Julia Ryan Pawleys Island Realtor & Lifestyle Blogger

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Backyard Ice Cream Party Planning

Wells is turning FIVE at the end of next month and we've already started talking about what kind of party she wants to have.  I love keeping her in the loop and letting it be about her and what she likes but I did have to veto her first choice: a Monster High Vampire party.  My husband and I are on the fence with whether she's even allowed to watch that show yet.  I feel like it's a bit too old and several of her friends are too young to watch it.   We'll probably save that for grade school if she's still into vampires :)

She's also begged for a blow-up water-slide/bounce-house.  There was time I would have rolled my eyes at that monstrosity in my backyard but there are just so easy and such a hit.  I worry about the safety of them but all of my lawyer friends get them so I guess they can't be that bad, right?!

I plan to let that be the main attraction.  I'm expanding on that to include a bit of an ice-cream party with Palm Beach flair.  Ideally we'd get to keep the water-slide contraption all day and we could double up on the friends party and the family party.  Her little friends come from 10-12 and then an early evening cookout with our big extended family. 

Wells and I have been wanting Matthew to build a lemonade stand for a while now and I think this will be the perfect excuse.  Wells and her little friends build little markets and stands all the time in our front yards.  I'm imagining a thousand ways we could use it for parties and play in the future.  We'll have some treats set out on it for the party but it could be a concession stand or even an outdoor bar for grown-up functions.  I absolutely love the striped look, especially the pink and white but I may go with a more neutral color.


We'll keep the food simple, ice-cream and fruit.  Maybe some popcorn for good measure.  I love the idea of making cupcakes in ice-cream cones.  I haven't done that before but there a million pins so I'm guessing it can't be that hard.   Have you tried that?  I'll probably do a cheese tray for the grown-ups because that's always a hit.

I'll fill you more in on the specifics as the planning continues!