Ice Cream Social

June 13, 2017/Nat

Let’s see… We postponed the party once (early on before invites were out and people had made any real plans) from mid-May (her bday is beginning of May) to the first weekend in June, due to moving, being further behind than we’d like and hoping for warmer temps, it poured the week before (and after) and was unseasonably cold so everyone was on weather watch, the specially ordered balloons deflated before the party, we forgot to put out all of the ice cream sauces and some of the toppings (chocolate, caramel, strawberry, Magic Shell, whipped cream, cherries, bananas, banana split boats…) in order to save some money, I didn’t hire a photographer so many of the photos are in poor lighting, not the best quality and I got told about half a dozen times how huge I am (I am but also wore a tent dress to be comfy, which didn’t do me any favors.), which was lovely… BUT the weather was perfect. 75 and sunny. And the party was so much fun– for kids and adults! I loved seeing Lilly so happy especially after all she’s been through.

The play set, bounce house, ice cream truck, outdoor toys, arts and crafts and sugar kept the kiddos content while the parents sat and sipped rose from cute cans and caught up. There was no chasing after them as they were contained in the yard, happy as clams and, therefore, so were we. Many stayed until late and we continued to hang, eat pizza, drink wine (them, not me) and watch our kids dirty, sugared up and in heaven. It was such a fun day/night.

For those of you following me on Insta, you know that I planned this party last fall. I know, I have issues. But I found Lilly’s sweet dress and since “vamella” ice cream is her favorite thing in the world knew we had our theme. I originally planned to have it at a make-your-own-ice-cream place in the city. Then we moved and I figured instead of trek back in, have an hour to set up, a two hour party and be done, I’d much rather have everyone out to our new house, have the kids play in the yard, an ice cream bar there, etc. Plus, no venue fee means more money in our pocket for the important things like decorations and wine. Below, some of the details and many of the photos of our colorful and sweet fete fit for a FOUR-year-old!

How adorable is this DIY paper ice cream set from Perfectly Smitten? Lilly had fun helping me put them together. Even Zach and my mom got into the action. They made the perfect addition to the themed toys in the ice cream truck tent outside.

I knew I needed Sugarfina to be a part of the party and the fine folks there were kind enough to send a huge assortment of their ice cream cone and fuzzy monkey (for banana splits) candy and peppermint milkshake and mint chip milkshake malt balls. Guests were eating them by the handful and putting them on their ice cream.

Lilly and I also made white chocolate sprinkle bark. I think you can tell which section was hers.

And DIY ice cream mold melted crayons for the arts and crafts station. Put the oven on 200, smash some old crayons, without the paper, and bake for 10-15 minutes until melted. Definitely don’t use the mold for anything else besides crayons again though. Once you go crayon, you can’t go back!

For those of you that watched on Stories, you know she had a lot of fun “cracking” and “mashing”.

When I think ice cream, I think Jeni’s. Not sure I’ve had better. And I love to introduce new things to my guests (many hadn’t heard of it since we’re all New Yorkers and there isn’t a store there; I discovered it in Chicago.) and provide a variety of flavors- and colors. I ordered Pink Grapefruit, Wild Berry Lavender, Ultramarine Blue Buttermilk, Green Mint Chip, Hot Toddy and Super Moon (a.k.a. marshmallow cereal milk that is no longer available right now).

One of my favorite and affordable party tricks, which I’ve talked about before on the blog (Costume Swap, BYOB, Brunch) is buying a piece of fabric, curtain or sheet and using as a table cloth. So easy to find, fits perfectly with the theme, easy clean up and then you have a stack of “blankets” for when the kids want to sit outside, picnic in the park, make a big fort or tent, wrap up their dolls…

I got the gift bags, in a variety of colors (yellow, pink, purple, aqua, mint), from good old Party City.

I think it may have been my favorite bag yet, thanks to Meri Meri! They graciously sent sprinkle pouches, ice cream stickers, popsicle patches, ice cream cone and popsicle necklaces and tattoos and then I found these coloring sheets and ice cream punch cones that the kids obsessed over. Seriously, everyone from the 2 to 10 year olds were loving them.

The themed tattoos (popsicles, cones) were a huge hit!

Guests were greeted with this AMAZING custom piñata by Tiny Gala.

I managed to get some shots of my beloved balloons before they deflated.

Chalk station complete with pop chalk.

What’s a kids party without bubbles? I also put out some themed games (ice cream and popsicle matching game and puzzle) in case kids wanted to take a break in the shade and play.

These colorful Krazy Straws (in these clear cups) made the kids table pop and they each got to take theirs home as an additional favor.

La Croix is a staple in our house. I made sure we had plenty of cans and flavors for our guests to choose from. Plus, the more color the better!

When on the hunt for rosé cans (no one wants glass outside and individual servings are always easier and better), I discovered House Wine and fell in love. After all, we have a new house and were entertaining at it plus I’m a sucker for good signage and packaging. How cute are these? We filled up white party buckets with ice and placed La Croix, House Wine, beer, water bottles and apply juice in them and let our guests serve themselves.