The plan my mother and I came up with was to host a “Music in the Park” celebration, but being as though this family was also in the mist of closing on our forever home, the planning part of the plan fell through the cracks. I looked up and it was the Wednesday before her Sunday party date, and I had no entertainment, decor, food plan, nothing. My first emails were to two companies I didn’t know were run by a husband-and-wife pair. The wife of Music Together answered first and was super accommodating, getting me all booked with an amazing musician for only $200 total. She played the guitar and led our group in several songs, passed out instruments for the children to use, and pulled out a parachute for them to lift, run under, and spin.
The other missing element of Suni’s party was food, so I did what I do best. I made an epic Instacart order of all our needs to bake an array of cakes, cupcakes and strawberry crunch cake jars. My mom, aunt, and cousins arrived the day before Suni’s party to bring my Instacart order to life in the kitchen. I took the easy route on the main course and ordered Boar’s Head turkey sandwiches from Publix. The pièce de résistance was definitely the crunch cake, recipe courtesy of my favorite chef to follow, Danni Rose.
I outsourced decor and gift bags to the one who will always be better suited to do such things, my mother. She simply delivered. We ordered about 10 blue picnic blankets, pink baskets, and plenty of chips, waters and juices to fill the baskets with. We also put to use a tent a friend bought my son for one of his birthdays. My mom and I picked up plastic flowers and greenery from Ikea to decorate the tent, and with another Ikea purchase and an Amazon assist we pulled off a $30 floor-height picnic table. By we, I again mean my mom.
As much as I enjoyed the food and decor, my favorite parts of my daughter’s birthday party were all the unplanned elements like almost dropping the birthday cake, and my son shouting out as the musician was performing her welcome songs: “We didn’t say hello to Chanel.” Chanel, my first cousin, is his favorite person. It’s not even close.
The 3-year-old’s opinion aside, we are very blessed to have Chanel and Codi, who led all baking endeavors, and their mom, TT Marian, who always lends a willing hand. The great how-to behind each and every one of our events is always more of a who-to in the Floyd home because our family and friends have a way of repeatedly showing up for us. They were there for Donovan’s first birthday party and Suni as well. I’m pretty sure they’ll be there for us as long as they are living, and the opposite is just as true.
