This year, I told Tyler, was my year to take it easy and outsource birthday parties to a venue outside of our home. I just, you know, didn’t really know where to do it... until I saw our beloved, local, Icelandic-style ice cream shop, Bears, post on Instagram about hosting a party. Eureka! That was it, and after a quick email to the amazing owners, Phil & Vera- it was all booked. A text was sent with the appropriate emojis (🐻🍦🌸) to the moms of all the girls in her class, and it was a done deal. Party planning on 2019 is so fun!

Fast forward a few weeks, and the day of the party was here. At 11:30, our sweet tiny guests started to arrived and the party was on a roll.

The girls got to go behind the counter, pick their toppings and PULL THEIR OWN ICE CREAM. Needless to say, they felt pretty cool. Then they dotted their (massive) cones with all the goodies they had selected and acted with as much pride as Clark Griswold dressing the family tree.

Oh! And speaking of sugar, check out the amazing cake my friend Grace made for Viola. It looked perfect, and tasted even better!

Now, if you’ve been into Bears, you know... the place isn’t huge. So since they wouldn’t be doing a bounce house, we opted for making a little craft... which suits Viola perfectly at this age, as she often declares that “making things” is her favourite activity.

So we made sweet little frames that have their cut out handprints on Liberty London fabric scraps and a little poem that says:

This print will remind you

when I have grown quite tall

that once I was little

and my hand was very small.

Then, my sweet friend, Chloe, was there and used her calligraphy talent to write the girls name on the top... you know, just to make it look extra gorgeous. Lucky them!

I really love how they turned out. My first grade teacher had us make a craft like that (but ours was a napkin holder) and it’s still something that I look at often on my parents table and hold up next to my own hand to compare how much smaller I actually was. I hope these become as treasured as that little napkin holder is.

And if not, we’ll thats okay. Let’s be honest, one of the best treasures we can bring with us through life is the friendships we make when we are young. You really can’t make old friends.

You know the type... I’ve been spending the last few weeks really connecting with my friends from when I was young because of a tough time that someone is going through. There’s such a safeness there when you’re among friends that knew you- and loved you- then. You can’t hide from them because they’ve seen you for so long, they already know your backstory and your annoying traits... but they’re still there for you as life pulls you in different directions.

So yeah, we made crafts. They danced like wild animals out in the garden to music that nobody could hear but themselves. They sang into their ice cream cones like there was no tomorrow, and they hugged and helped each other along the way.

And it’s these kind of days that happily get stuffed into the vault of life... and you start to feel really rich when you look back and remember.

We love Bears Ice Cream and it was perfect for Viola’s party! In case you’re looking to host a great children’s party in West London, hiring the shop costs £150 for 1.5 hours for 12 children. You can bring whatever decorations and food you’d like, in addition to the ice cream they get to make. The place is fab, the kids have a blast, and you get to support a great local business. Huzzah!

If you’re looking for more of our favourite spaces for kids in London, check out my Little London series.