I was going through my flickr account and realized I never shared Glow’s 1st birthday party! For her party, we had a pie party contest. Guests were invited to bring a pie (not everyone did) and that there would be a cash prize for the winner. Guests also knew that there were secret judges who would be tasting the pies, so that made it a little bit more exciting. Everyone was bugging each other to find out who the secret judges were!
Thankfully I’ve got my mom to enlist for help (she is quite the cooking queen), and she cooked some BBQ, so BBQ and pie made for a good combination that Sunday afternoon. I was so excited about the turn out. I wasn’t sure if anyone would bring pie, but we ended up having 10 different pies, which was more than enough to feed everyone! I made a special little one to be Glow’s “birthday cake” and hers was made from whole wheat crust, apples, and no sugar. It was much healthier than the others.
After we sang “Happy Birthday” to Glow, I put together a tasting plate for the judges (there were two). No one had any clue who they were and it took a bit of cleverness to sneak them away from the party without arousing suspicion. After both judges had had a taste of all the pies, we gathered everyone together to reveal the winner and the judges. Drumroll please… the winner of the contest was the Blueberry Chiffon pie made by my friend Liz (and she was the lucky one who won 25 buckaroos!). And the secret judges were… True and Brave!
Everyone laughed once they found out who the judges were, and True and Brave did a good job keeping the surprise. When we were upstairs and I was having them taste the various pies they were saying, “Oh mom, everyone keeps bugging us and asking us if we’re the judges.”
We had so much pie left over that I was begging people to take some home because if they had left it, I’d be the one who would be eating the leftovers all morning, noon, and night. I have very little self control around dessert. It was a fun way to celebrate Glow’s birthday and I think everyone there would agree all the pies were insanely delicious. Also, having a pie party made my job a lot easier because I didn’t have to worry about baking any dessert (thank you to all our friends who made my life easier that day! You know I love you guys!). Call me a lazy party planner if you wish, but I think all the full tummies (and happy chatter) is proof enough that everyone had a good time! Now, I have a couple more months until I have to plan Glow’s 2nd birthday… I’m thinking something centered around bananas because those are her ultimate fave!
Here’s a little video my friend Ashley made of Glow’s happy day (thanks ashley!)…
Oh, i LOVE this! You always have the best ideas for birthdays xxxx
You are a birthday party rock star!
I started reading your blog when you had the little red riding hood party, and I fell in love.
It has been a joy to see your family grow. Thanks for always being REAL with us.
It is completely inspiring to see your love for God and your family.
So…thanks 🙂
-Mandi
What a great looking party! Loved seeing all the warmth and kind and fun spirits of everyone in the video, too. Very uplifting to watch. You have such a unique ability to make everything so creative and pretty. Love seeing your ideas!
Such a fun idea for a party! YUM! That video is also great and a perfect memory of the day!
Those pies look amazing, what a fantastic idea!
Hi – in a word – AWESOME!
Can you tell me the name and singer of the song in the video? It’s stuck in my head and won’t leave!
The song is I’m From Barcelona by Treehouse!
what a cute party! the pie contest looks like it was loads of fun!
What a fun party idea! I love that this party really involved all of the guests and that you kept them guessing who the judges were, too! And all of those pies are SOOOO gorgeous! I’m a huge pie fan and I would have loved tasting all of them! 🙂
I WANT TO HAVE A PIE PARTY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cute cute and more cute, all of it! xo
Any chance of getting the s’mores pie recipe from whomever made it??
i love this! what a great idea! i get so intimidated about food at parties, so this would be great + the added fun of a winner and secret judges! i love the banana theme too- reminds me of my now 11 year old loving bananas so much that she called the grocery store the “nana store”. 🙂
my daughter was pretty big on bananas when she was 1 going on 2, so for her 2nd birthday i let her pick the cake and she said she wanted a “cow nana cake” haha, so i made a chocolate banana cake that looked like a cow! it was a big hit. I am in love with this pie party idea! happy birthday glow!
This is such an awesome idea for a party, especially if you have a million friends who love to bake, like I do. That blueberry chiffon sounds amazing.
Oooh. Ruby… Can you have Liz share her recipe??? Purdy please!
Hugs, Susan
I asked her (and the others), so once I gather them from my friends, I will share it!
Oh my goodness, so much good stuff in one post! Looks like tons of fun!
super-cute idea!!
This is such a fun idea! I love it!!
I can’t believe Miss Glow is 1 already! Give her a hug and a kiss from us! What a great party!
This is super cute and amazing!
LOL did Brave blow out Glow’s candle?
Oh such beautiful decorations! Happy birthday, Glow!
xo Lisa
Making Life’s Lemons
this is such a precious idea! who doesn’t love pie!
kristen
mikie and kristen
Hi could you please share where you bought the black and white patio umbrella? Thanks!
What a feel good movie, makes me all happy inside!!
you are so creative! I LOVE this theme, will you share your recipes please. Glow is such a great name and as always your photos are perfect. Oh, and you have lovely handwriting!
I love seeing your parties! They are always so gorgeous and filled with creativity 🙂 Happy 1st Birthday Glow!
Yes, please share the song name/artist, umbrella (I’ve been dying to get one of these!), and, were those personalized tattoos? If so, where did you find those?
Love you Bratcher Family!
Hi Becky! The tattoos were personalized stamps from Danni from Oh, Hello Friend. She had them made for the girls, but I’m sure she can order them if you ask her!
perfect, beautiful, simple, special
Your family seems like so much fun. I love this idea!
Ruby Ellen, can you share the recipe for the winning pie?? And any other of those yummy-looking pies?
I’m asking my friends for the recipes, so once I get them, I will share them!
You have stolen a bit of my heart with this lovely party! My love of pie runs deep (I even have a blog dedicated to making and sharing pie). Now to convince my boys they want a pie party for their next birthday….
Happy birthday Glow!
Erin
http://www.bakesomebodyhappy.com
I am TOTALLY doing this for my birthday next month! Thanks for the inspiration, Ruby!