April 2015, the official year for the TEENS to be knocking on our door. Of course, the princess had been giving us a crash course on how to deal with it for the past 2 years or so. However, that was besides the point. The day was fast approaching and there was much to do. For starters, plan a 13th birthday party that had to be unique and awesome. Going by the dance party invites we already were getting by the dozens, the done-to-death theme was ruled out. Kiddy themes were a strict no-no, and god forbid, I could not think of a host who’d conduct interactive games for want of being scorned at. What were they, five? No matter what I thought of, images of the girls doing nothing but huddling together and clicking selfies at every darn party shot through every thought bubble. And just like that, there it was, my Eureka moment. I had cracked the Teen code. I had scaled the Everest as far as coming up with a stupendous theme was concerned. I was not the first, the internet was a testimony to that, but from where I came from (read school group) Hallelujah, I had arrived. Ladies and gentlemen, we were going to have an Instagram party, so help me God!
The first thing we needed for a 13th birthday party was an invite.
I was clear about two things for this one. A – I was not going to painstakingly craft an invite that was going to be read once and then thrown in thrash. B – Keeping a track of the RSVPs becomes a chore with manual invites, so that needed to be taken care of. I decided to create an evite across a Whatsapp group, even though my association with group chats is legendary. #TiaraTurns13 took birth with a mental note that it would self destruct, Mission Impossible style, 20 minutes after the party ended. Yes, I am like that only. Well, a quick internet search for an Instagram template, a cherished snapshot, a few picture tools and voila, this is what we had. Level one – #SocialNetworkConquered
The thing to do after the invite is the CAKE!
It kinda is the centerpiece of your theme, and if it involves intricate sugar-craft, you need an advance booking with the cake studio. I had an idea about what I wanted, and who I wanted to have it from. This thought process crossed my mind when I saw one of her stupendous creations, but there was just one major hitch…..she lived far, far away. A casual mention to Gauri Kekre from the L’il White Oven resulted in her being more than generous. She not only offered to design the cake but also made arrangements for the delivery as well. Come April, she lived up to her promise. With that, our 13th Birthday party seemed to be fleshing out quite well, indeed.
The princess loves her room and is forever rearranging her furniture to give it a quick makeover. Ergo, I decided to go for a ‘Selfie Cake’ with strategic elements from her room and her fav cat, Cutlet ( we have two cats, BTW). Gauri asked for her room pics which were smuggled to her whilst the girl was in school. And based on what she saw and what we discussed, Gauri had a sketch in mind. It included the princess with Cutlet in her arms, on her bed, surrounded by her pillows and IPad, taking a selfie. Her favourite brand PINK, favourite author Cathy Cassidy, the LOVE wall artwork she designed, the Dream, Dance, Music wordings along with the butterflies and flower lamp were the added paraphernalia on a two tier cake. It was sounding perfect. Just like that, Level Two – #PieceOfCake
So far, the 13th Birthday party planning seemed to be on the right track. Look out for the next installment, soon.
…………………to be cont’d
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