Homemade cupcakes, handmade gifts and a flash party

There is something unique and special about receiving an hand crafted gift how much ever small or simple it may be.  To know that, it is created specially for you  with lot of care and thoughtfulness  makes you feel special and loved.  

My daughter who is very creative makes such gifts for her friends on their birthdays. They get together to make homemade cakes , simple montages, collages , scrap book etc.,

Only this time it was her turn and what a surprise it was!

  This would be her last year at school and so we asked her many times if she wanted to throw a  party for her friends on her birthday. She was clear that she did not want  a party but wanted to donate money to an oldage home run by Ramana Maharishi trust which she visited last year @ Hosur.  So, we decided to have a quiet family celebration. 

 Her bro  who woke her up at the stroke of 12  was the first to wish her. I and her dad woke her up early in the morning at 6 to the aroma of homemade chocolate cup cakes.It did not match her Melanie's aunty's Chocolate haven cakes which have fondants and are very expensive but the cup cakes were edible and were gone in a trice and yes she loved it.  Wishes and blessings  from her grand parents, grand aunts, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends etc followed...... all called  her over phone  except her close friend of 12 years who studied with her from Grade 1.

                                     Home baked eggless whole wheat cup cakes


As is tradition,  we decided to have a temple visit and a family outing and dinner.  We started the day with a visit to the temple.  At the temple, we paid for the 'annadanam' for oct 2nd  and drove back home.  The outing was planned for evening  since she had weekend coaching classes to attend in the noon. She also had loads to study for her term exams and her coaching homework to do. That is how our weekends have been this year, very inactive socially, thanks to her board exam preparations.  we have no weekend outings or travel schedules planned as her study plans are hectic and the school works even during vacations. 

 We returned home to get into our  weekend routine when I got a call from her best friend V, enquiring if we were at home.  The phone call alerted me and I  immediately started my party work thinking that i will have 2 of her friends for lunch.

30 minutes from then, not 2 but  12 of her friends surprised  us with their presence.  The party began with  birthday wishes, birthday bump, a beautifully made biscuit cake  by her friend V and a handmade timeline book  with colored handmade sheets, lgifts and lot of gupshup.

                 

It was a  surprise for her because it not only included her school mates but also two of her close apartment friends. The two girls had co-ordinated with her school friends to give her a birthday surprise.

The whole house turned into a flash party zone with 12 teens.  All these while, my husband and I were thinking how to entertain the children, i was prepared to handle 6 but suddenly preparing for 12 would need some planning and to boot it was almost lunch time.  Soon after, two more of her school mates who stayed close by came in.

We now had to take the call. 14 teens cannot be entertained suddenly for a  party at home  and so we told my daughter to host the party at a nearby Chinese restaurant and forego her coaching class.

What was  supposed to be a quiet family celebration turned out to be huge party for my dot who turned 17 yesterday, an unplanned party at that.   A day for her to remember and for us too. 

Anything  I write about this 17 year old whom i have known for extra 9 months, and you will be reading  a proud mama's thoughts, I will spare you that and rest my post here:)

 My dot( in pink and white)  and  her best friend of 12 years V( in blue)  on their school sports day Dec 2004 . Chief guest Sania Mirza soon after  her Wimbledon junior win.

The scrap book which has her time line from the year of her birth till date.  There are lovely quotes about her , and describes her values  along with printouts of her photos taken from her birth. totalling 12 pages. 

                   

BTW, in my previous post, my hit stats should read 1,30,000+, By mistake i added an extra zero( i have edited it now) . Hope you guys overlooked that.

(will ETA cake photos)