Cupcake Cones - Birthday Memories

We often get caught up in the excess when planning parties.  It must be at the perfect place, with the perfect foods, the perfect decorations and the perfect activities.  When it comes to planning our children's birthday parties, it seems like the stress level is kicked up a notch.  We want to make sure our children get to have the best party because we believe it shows our motherly love.

Here at DSSP, we believe the core of every party is good company, good food and good times.  And we want to bring back the good ol' days we remember as kids.  To remind us all what is important in these celebrations, we are going to feature guest writers that will share his or her favorite childhood birthday memories. 
We believe that our favorite birthday party memories are indicative of what is important.  It isn't the fact that it was held at the trendy gymnastics place or that the cake was elaborately decorated or that the gifts were extravagant.  Those aren't the things we remember from our childhood parties, although it is possible they were there.  We remember special little touches and being surrounded by our loved ones.
 Our first feature is from a writer that is dear to my heart - my sister, Kristen.  By the way, that's me in the middle in the photo below. :)



KRISTEN

I have very few memories of celebrating my birthday, especially when I was a child. But, there is one memory that has always stood out for me. I don't always remember all the details of the party, but what I do remember the most is that feeling of being very special and everyone there to help me celebrate my big day.

My birthday is on July 24th, so as a young girl, I remember always being sad that I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday with my friends. Not only was my birthday in the summer, when school was out, but we also lived about 10 minutes out of town in the country. So, getting to town to spend time with my friends was difficult. My playmates during the summer were my sisters.

My favorite birthday memory was from when I was about in 2nd grade. I honestly don't remember how old I was, but I do recall being fairly young. My mom organized a party in the town park for me and my closest friends. I believe there were about 5 of us there. And, interestingly, I don't recall my sisters being there, although I'm sure they were. The party was very simple. We were there to play in the park together. But, the most important part of the party, and that which I remember the most, was the cupcakes!

My mom was very creative and made cupcakes in ice cream cones. I'm sure she got the idea from some magazine or a coworker, but I remember thinking how genius my mom was! The neat part was that the cupcakes were an interactive birthday cake to help celebrate my special day! My mom provided lots of frosting and decorations. We all decorated our own cupcakes. It was great and I remember having the best time ever.

I found out many years later, when I was well into adulthood, that a former classmate also remembered this very special birthday. You see, not only did my mom get me together with my friends, but she set up the perfect party for a bunch of young girls. She allowed us all to create a joined memory of having fun making cakes together. This was simple, but something that has kept with me all throughout the years. My family even expanded on this great memory during my 40th birthday. They recreated my past memory as a young girl by making ice cream cone cupcakes surrounded loved ones! What a great way to celebrate a new stage of my life.

Thanks for sharing, Kristen!!  If anyone else wants to recreate this great birthday activity, Blue Cricket Design has instructions on how to make the cones.  Then all you need is a lot of frosting options, sprinkles and candies!