Mazzy is nothing if not specific, so when she said she wanted her birthday party in an ice cream shop, I set out to find one that would host about twenty 7-year-old girls at a reasonable price. But Mazzy wasn’t done with her requests. “Are we going to get to sell the ice cream?”

“Like work behind the counter?”

“Yes.”

“No. I don’t think any store is going to let you do that.”

“Then what are we going to do there besides eat ice cream???”

“Uhhhh…I don’t know. This was your idea!”

After a bit more research, I found an ice cream shop/party venue called Cool Mess on the Upper East Side.

“Hey, Mazzy…what if I found a birthday party place where you could make the ice cream?”

“Do we get to eat the ice cream we make?”

“I would think so…”

“Then— YES!”

We had a winner. Cool Mess might be a little bit of a trek for my downtown friends but I made sure to tell everyone it was drop-off and only a few blocks from Bloomingdales to ensure that people showed up.

The place also turned out to be an Instagram Dream, with tons of backgrounds for photo ops, including a bright pink wall. Here’s Mazzy looking extremely confident that everyone’s going to have fun at her party.

My favorite thing about Cool Mess is that there is no need to bring in any party decor. They have candy colored chairs and supply balloons and tableware to match. Planning birthday parties really does get easier as the kids get older.

When we arrived, there were placemats and crayons on the table for the kids to color while waiting for everyone to get settled.

Adults were able to order drinks served from the adjacent bar downstairs. (WOOHOO!) I look huge in this picture but I’m hoping it’s because I am sitting next to two very tiny people.

The kids started the party by eating pizza and then we quickly moved on to the big event— ice cream making. This involved pouring vanilla and chocolate cream into some sort of cooling mixer.

After all the kids finished breathing on it, Mazzy got to pick a few mix-ins from the candy wall to toss in as well. Did I mention there was a candy wall?

Her first pick was those wax bottles with the liquid in them and I was like, “Mazzy, you could not possibly pick a worse ice cream topping to throw into a mixer.” She conceded and selected gummy bears and M&M’s instead. Once blended, they topped it all off with whipped cream.

Then it was time to eat.

And for more photo ops.

Mazzy asked me what “What happens at Cool Mess stays at Cool Mess” means and I was like “Uhhhh…You can eat more ice cream than you would normally eat and not regret it later.”

There was even some dabbing. Which, for the record, I really don’t understand.

After that was over— MORE ICE CREAM!

One of the great things about an ice cream party is that there is no need to spend extra money on a cake. It’s a little overkill. Cool Mess just makes your kid a huge ass sundae and sticks a sparkler in it. Mazzy was THRILLED.

So were all the kids who got to share it with her.

If you noticed Harlow’s tears in the last pic, Mazzy’s birthday is always a rough day for her. She was okay for most of the party but then got upset because she wasn’t next to her big sister when she blew out her candles. But don’t worry. She managed to get right in there in time for ice cream and instantly felt better.

I swear.

After that, each kid got to take a plastic container to fill with candy from the candy wall to bring home as their goodie bag.

Sugar overload complete.

Oh wait? We actually took a semi-decent family shot! Well, if Harlow was looking…

After all the guests had left, I asked Mazzy if she had fun at her party.

“YES!!!!! IT WAS THE BEST PARTY!!!!!!!!” she screamed.

Then she took it down a notch, touched my arm and looked me in the eye to get her point across. “No, seriously, Mom. It was the best party.”

I believed her the first time, but it was nice to get the confirmation from the new grown-up version of my daughter too.

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All photos taken by Abby Copleston.