Having a sweet time

It’s my birthday and I’ll have a half celebration! Huh? Yup, that’s the new and ODD trend nowadays. No, it’s not having a downsized birthday, but just the opposite: celebrating twice a year.

Maybe that’s the better way to go…two birthday cakes, double the wishes and party fun. Wonder if some ladies would prefer this kind of celebration versus claiming a birthday week? That might be a tough one…

Half-birthdays: The latest middle-class trend
news:lite

Not content with their little darling only having one birthday each year, many parents have started celebrating “half birthdays” too.

The half-birthday celebration — which includes the usual parties and gift giving — is said to be the latest odd parenting trend.

Celebrated 182.5 days (half a year) after the real anniversary of a child’s birth, the parties have become a hit with middle-class families.

And firms cashing in on the trend have even started producing special “Happy Half Birthday” cakes and cards.

Sonya Trent, from Birmingham, whose 6-year-old daughter was recently invited to a half-birthday party, said: “It is ridiculous, who needs a celebration every six months. The worst part is that the parents expect presents for the kids, too.

“While I have no intention of having these stupid celebrations for my daughter, it’s hard to tell her she can’t go to someone else’s party.”
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What do you think? Cool or crazy? Is this just another way to commercialize our birthdays or a creative way to celebrate as we creep closer to old age?

Do you still remember what your best birthday was? Anyone celebrated in an ODD way?

And speaking of birthday cakes, wonder if half birthdays mean only half a cake? Or how about having cupcakes instead? Here’s a sweet option to consider. I attended a tweetup last night that featured exotic and ODD cupcakes.

Founded by Pearl City grads Gary Atud and Robert Vargas in March 2010 as a way to help raise funds for their children’s sports team trips, Yummycups is the newest cupcake craze to hit Oahu. The pair doesn’t even have a store yet and they can barely keep up with demand.

Robert, left, and Gary showing the cupcake samplers at a tweetup.

At a little more than $2 a cupcake, the continuously expanding line boasts flavors such as Chocolate/Skor, Coconut/Lime, Chai/Latte/Honey-Ginger, Red Velvet, Strawberry Mochi, Banana Cream, Pina Colada, Chocolate Haupia and Chocolate Peanut Butter.

And then there’s the pulled pork cupcake that includes corn bread, butter cream frosting, pulled pork and BBQ sauce.

Both Gary and Robert said their favorite flavor is the Filipino Delight, which is a white cupcake consisting of sweet potato, butter cream and sweetened shredded coconut. And there will soon be a line of “pupu-type” cupcakes out. Hmm, poke on top?

But when it comes to picking out the top three flavors, Gary told me there were six. The Tiramisu and Strawberry Mochi tied for first. The Tiramisu cupcake includes a “secret ingredient” that makes most people who normally don’t like tiramisu falling in love with this not-so-coffee-like dessert.

The Orange Dream and Pina Colada tied for second. Gary said Jamba Juice was his inspiration for the Orange Dream, which was one of the original flavors he concocted while Yummycups was in the early stages.

And tying for third place is the Chocolate Haupia and the Chocolate/Skor.

So besides all the ODD flavors, what makes these Yummycups cupcakes stand out? Gary, a firefighter who has a passion for cooking, says their cupcakes have just the right amount of sweetness. He has also noticed that lots of folks take off the frosting when eating a cupcake and he wanted to eliminate that. I’m usually guilty of that and I didn’t have to do that when eating their cupcakes.

I sampled the Nutter Butter, left, and Strawberry Mochi.

The frosting had that perfect balance of thickness and sweetness and the cupcake contained white chocolate morsels.

The Nutter Butter had a light peanut butter taste and contained chocolate morsels in the cupcake.

Here’s what some other Twitter folks sampled and what they had to say:

Sara tried the Pulled Pork cupcake. She was surprised to find out it was corn bread but said the unique flavors complemented each other.

Other comments from those who ate the Pulled Pork one came from Twitter folks Dallas Nagata: “If you’re not in a super sweet mood, I would get this” and Mel Sumida: “It’s not as strange as I thought it would be.”

Phillip enjoyed his first bite into the Chocolate Haupia.

He said it was a good balance of flavors and you could taste the nuances of both. “It seems like it would be heavy, but it’s pretty light,” he said.

Lindsey was eager to try the Chai/Latte/Honey-Ginger cupcake.

She said she never tasted anything like it before and was happy how the flavor was sweet, but not too sweet.

A closer look at the Chocolate Haupia and Chai/Latte/Honey-Ginger cupcakes.

Phillip, who also tried the Chai/Latte one, said he liked the little surprises in the cupcakes. “There a happy ending in all of them,” he said.

A big thanks to @electric_bamboo, standing right, for organizing the tweetup at Antonio’s NY Pizzeria in Kahala.

Until Yummycups finds the funding to open a store, you can place orders at yummycups@yahoo.com. There are about 30 different flavors and Gary and Robert put out six flavors a week. More information and pictures are posted on their Facebook page. Cupcakes are done for weddings, birthday parties and fundraisers.