Where Learning Meets Play: Henry's birthday party. Minimalist and fun.

Henry was only allowed one friend (other than his cousins) to his party. He chose twins. He pointed out that it would be unfair to invite one and not the other. Such a Henry thing to do. I am pretty sure he can find his way around anything. With two 4 year old cousins who are boys, that made 5 boys 4/5years old. Energy, fun, and outside were definitely on the menu.

Henry decided he wanted a cake just like Lucy's, just as he did last year. Rainbow cake for Lucy last year, rainbow cake for Henry three months later. Cupcakes making a larger 'cake' for Lucy this year, so Henry wanted the same, only with a Cars theme instead.

For decorations I went old school: balloons and streamers. Nothing fancy, because this is how we do the 'prep year' birthday.

The food was all gluten, dairy, and corn free, except for the cake which was not gluten or dairy free. Henry is intolerant to corn, Daisy is intolerant to dairy, and his cousin has coeliac disease. It just made it easier for food not to be a concern while they were all running around together. I iced gluten free biscuits for his cousin and made special icing for Daisy and put this on biscuits for her.

I bought plain chips, and made up fruit platters. The kids had water to drink.

For games, we let them play outside and make up their own. Parent directed fun and waiting in line for prizes that will be thrown out later was pushed aside for the day. Tonka truck racing, bike riding, skateboard riding, cubby building/destroying and trampoline jumping are awesome. The kids also played inside with the Batman Imaginext toys and Lego. The mums were able to sit down for a cuppa and a chat, and the dads watched the Bathurst car race.

I do the same thing for party bags all the time. I paint or paint-stamp brown paper bags and use ribbon to tie up the bags. It's really quick and easy to do and works well with what we put in them. I only include things in the bags that won't make my kids go completely crazy! This time I included plain chips, Annie's fruit strap and Tiny Teddies. The only item my kids usually eat would be the fruit strap, so these are big treats.

That's pretty much it! Henry had a ball, as did his guests. A simple and relaxing party for a gorgeous little boy who is growing up way too fast. Here are some photos that I just loved from the party. Note the selfies of Daisy and I; this is one of her new favourite things. Jack isn't in any clear photos because all the photos he was in were with other parents' kids. I don't show faces of other children on the blog, as that's an individual parent decision.