The Best Birthday

There is one spot near our house we should have visited earlier: the Jardim Botanico. It is ridiculously close. I mean it is next to our neighbor's house! The entrance is a little up on the main road, so we need to take the cars (if we want to go with the kids), but it is really near when comparing to any other Brasilia distance.  And this is where today Noam's classmate had her birthday party. You already know how much I love these already. Yet I have to attest, this was the best birthday ever.
First, it was held in a garden. It means no fancy bars, bartenders. Out the overload of foods and beverages. The mom had covered a few picnic tables with plaid cottons, a few homemade cakes and snacks, and some juices. The tables were set near the playground. There was a couple of fabric banners - not your typical plastic ones with the effigy of a popular hero like Dora or Hello Kitty - but one made of fabric cut out and assembled by hand. And a couple playing guitar and interacting with the kids. That was it. No big table with a million candies. Rather, a great idea, a gingerbread house, that kids smashed with haste and happiness after the required "Parabens" (the local happy Birthday song). A few pieces of "real cake" were distributed from wicker baskets to all the parents who wished. And the thank you gift to the departing guests was a tin can with a few cookies and a few sunflower seeds to plant. An awesome idea!
The best is that this low-key, full energy birthday was a real hit with our kids. They loved it. And parents too, for once!