Hey mamas! Today I get to share my older son Dashiell’s 4th birthday with you. This is the party that I swore was going to be low key, that *wasn’t* going to appear here on Cakelet, that was just going to be a simple pizza-making party for a few of his friends at our favorite family restaurant. Hmmmmmm. We all know how that turned out, don’t we? Fast forward to the day before the party when I’m making and canning homemade pizza sauce for favors. Once you get started it’s hard to stop!

We decided to have Dash’s birthday at our favorite (and his) pizza spot, Pitfire. We walk through our neighborhood to have dinner here almost every Saturday, and we knew it would be a fun and comfortable place to celebrate a family party. Plus, bonus, for the first time ever a birthday party NOT at our house. Hallelujah!

Pitfire hosts pizza-making parties for kids, which was totally perfect for Dash, who loves pizza like no other food. And perfect for me since I didn’t have to plan anything. Oh, except all of the decor which naturally took on a life of it’s own. I will never learn.

After Forrest’s fiesta 1st birthday, I’ve officially become obsessed with making piñatas. So for this party, there was only one option… a giant slice of pizza! I used the Oh Happy Day tutorial again, and made some fun geometric garlands following this DesignLoveFest tutorial. My guys even helped! Or maybe I should say “helped”?

For the table, I used a roll of kraft paper and everyone’s favorite IKEA tea towels, plus a few messy, bright floral arrangements set in San Marzano tomato cans. (I saved the cans from the pizza-sauce making project.)

Each kiddo got a paper lunch sack stuffed with a hand-painted apron, pizza sauce, pizza dough recipe, jelly beans, and a matchbox car. For the name tags, I quickly watercolored different patterns (polka dots, gingham, and stripes) on card stock and wrote each child’s name using sharpie. Quick and dirty but it turned out cute!

There’s my little guy enjoying a cold beverage.

Dash had the best time getting wild with his friends on the patio. Not sure Pitfire knew exactly what was coming!

That little girl on the right? Total photo-bomber! Everyone is friends at Pitfire.

For the pizza making class, they set us up at the marble bar in front of the pizza oven. I think our group was a teensy bit on the young side for this kind of activity, but all of the kids really got into it which was really cute.

They tagged each pizza and kid with a number and then delivered the pizzas out to our table for a big pizza feast.

Which ultimately included jelly bean toppings. Note to self: Do not let the kids get into the favors *before* the party is over! I’m always learning in both the roles of mother and party-thrower.

We had a local bakery make a simple strawberry naked cake. First time ever I haven’t made this carrot cake for a birthday party. Another huge relief. It turns out you just don’t have to do it all!

Most importantly, Dash had a super fun day. And I didn’t have to do any clean up! Can’t recommend finding a local restaurant that you know well to host your kiddo’s party. Especially in the winter when you know your guests will most likely be inside.

Thanks for reading everyone!

xx, Kristina

Photos: Scott Clark Photo / Venue: Pitfire Pizza / Cake: Hotcakes Bakes / Decor: DIY