Ah, birthday parties! Some of the tried and true party highlights still rank among the best. After all, who can find fault with a snow cone slick with syrup, cheesy pizza and a movie, or ice cream sundaes dolloped with whipped cream? For 2022, we’ve added a few more celebratory options to the mix.
First, there’s a definite luster to keeping things simple. (And, ahem, we have excellent pre-made cakes for delivery.) But, if your birthday vision includes a little something extra special, we pulled together a few of our favorite things to celebrate both little and big ones. (A DIY sushi party is a pretty grand thing for grown-ups, don’t you reckon?) Here they are, just a click away.
Birthday Party Ideas
1. Pancake Cake
Flour Shop’s Amirah Kassem doesn’t seem to run out of great bday ideas, and her Birthday Pancake Cake is no exception. The kit comes in her classic paint box with rainbow stripes and requires just butter, milk and eggs to make it extraordinary. The star candle, nonpareils and a cream cheese drizzle are all in there. Check out how cool it looks when you light it up! It’s just the thing to start the birthday kid’s big day.
2. Snow Cones
The rest of the party can all be “delivered pizza” this and “storebought” that if you have Snow Cones. Just look at how glorious and reasonably priced Cuisinart’s Snow Cone Maker is. We’d argue you’ll be using this thing all spring and summer long, so clear some room for it and start daydreaming about syrups. (Bonus: No reason you can’t do frozen drinks for grown-ups, friend!)
3. DIY Sushi Kit
Imagine getting the Paperless Post invite to a sushi party. Now imagine RSVPing “No.” It’d never happen, right? That’s why its fans adore this DIY Sushi Kit. It’s literally a party in a box. BYO fish, folks. We provide the nori, rice vinegar powder, sesame seeds, wasabi powder, rice vinegar powder, bamboo rolling mat, and inspiration.
4. DIY Pizza Party
Yes, you could make your own pizza. Sure. But how perfect is your Neapolitan style dough? Good enough that you’re confident in individual pies? And is your cheese a custom blend of rich mascarpone, fresh mozzarella and roasted garlic that melts beautifully and produces a touch of caramelization? Right. So why not outsource? Elephants Deli in Portland, Oregon has been mastering this craft since 1979, and they’re happy to send dough, sauce and their trademark cheese blend straight to your door. Pizza party!
5. Sundae Party
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Indoors or outdoors, there is absolutely nothing to knock an occasion out of the park like an ice cream sundae party. You need a little strategy, such as how to keep it all cold, though, and we go into the nitty-gritty-sprinkly details right over here.
6. Cake Pops
The thing we should warn you about cake pops is that when a kid realizes that cake can be transported (read: run off with), you’re doomed. So, fair warning. If you’re going to go down that road, go big or go home: Flour Shop’s rainbow cake push pops are the move. Vanilla cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, plenty of sprinkles, and happy smiles all ’round.
7. Cookie Party
Yes, you can have kids come around a huge table and decorate their own cookies for a party. We like this one outside, with a table covered in butcher paper. (Thanks, Shira Gill!) That way everything sticky and flaky can fall right on to the grass or cement. No muss, no fuss, no stress. We’ve got about a zillion cookie cutters from which to choose, including these springy numbers.