Big Screen Birthday

Last week was my only child's 16th birthday, so we figured a party was in order. We held the party in our backyard. Once the sun went down, the temperatures were comfortably in the 90s and it was breezy. The kids played video games and watched movies on a giant screen, listened to music, hung out in the pool, and had a terrific time.

The screen was 16'x9' and the sound system rocked! We notified neighbors that we'd be having this party and we had a fun-filled evening with no complaints from residents and no visits by the police. The company providing the entertainment is called Celestial Nights Family Entertainment. Celestial Nights is owned by a Goodyear resident, but provide services all over - even out of state. I'd encourage anyone looking for a fun and different activity for special occasions, fundraisers, or block parties to given them a call. The owner's name is Charles. Tell him Your Place Gourmet Personal Chef Service sent you!


In addition to the fabulous entertainment of the evening, another huge hit was the delicious cupcakes. My friend, Amy, is an ultra-talented wedding cake baker and I asked her to make the cupcakes for the party. I told her a variety of flavors would be fine and let her choose.

Amy made four different flavors of cupcakes and frosting: Yellow cake with chocolate buttercream; White cake with vanilla buttercream; Chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream; and Pink Lemonade cake with vanilla buttercream. I had never tried pink lemonade cake before, and I have to say, it could be my new favorite! The hubby also took a liking to the pink lemonade, so now I'll have competition for the leftovers. My 16-year-old, however, said he could not choose a favorite as he loved them all!

The rest of the food for the evening was simple, teen-friendly party fare. We had pizza, meatballs, buffalo chicken dip, veggie platters, and other various munchies.