... Congrats on your Saveur award!!!

My 21st birthday several years ago, I wanted to throw a big bash, so I reserved part of The Redwood Bar in downtown Los Angeles. It's a pirate themed bar complete with antique sailing memorabilia and pirate decor. It's amazing.

In keeping with the theme, I wanted a pirate themed cake and party favors. So, I purchased a Lego pirate ship at a toy store along with eye patches, bandannas and fake swords. The pirate ship I turned over to a cake bakery called Cake Divas to incorporate it into a cupcake cake. But I couldn't just to pirates...I had them recreate the cake as "Pirates Vs. Gnomes" (I have a slight gnome obsession). They fitted a large circle base with the pirate ship and surrounded it with cupcakes, miniature pirate lego men and pirate booty like a treasure chest piped with icing and sprinkles to look like gold coins. They finished it off with a gnome that looked like it was attacking the pirate ship.

It was so memorable to have all of my friends get in the spirit, don their eye patches, say "argh matey" and devour that cake!

My mom made great cakes for my sister and me. However, the frosting always ran off my cake. Dad took movies of mom scooping up the frosting and pouring it back on the cake. When she was visiting for my 6oth birthday, she bought a cake at a market and guess what---the flowers decorating the cake slid off when we brought it in the house. Great memories and the cakes tasted great with or without the frosting.

For my 16th birthday my mom baked me a round layer cake (I don't remember what flavor). The top of the cake was covered with 16 different sugar paste roses (which she made herself) in beautiful colors. She showed up to my high school at lunch time with this beautiful cake, I'll never forget it! My mom was never a domestic goddess so this cake was a lot of work for her and it meant a lot to me.

My 6th birthday was peter pan themed. Everyone dressed up as their favorite character. Lots of lost boys, Indians, Pirates. I was Wendy and my childhood crush was Peter :P

A private party circa 1978 or so upstairs (before the cafe) at Chez Panisse where Alice Waters made the chocolate cake.....

I had a full-on formal dinner party for my 16th birthday! I set the table according to my 1920's etiquette book, and made the dinner myself. My dad wore his tux and was the "butler". My friends were all dressed up, and brought flowers and sparkling cider, so we got to get out the wine glasses. My siblings were "waiters" and served dinner. I was big into 19th century literature and culture when I was in high school, so this was the perfect party.

My 4th birthday I was, at the time, obsessed with Prince. My birthday theme was Purple Rain and everyone, including my grandfathers, had to wear purple. The cake, as always, was Carvel.

Our best birthday party was the one we threw for our daughter's first birthday 2 1/2 years ago. As first birthdays tend to do, we got carried away with the attendees and the menu which of course we did all ourselves; but was it delicious. We slow roasted a huge pork shoulder that we had to start the night before and which consequently kept us up most of the night tending to it. We took turns in shifts so we could get our respective rest. It was served with a make your own taco/burrito bar with homemade spanish rice, beans and all the traditional fixings. Desert was hummingbird cake cupcakes. Despite the ambitious menu-it was a memorable event for us with wonderful pictures and memories to share with our little girl as she gets older.

My twin sister and I turned 30 last year, and wanted to throw a Brazilian Bash... it was incredible. We contacted the city, partitioned-off the entire block, hired a samba band, had a taco truck come and cater, red velvet cupcakes, and fire dancers. the night couldn't have been better. With 150 friends and family, we had a night to remember.

My 4th birthday! I got to FINALLY be He-man (i'm a girl) ... it was awesome ... i still remember the birthday candle, best part

My daughter's birthday parties, the years we spring for a "big" party. They've always been great -- late September is such a beautiful time of year! Her first birthday, we had a picnic in the park with friends, and the food was awesome, everyone commented. We had spiced meatballs, potato salad, fresh figs and champagne grapes and lovely cheeses and gorgeous ham with biscuits. And for dessert, an Italian birthday cake.

When she turned 2, we went to a petting farm, and had huge pressed sandwich wedges, pasta salads, marinated vegetables, and a red velvet cake.

Her 3rd birthday, it was rainy and chilly, and so I made curried lamb pot pie and chicken and leek pot pie, with the susual assortment of breads, vegetables, salads and cheese. For dessert, she asked for a Hippopotamus cake, which I had a professional make.

This past year, we had a mini-carnival in our backyard. It was a blast. We had long frankfurters from the butcher, served inside french bread "ficelles", great popcorn, punches, red velvet cake. Everyone, the kids and parents, had a blast on that beautiful, warm sunny day.

We're still working on getting our son good parties to equal his sister's! (his birthday is NOvember 1st, so he doesn't have the weather going for him!)

When I was in fourth grade, my mom took five of my friends and I to a fancy local restaurant and we had high tea. We were all dressed up (including gloves--it was the mid 1960s when little girls still wore gloves when they dressed up), had tea, tea sandwiches, the works. We felt so grown up.

I work in a theater and spend most of my time in costume. I was a fairly new member of the company when we were doing a very long show with a large break in the middle of it. I would normally get out of costume as soon as I got off stage, leave the theater, then return a few hours later to complete the show. One performance landed on my birthday, and my dressing-room mates, knowing that I would leave the theater during the break, HID my street clothes, forcing me to stay for in the theater, where they threw me the most fun party I have ever had.