Vivi’s birthday is May 7th and this year she turned 6! Gone are the chubby rolls and the loose baby curls. (Also gone are her teeth- she’s already lost 3!). Although baby and toddlerhood are behind us, she’s blossomed into a sweet, sensitive, imaginative and very playful little girl.

I haven’t thrown big birthday parties for her since she turned 1, but since she’s developed really great friendships with her kindergarten classmates this year, I decided a little low key celebration with her friends was in order. We decided a Rainbow Unicorn themed dance party was a fantastic option, obviously, and since the party was a couple days before her actual birthday, on May 5th, a splash of Cinco de Mayo just felt right.

The venue was Downtown Dance Factory, where Vivi has taken ballet, tap and hip hop. Hip hop is by far her favorite. We picked a playlist of her favorite songs and the kids danced and jumped around for about 45 minutes…

After the dance party was over, the kids headed into another studio for pizza and cake at a long table set for a rainbow unicorn Cinco de Mayo princess. I found the pinatas at Target and the plates, napkins, cups etc at Homegoods upstate.

Downtown Dance Factory supplied some of the balloons and I supplemented with mylar ones from The Balloon Saloon. I bought carnations at Trader Joes in a rainbow of colors and put them in little bud vases for an additional festive touch. Carnations aren’t usually my first floral pick but they are a hearty and colorful option for a kid’s birthday party. They also closely resemble the tissue paper flowers traditionally used for Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

My mom provided the unicorn cake and butterfly cookies for the goody bags from our favorite bakery upstate which were definitely crowd pleasers. Last but not least, we tied up one of the pinatas so each kid could have a crack at it. It was hysterical to watch. Candy everywhere!! Needless to say, we were all adequately sugared up by the end of the party and everyone, especially the birthday girl, had a wonderful time.