Our little one was turning two in may and our joy knew no bounds. How did she grow up so fast. Just the other day she would fit easily in our arms and now she is a walking talking individual with a personality of her own. I was a big pile of emotions. We wanted to celebrate her birthday. She has also been to a few birthdays and is aware that the a cake is cut and the friends meet up and play and all. So, in our excitement we keep telling her that her birthday is fast approaching and we will call all her friends. I am pretty sure one day she did give me a look as its just a birthday ...what are you so excited about.
We wanted the birthday to be simple, fun and eco-friendly. As a gift to my little one and the future generations we wanted the event to a be a no plastic waste event. We wanted to celebrate the birthday outdoors in a park or something like that but then decided to do it near the play-area where she meets her friends everyday. There is a pergola near the play-area surrounded by beautiful trees and few benches to sit. It would be a good location to spend a summery evening. Also, it would be so convenient for everyone as mostly all her friends were from the apartment and meet everyday in the same area. Once venue was decided we thought about the food. I wanted it to be a simple home cooked fare. Its summers so aamras (mango and milk shake) toh banta hai. And its super healthy and loved by adults and children both. Another item was aaloo tikki(potato croquettes) topped with chole (garbanzo beans curry) and a dash of sweet tamarind chutney and a dollop of curd. We made all of this at home on the same day. The menu was kept simple and easily doable without lot of stress. Our house-help and husband both pitched in. I believe both the items were healthy and fresh and one indulgence was the chocolate cake. Cake was ordered to a home baker who did a good job. Steel utensils were rented out at a nominal price. It was also a no gift party as honestly we are still overwhelmed with gifts from the first birthday and unable to use them all.
it was a nice summery evening with cool breeze. Friends and family arrived for last minute preps and help. The birthday girl wore a beautiful yellow cotton dress with chikankari details from fabindia. She looked so adorable... Mommy dearest twinned in yellow handwoven cotton dress as well. Dad really didn't bother much and looked dapper in his last minute choices. As we waited for everyone to arrive.. the children played, the moms chatted away and dads did their thing ...We also laid out this activity where the children created art on reused papers by collecting fallen leaves, twigs, flowers and sand. They also went on nature walk looking for roots, flowers, bees, caterpillar, spider etc. The darling daughter made me very proud by cutting the cake herself using her knife. The first slice i mean not the entire cake. She uses this knife to cut veggies and boiled eggs at home. The Montessori mom in me did a happy dance.
Serving in steel was the best decision. We didn't have to worry about food getting soggy and food taste so much better and easy to eat in steel. Our good old caravan provided for some peppy music. The aamras was a big hit with everyone. The guests were pleasantly surprised and appreciated that we took the effort to make everything at home.
We were very satisfied with the simplistic, relaxed, easy going, fun and eco-friendly birthday that we celebrated. And I was most satisfied about doing it a lil old school way by cooking food at home and not adding any plastic waste for the future generations. Maybe drew a lil inspiration from my mom and how she celebrated our birthdays.
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