Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Rejecting Spongy Tradition

My daughter turns two this month, and I decided to have a little birthday party with her play group buddies and their moms today. The occasion led to some deep reflection on the subject of . . . cupcakes.

I'm generally not a big fan of cake. I prefer desserts with more substance like a fruity pie, some cheesecake, or a cookie bar I can sink my teeth into. So why on earth did I feel obligated to make cupcakes for my toddler's party when she and her pals will neither expect nor remember them? I suspect it was because I think my fellow moms expect cupcakes to grace a birthday party, but realistically they don't want to eat them any more than I do. I split the recipe between mini- and full-sized muffin pans, and at the end of the party the minis were nearly gone and all the full-size cupcakes were still sitting patiently on their plate. Apparently even the grown-ups prefer a small bite of sugary sponge over a fist-sized mass of it.

Lesson learned: In a couple years when Munchkin #2 turns two, I'll just make a small batch of mini cupcakes, and a double batch of Mom's Salsa, which we ran out of way too quickly. Better yet, maybe I'll forgo the cupcakes in favor of brownies and just stick a birthday candle into one of them. THERE you go . . .

4 comments:

Phillip said...

I like that last idea. Mmmm...triple chocolate brownies...mmmm.

Science Teacher Mommy said...

Now I'm hungry. The party sounds like a success. And yes, much of what we do as parents is for ourselves. (Like the huge costume party I threw when my first baby turned one. Yes, there were cupcakes.)

Kimberly Bluestocking said...

I've tended to keep parties pretty simple, but I did do a ducky theme for Joy's first party - yellow cupcakes, rubber ducky favors, yellow balloons, etc. This year's theme was more like "Eat food and chat while the kids play."

I may get more elaborate as Joy gets older and takes more interest in the proceedings, but as long as she's still blissfully unaware of what "birthday party" means, simple is definitely better for all concerned.

Jodi Jean said...

i'd go for the brownies ... yum!