I wasn’t planning a big party for Maverick’s third birthday, because this year is just so full. I love a fun, big party, but also know that some years I’ve got to pick my battles, and this wasn’t a year for a blowout party.
I asked soon-to-be three-year-old Mav what he wanted to do for his birthday party and he told me about a tea party in the park, inspired heavily by our weekly Poetry Tea Times. (more about those here). Basically, he associates tea time with family time, books and treats–and that’s something I could do on an intimate scale for just us, just like it is weekly.
Read on for how I transitioned our weekly tea time tradition into an extra special mommy/son date for just us, and called it a birthday celebration.
XO,
A
No invites
I’ve been chatting with moms lately about the overwhelm of birthdays, and wanted to share a few ‘rules’ families have for young birthdays that may be helpful if you’re feeling stuck in birthdays getting bigger and bigger.
-
- One Mesa family with four kids: We don’t do friend parties until a child turns seven. Until then, it’s immediate family (us + grandparents) and we serve fruit, veggies and cake.
- One Mesa family with an only child: As many friends as the age their child is turning. If the child is turning two, two friends are invited; at age three, they get three friends, etc. This helps keep it manageable from a budget and people perspective.
- One Chandler family with three boys: We do a big first birthday party, and then just an experience gift for our immediate family until our kids turn 8, where they can choose a party or an experience. Our last birthday experience for one of the boys was an overnight at Great Wolf Lodge–it was probably cheaper than if we had done a party, and we made a lot more family memories!
Upgrading a routine into a celebration
As I mentioned, we do a family tea time once a week where Maverick sets the table with a tablecloth, pretty plates and that morning, we bake a treat together for tea time. 
At tea time, we gather together to read a few books (typically seasonal selections), share the treat we’ve made earlier in the day, light a candle (Mav loves to blow it out) and slow down our typical pace.
We’ve always done tea time at home, so his request to do it at his favorite place, the park already made this feel special and celebratory.
But to really make it stand out, I looked to a few pros for tea parties and treats for this very special tea time.
The tea time set-up
Afternoon Picnics sets up dreamy outdoor picnics that are overflowing with so much detail–beautiful dishware, candles, fresh florals, carpets, pillows–everything to make a stunning backdrop for delicious food.
Doing a build-your-own picnic package with Afternoon Picnics was turnkey for me (they set everything up at the park so I could just show up with Maverick), but they also provided details I would have most certainly forgotten if I had done it on my own (ant spray, hand sanitizer, etc.).
I simply sent the park location I wanted and some photos of our favorite, vintage Winnie the Pooh books that we would be reading at this tea time–and she brought it to life!
Afternoon Picnics was easy to coordinate with, flexible (Maverick changed his park preference the week prior and she was okay with the change!) and the owner, Fatima, is lovely to chat with (and a toddler mom herself!).
The treats
For our weekly tea times, it’s me and Mav and a recipe that isn’t too long for him to lose interest.
We do okay on the treats, but I’m no baker. And, there may be eggshells in our recipes some weeks, because toddlers love cracking eggs themselves.
There was no way I was going to try to DIY these treats myself, so I turned to our favorite local treat gals, Floured Cupcakes. They’ve done all of Maverick’s birthdays (see his Top Gun 1st birthday here and his Indiana Jones and the Toddler of Doom second birthday here).
Owned by two Mesa sisters, these girls know treats. From cupcakes to cake pops to customized cookies, these are the tastiest, and most custom treats.
A few reminders for custom treats:
- Floured Cupcakes, and most other local cake makers, book out early; this isn’t something you can book the week of a party.
- Find a baker who will deliver the treats to you (Floured Cupcakes does, and it’s just one less thing for me to run around for the day of parties)
- Trust the creative process: I told the girls we were doing a picnic tea party and sent them the photos of the vintage Pooh books and let them run with it. They’re the pros and I knew the more creative freedom I gave them, the better the finished product would be!
The photos
I like the idea of birthday photos, but after just doing headshots for the blog, I knew Mav wouldn’t want to do more photos, so I used the party as a double dip for photos as well.
I first met AJ when I started planning the picnic party, as she connected me with Afternoon Picnics and she turned out to be a lovely photographer to capture a few birthday photos of Maverick and I before we dug into the picnic.
She worked fast, was fun with Maverick, and I am so happy with how intimate the photos came out with me and Maverick! 
