This post is sponsored by On-The-Go Gourmet.

Our little lady just turned 1, and we pulled out all the stops with a come-as-you-are, let’s-just-have-fun flamingo birthday celebration.

A long time ago, I decided that I would enjoy all my kids’ birthday parties.

I shouldn’t even have to say that.

But in our Pinterest era of mothering — where every party favor, food item and kid outfit is perfectly choreographed, photographed, filtered, edited and posted on social media– it’s a pretty outrageous to just say ‘screw the perfect party, and let’s just enjoy ourselves.’

Since I’m in a season of ‘good enough,’ I’ve made a bold decision to try to dwell in the moment with my family during these special days, instead of worrying that every party favor, balloon and glass is perfectly placed and perfectly posted.

Which brings me to Huntington Jane’s birthday.

Being that she is my last baby and my only girl, I basically invited everyone in the world.

And then the forecast called for a monsoon.

Guess what?

IT. WAS. FINE.

It was good enough.

Actually, it was more than good enough.

It was an amazing day.

Because we were all inside, I cancelled the bounce house and added a hot chocolate bar.

What does this mean? It means I warmed some milk, mixed in some hot chocolate packets, put it in a dispenser and raided my pantry for some marshmallows and pink sprinkles.

I’m pretty sure there was a kid at that spigot the whole party.

Next to it, I mixed up some “Frozen Flamingoes” and poured it in a glass canister. (That’s just a fancy name for $4 worth of Crystal Light pink lemonade and Fresca. Much cheaper than juice boxes!)

It was fun. It was easy. It was good enough.

Hands down, the best decision I made was working with Vivian with On-The-Go Gourmet for the food.

I’ve never had a party fully catered before (except for Kendall’s Dragon’s Love Tacos 1st birthday where we hired a taco truck), so having Vivian come into my kitchen and prepare, serve and clean up all of the food was truly a gift from flamingo heaven.

About a month before the party, I told her the theme, and she emailed me about 20 ideas for food items. Her items were creative, witty and kid-accessible, and I chose 1 main, 2 sides and 3 desserts.

We had:

✔️ Chicken & Waffles

✔️ Mac ‘N Cheese Bites

✔️ Watermelon & Strawberry Skewers

The chicken and waffles were delicious and fun, the mac n’ cheese bites were unexpected and easy-to-eat, and the watermelon and strawberry skewers rounded out the plate with a pink pop of flamingo fun. All of it was delicious and satisfying!

(And once everyone was gone, there was also a ton of food left, which Vivian let me keep, which was another added bonus. So now, my freezer is full of fried chicken fingers and mac n’ cheese bites, which are great for busy weeknights for the kids, and frozen fruit, which I’ve been using for smoothies.)

For dessert, we had:

✔️ “Watermelon” Cupcakes

✔️ “Watermelon” Cake Pops

✔️ Pineapple Cookies

All of it was made from scratch. My favorite were the cake pops because they were more like dense, buttery donuts. Yum!

Vivian truly made the whole day feel personal and special. She even thanked me at the end of the party for letting her “experience our family,” and started crying as she explained how she loved watching our 3 boys because it reminded her of her 3 godsons, who she adopted 10 years ago and has been raising every since.

It was a special, simple and satisfying day.

It wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t extravagant, but we were surrounded by those we love and our little Hunnie was celebrated.

Although she didn’t eat a single bite of her smash cake. *still confused*

What’s your favorite way to celebrate your kids’ birthday parties? Share your easy tips on the Facebook page!

A huge thanks to Vivian with On-The-Go Gourmet for spoiling us with her delicious food and presence, and for sponsoring this post. If you live in the Tampa area, I highly recommend her for your next kid birthday party. She also does meal planning and prep, office parties, dinner parties in your home, and even in-house couples cooking classes. Check out her site, or just send her a text at 813-447-2988.