Five years ago, this amazing girl came into my life and completely changed it! This year, we decided to do something totally different for birthdays and have a simple family party. Even though fifth birthdays are one of the big first memories children have, I wanted her time with us to be what she remembered most. Check out what we enjoyed most about our simple 5th birthday celebration!

Our Simple 5th Birthday Celebration

One major advantage of having a simple celebration was that all the money we usually put towards decorations and a venue went directly towards our activities for the day and gifts. Not to mention, our whole family came down with the latest terrible bug that’s going around. Keeping things simple made the day easier on all of us, but it was still super fun.

Riding the Carousel

First, Georgie’s biggest wish for the day was to ride the carousel at the mall. Since the carousel sends out coupons for children’s birthdays, this activity was totally free! This was all she had wanted for her birthday, and I was so happy to make her wish come true!

Seeing The Easter Bunny

When we went downstairs to see the Easter Bunny, the photographers were still setting up and finishing with a previous customer. This gave us the opportunity to get some festive photos.

Her older sister wasn’t that excited to see the Easter bunny, but Georgie was thrilled. She hasn’t taken many photos with the Easter Bunny at the mall before, so I was happy to capture this moment.

Visit To The Disney Store

Her next big request was a visit to the Disney Store. Her dad promised her one special gift, whatever she wanted. She was so happy to see the Mickey Mouse sign that she gave him a hug!

Simple 5th Birthday Celebration Meal

To go along with the simple 5th birthday celebration theme, she requested blueberry pancakes with a side of delicious maple vegan sausages for dinner. This meal required almost no prep time, and she loved it!

Birthday Party Gifts

For gifts, she got her favorite characters! She also enjoyed having a large balloon with her favorite princess and a banner that her sister colored for her.

Several of her favorite gifts were American Girl items for her collection! She loves collecting dolls of all kind and it’s fun being able to dress them up.

One big surprise was getting the adorable Emerson doll. Since she often plays the Wellie Wishers app, she was excited to get the doll and some picture books to explain the doll’s story! We can’t wait to read them and play with the dolls together.

Something I like about the Wellie Wisher dolls is that they’re smaller than the full size American Girl dolls, which makes them just right for the little hands of a five year old. Another reason the dolls are great for this age is that their stories focus on friendship. Since kindergarten is next year, making friends is a big lesson at this age.

Emerson is a dancer and singer who loves the spotlight. She wears the wellie boots that all the Wellie Wishers wear, but hers are made to look like a ballerina’s toe shoes. She wears a striped dancer’s top and a shimmery, bright pink skirt with silvery dots and purple stars.

5th Birthday Cake

We ended the birthday with a delicious custom carrot cake with classic princesses on top. Not only did the cake look nice, but it also tasted fantastic!

Who knows what she wished for this year, but hopefully all her dreams will come true! This was one of my favorite birthdays not only because it was so simple to plan, but also because we really focused on what mattered. We spent time together, did a few simple activities, and didn’t worry about much!

If you’re thinking of planning a simple 5th birthday party, I highly recommend it. At first, I worried that the memories of this day would pale in comparison to her sister’s, which was a traditional kid’s party with several friends and a piñata, but we had the best time with this being just us.

You also might enjoy reading Clark’s Elioak Farm Brings Magic To Your Birthday Party Celebration.

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Disclosure: I received a free item, but it in no way influenced my opinion.