four years, the joys, sorrows, and love in our family. Maybe she was taking stock of the good, simple things in life and the transient nature of presents and parties. Or possibly she was listening to the sound of wind in the trees, autumn signaling an end to summer and her own transition to a life where she was no longer the baby. Well, I was there and I can tell you she was actually just waiting for a push on the swing. Such is life.
Writer, architect, father, husband.
The juxtaposition of the first and last picture pretty much tell it all. What a wonderful and beautiful daughter you guys have. Soooooo lucky!
Wonderful post Peter. Happy Birthday CH!
very cute. I am doing the same theme for my daughter’s 5th. Where did you find those plates and napkins???? I love them!!!
I got them at Oriental Trading. They have all sorts of themed party stuff. Just don’t let your kids see their catalog or you’ll be doing themed birthdays until they turn 18. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.