"Melmo” was Milo Barfoot’s first word, so naturally the theme for his second birthday party had to be Elmo! With über creative parents, Jeff Barfoot and Shay Ometz, his birthday was sure to be fun and cool. Literally, the main event of the party was a giant water slide to keep kids cool during the blistering summer day. The slide was purchased with a group of neighborhood friends who take turns using it for a week or two at a time. The week of Milo’s birthday the slide was in his Forest Hills backyard and he and his brother, Calder, could not have been more excited.
To beat the heat, the party started early and the fare included breakfast tacos from Good 2 Go Taco with fresh mimosas for the parents, while kids had pizza (never too early for cheese pizza) and juice. The family’s miniature dachshunds, Bumper and Juno, enjoyed eating all of the dropped pizza and cupcakes that “accidentally” fell from kids’ hands.
To make the Elmo theme a little more original, Jeff and Shay made and decorated 20 little Elmo cupcakes and one big Elmo cake for the birthday boy. “Although Elmo was not our first choice as a theme, it was wonderful to see little Milo’s face light up when he saw the cake,” says Shay. Both professional designers, the duo also made the custom invitations and emailed them to friends to save on paper and postage. Eight kiddos and their parents attended the party along with Shay’s parents (Nana and Papa Bear) who live in Richardson.
Planning a party of any kind comes with a bit of anxiety over the details, so Shay wanted to keep things simple and budget-friendly. “Jeff and I tried to do as much as possible ourselves and didn’t stress when we didn’t have time to make something. We made sure to send a save-the-date beforehand so we knew how many people to expect and planned food [and] favors accordingly.”
With a great eye for design, Shay relied on the ever dependable and trendy Target for the primary colored, stripped and polka-dotted birthday plates, napkins, hats, goodie bags and decorations. “It was hard not to buy every design!”
Milo set the tone of the party with his easy-going, happy personality. You could find the moppy-haired 2-year-old going up and down the water slide, only taking a break to eat more cupcakes! Parents (mostly dads) joined the fun and took a couple of trips down the slide. “It was a hoot to watch,” shares Shay. “The best part was that everyone had fun and the kids were able to enjoy the outdoors even in the heat of the summer.”
Updated 7/27/12
