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Birthday girl celebrates in Kayla-land
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Kayla shows off her fancy Kayla-land cake ,created by Kim Hamilton.
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Kayla Jadue (center) and her party guests got manicures and pedicures before her prom-themed birthday party. Those getting pampered, from left, were Sophia Berarducci, Kaitlyn Mesaros, Jadue, Josie Madinicky and Emma Hamilton.
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Kayla greets her grandmother Linda O'Neill (left) and great-grandmother Elizabeth Sylvester as they arrive for the party in color-coordinated outfits to match the party's theme.
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Kayla Jadue posed in front of Kayla-land sign made to decorate for her Candyland Prom birthday party.
By ERIC HAMILTON
Kayla Jadue spent her seventh birthday traveling through the Candy Cane Forest and over Gum Drop Mountain — all in her own back yard.
The Boardman girl celebrated her big day June 18 with 27 other children from all over the Valley, who enjoyed a visit to Kayla-land. The party theme was “A Candyland Prom” and featured colorful decorations, formal attire and plenty of sweet treats.
In addition to Boardman, guests were from Austintown, Canfield, Poland and other communities.
“It was crazy,” said Kayla.
The birthday girl’s mom, Kelly, put the event together. It was one of many themed parties she’s known for hosting for family, friends and neighbors. She gave Kayla her choice of a theme for this year’s party and then went to work to create a prom based on the theme of Candyland.
“I get made fun of in my family for my themed parties,” she admitted. “I always have carnival-type parties for birthdays or just in the summer. All summer, there are kids over here. There’s always Capri Sun and chicken nuggets at our house.
“I let Kayla choose what she wanted and she said a prom. I asked my son [Nicholas] if he’d dress up, but he said ‘no way.’ So I found these tux shirts online and gave them to the boys as gifts. They thought they were hilarious and they put them on for the party.”
While boys embraced their formal wear, the girls attended the party in their Sunday best. The girls arrived about two hours early and were treated to manicures and pedicures before the boys showed up.
There was music, karaoke, a disco ball and a special Candyland dance floor inside a tent in the back yard.
“The boys laughed really hard at the shirts, but they wore them,” said Kayla, who is a second-grader at St. Christine’s. “They took that crazy picture, too. I liked getting my nails painted and doing my hair.”
Kelly pulled out all the stops to make the party memorable, including a fancy cake, decorations and gifts for the guests. But despite all the expense, she made sure Kayla learned a valuable lesson.
“I told her, it’s nice to get gifts, but it’s also nice to give back, too,” said Kelly. “She used some of her birthday money to buy something for herself. But she’s taking $50 to buy an Alex’s Lemonade stand and will set that up at a soccer game to raise money for others.”
After hosting the Candyland Prom and several other neighborhood parties this summer, Kelly, a teacher in Warren, is ready to get back to school.
“It’s been fun,” she said. “But once I’m back in school, it’s going to be a lot cheaper than the summer was.”