Millennial Mom's 'Warped Four' Birthday Party for Her Twins Goes Viral with Its Warped Tour Touches (Exclusive)
The twin mom pulled out all the stops for a rockin' 4th birthday
A twin mom gave her little boys a punk-inspired birthday that the family will never forget.
Shelly, on TikTok as @shellykowatch, tells PEOPLE that the theme was inspired by her twin sons' budding musical tastes.
"Every time we're in the car, my husband has to play our music and usually our music is Blink-182. Simple Plan, more like rock music. The boys have really taken to it very well. Their favorite brand is Simple Plan. They love all their songs, especially 'I'm Just a Kid,' " she shares.
"So I took that and kind of rolled with it. The first thing I did was I ran to Pinterest for inspiration, as every mom does when planning a birthday party. We talked to them and they said they wanted to have a rock party and have fun with their friends. That's how we decided 'Warped Four' would be so perfect, just a big rock party."
Warped Four references the Warped Tour, a festival celebrating punk and alternative music that toured around the country each summer. (It's coming back in 2025, backers announced this week, after winding down in 2019.)
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The twin mom loved the many options at her disposal for décor, from lightning bolts to guitars. They had a "tattoos and tickles" station where the kids (and adults!) got fun temporary tattoos. She also enlisted the help of a party-planning neighbor to make every detail perfect.
"Her company is called Blossom Bounce, so she brought in a bounce house (labeled the 𝚗̶𝚘̶ mosh pit). And she used to go to Warped Tour every single year," Shelly shares.
The mom was pumped to work with a planner who was "equally excited to take on this party theme."
"She did our backdrop for us. She made all the decals and put everything on the bounce house. She made their VIP access lanyards, with their playlist on the back. She made all the signs for that tattoo station and everything. It was very creative and I owe a lot of this to her."
With her help, the family got everything together the day before the party.
"It took the whole day before to get everything set up, decorated, and into place. The day of, we just had to put the food out, which was very simple. We stuck to typical 4-year-old food — burgers, chicken nuggets, chips, candy, cookies," she says of the spread for 12 children and some of their adults.
"I think the best part about it was that it was not only fun for the kids, but the adults, especially all of us being millennials and so nostalgic and the adults loved it just as much."
The birthday boys had a blast and "loved" every minute of the day, mom adds.
"I got them little blow-up guitars and they loved them. We'd been practicing and my husband actually built a platform out of wood that they could party on and have a rock show. They just totally jammed out. They were so excited. They couldn't wait. They woke up extremely early and were ready to party. They're just waiting for all their friends to come over, so they could walk out on the stage."
Shelly documented the process, excited to share with her friends and later, with TikTok.
"I was showing all my friends throughout the process because I create content regularly. The day before, step by step, how I was setting everything up so they could follow along. Then after, I waited about a full week to upload anything because I needed time to edit the videos," Shelly says.
"It was really cute, and it definitely blew up. I had a feeling that it would get some attention just because it is such a unique birthday party theme."
Shelly is hopeful that people will be "inspired" by the theme.
"I was hoping this would be a very inspiring party to other moms or dads who might like the same. I was really surprised it went viral like that, though. I noticed there was a lot of positive feedback," she says.
"So many people who said, 'I wish I could do this for my birthday party as an adult. It brings back some nostalgic memories.' It was a lot of positivity."
As a mom, Shelly says, "The best part is making the memories."
"I think part of it is because I have twins and I know that some people could portray it as over-the-top, which I understand you definitely don't need an over-the-top party to be successful to have an amazing birthday party," she says.
"But I do have twins and look at is as two parties combined into one. I love to be able to give them big parties and just see that little faces light up. They probably won't get a party every year, but they loved it."
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