A few weeks ago, our oldest daughter, Tala, turned four years old. This sweet little girl fills our daily lives with positivity, joy, and so much love, so it felt only fitting to throw her a party full of all her favorite things: friends, family, books, and lots and lots of Spread the Love® NAKED Organic Peanut Butter. Oh, and a bouncy house. Because you only turn four once.
One of Tala’s favorite activities is reading, and as her parents, it’s an activity we try to encourage - there’s nothing more magical than watching Tala’s imagination run wild after we read one of her favorite books together. To celebrate her love of reading and to help inspire other kids to read, we chose a bookworm theme for her party. We created festive decorations and a cake topper out of up-cycled used children’s books, and in lieu of presents, we organized a book swap, where kids could bring their old books to trade with their friends.
We held the party in a park near our home, and invited Tala’s friends from school and their families, as well as our family, closest friends and neighbors. The adults relaxed under the shade of the big tree, while the kids worked out their boundless energy in a colorful bounce house and made huge bubbles from kiddie pools filled with soapy water. We arranged the books for the book swap on picnic blankets, where both kids and parents gathered to read together and share their favorite stories. The weather was beautiful, and it felt like the perfect way to say goodbye to summer.
These days, Tala is a picky eater, which is pretty common for kids her age. One thing she can’t get enough of, though, is our Spread the Love® NAKED CRUNCH Peanut Butter - and fortunately, we have plenty of it in our house. Naturally, for the party, we made her favorite foods: PB&J sandwiches, which are a home run with just about any kid, and our PB&J balls, which are a great healthy snack that tastes like dessert. We made two batches of these little bites - one with peanut butter and the other with Spread The Love® UNSALTED Almond Butter - and they were a huge hit. They’re even the perfect size for the little kiddos’ hands!
For the adults, we made a big cheese and vegetable spread, complete with extra almond butter and peanut butter for dipping, as well as some fresh-cut fruit, Pancit: This link will open in a new tab., Lumpia: This link will open in a new tab. and other snacks. For dessert, of course, there was birthday cake in Tala’s favorite flavor: chocolate peanut butter. It tasted even better than it looked, with layers of rich chocolate sponge cake and the fluffiest peanut butter frosting.
We loved having the opportunity to gather our friends and family together to celebrate our sweet girl’s birthday, and to spread the love that Tala brings into our lives. We’d love to know - what are your favorite ways to celebrate a birthday? Share with us in the comments below!