For Emma's recent birthday party, we invited friends to join us for a trip to Emma's Ice Cream Parlor. Since the Birthday Girl doesn't like cake, we made sundaes with all of her favorite toppings.
Printable designs from hello love carried our pastel vintage look throughout the celebration.
Laden with candies, cookies and sprinkles, our buffet held tempting surprises for all our guests.
Tiered servers covered with doilies and sprinkles held parfait glasses, perfect for making sundaes.
I didn't have enough sundae glasses for all our guests, so my sister-in-law Shana let me borrow her set, which belonged to my mother. This added a sweet element of nostalgia.
I made these cupcake toppers on lollipop sticks, intending to slip them into the girls' sundaes, but they looked so cute clustered in an extra sundae glass that I left the little bouquet on the buffet.
You can never have enough sprinkles!
The girls were eager to sample our sweet treats!
A vase of sugar cones offered an alternative to a sundae.
We served ice cream and wet toppings in the kitchen, then let the girls finish their cool creations in the dining room.
The Birthday Girl was first in line, of course.
After she fixed her sundae, we sang "Happy Birthday."
(Trick candles = Big Hit in the 8-year-old crowd.)
As soon as Emma blew out her candles, we served the other guests. Cousin Kadence saved her sundae from dripping. Isn't she a sweet princess?
Cousin Bailey contemplates her ice cream cone. Such a cutie!
Eliminating the homemade cookies and ice cream I had originally intended to make ensured this was a relaxing party for me and my family. Often Joe will take the children out for a meal while I finish last-minute party preparations, but simplifying my plans allowed me to join the group for lunch at our favorite bakery-cafe. If the extra family time was the whipped cream on our festive day, then coming back home to celebrate with friends and family was the cherry on top.
Photos by Nathan Prichard. Used with permission.
"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold" ~ Judith Olney
