Vanessa Lachey shares how she makes her kids’ birthday parties filled with joy, interview

Kinder Joy Birthday Party celebrations, photo provided by Kinder Joy
Kinder Joy Birthday Party celebrations, photo provided by Kinder Joy /
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When it comes to kids’ birthday parties, parents understand that the celebration is more than just a few hours of fun. From incorporating a festive theme to sharing with guests a token of gratitude, it is the whole experience that makes the gathering special. For Vanessa Lachey, she has a great idea to add a little more joy to the event by unwrapping the candy and toy that brings smiles all around.

Recently, Kinder Joy released new Birthday Pack. The 15 Kinder Joy eggs are packaged in such a way that it makes an easy, convenient, and tasty post-party gift for guests.

As part of the announcement, Kinder Joy partnered with Vanessa Lachey. During a recent interview with Foodsided, the celebrated actress and mom shared some of her favorite family birthday memories, some birthday traditions, and why showing party guests gratitude with a party favor is extra sweet.

In the Lachey household, birthday parties have been part of the kids’ celebrations. While one of her son’s first birthday parties might have been more of a celebration of her husband’s love of Cincinnati baseball, she appreciates that any event needs to have an element of fun for everyone.


As she recalled some of her favorite birthday party themes over the years, each one is geared toward her children’s personalities. Vanessa shared that her youngest son, Phoenix, has a Christmas Eve birthday, “so he’s always the gingerbread house tradition and the gingerbread cake and all things Christmas.” In contrast, her daughter prefers a party with “friends with a couple of little animals and petting zoos.”

Although those party ideas are reality straight forward, her son Camden had one party that sounded epic. Vanessa said, “Camden is my first born and so I have the most fun with his. My favorite was we did a ‘Camden ninja warrior party.’ And, because I was working at Universal Kids during Top Chef Jr. at the time, we were able to get the American Ninja Warrior blow up obstacle course and I was able to get Akbar to the house to actually call out what Camden was during throughout the course… I’ll never be able to top that!”

While many people, including adults, would jump at the chance to have a Ninja Warrior party, the party is only one party of the birthday celebration. Sometimes having certain traditions that are carried out year after year are moments that the kids really look forward to celebrating.

When asked about her family’s birthday traditions, Vanessa said, “Every year for the kids birthday, I do the same thing. I decorate the entire table with balloons, confetti, happy birthday signs, streamers. So when they wake up and they come down and they have breakfast, they start their day out with the biggest smile on their face. And I know some people do the tradition of going into the rooms at night. My kids, some of them are light sleepers, so that would never work. And the pickup is different because sometimes I’m working and sometimes Nick is working… So we always know that the morning of the birthday, we make it a priority to be here as a family and to have it decorated.”

She continued, “I think that it starts their day out on a positive note and that excites me, it excites them. So that’s something that I will continue to do forever and ever. And behind them, I do a picture of every year of their birthday. For the first couple years, we didn’t have a lot. I just did pictures of the year. I probably have 15 pictures of things that happened that year and for Camden’s recent birthday I had a picture of his first, second, third all the way through current birthdays, so he can look through. He’s like, I remember that one. I remember that one. I remember that one. So, pictures of either their year or all of the years as they can see themselves growing is another touch too that I love.”

Kinder Joy birthday party celebrations
Kinder Joy Birthday Party celebrations, photo provided by Kinder Joy /

Those sentimental moments seem to capture that birthdays are less about stuff and more about enjoying another year together. When throwing a birthday party, that idea of gratitude for people coming to join the event is important.

Although it might seem like just another item on the check-off list, favor gift bags for guests are more than just another trinket. It is a way for the host to show appreciation for everyone gathering together.

When asked about party favorites, Vanessa said “I think little birthday favor bags are not only fun, but it’s a fun lesson to. It’s a fun way for your friends to leave and feel excited that they came to share that with you.”

For a recent event, Vanessa and her daughter offered the Kinder Joy Eggs. While everyone had the same goodie bag, everyone gets their own candy and toy. Since the toys can be different, it creates a way for the kids to interact and see the different options.” Whether it is a birthday party, school event, or just another reason, the Kinder Joy package is an easy, convenient, and popular choice.

For the next party, gathering, or just because, consider the Kinder Joy birthday pack. A celebration does not require candles, but sharing a fun treat with friends can be a gift that keeps on giving.