Behind the Borrow: A Frozen Birthday at 16 Handles
By Collect Sisu | Behind the Borrow · 9 min read
Parker and Anna's joint Frozen birthday at 16 Handles — two best friends, one Elsa, $686 each
The brief wrote itself. Two best friends, both turning four, both obsessed with Frozen. One party, two families, one Elsa.
Parker and Anna’s joint birthday was held at 16 Handles — the froyo shop with a dedicated party space, snowflake-printed walls, and enough blue and purple to make the Frozen theming feel genuinely built-in. No balloon arch required. The venue did most of the visual work before a single decoration was hung.
Two families split the planning and the bill down the middle. Total cost: $1,373.41. Per family: $686.71.
Here’s how it came together.
The Venue: 16 Handles
16 Handles is best known as a self-serve froyo chain, but their party space is a genuinely good option for the 3-to-6 set — particularly for any child with a Frozen obsession. The walls of the party room are covered in a snowflake and ice crystal print in shades of blue and purple, the lighting is warm, and the space is sized right for a group of young children and their parents without feeling cramped or overwhelming.
The venue package at $550 included the space rental and the cake. The tip for 16 Handles staff was an additional $40, bringing the venue total to $590. Split between two families, that’s $295 each for a fully Frozen-decorated room with no setup required on the aesthetic side.
What the venue provides: the space, the froyo (available to guests during the party), and the cake. What you bring: food, drinks, entertainment, decorations, and any personal touches. The division is clean and the setup time is minimal — the walls are already doing the work.
The Decorations
The Frozen walls meant the decoration brief was simple: lean into what’s already there and add the personal layer on top. Small heart-shaped mirrors were placed on the blue bench seating along one wall — each child’s first discovery when they sat down. Elsa and Anna capes hung from the gift table shelf along the wall, one for every guest, in shimmering blue and white tulle.
The gift table ran along one wall beneath the shelf: colorful gift bags stacked and arranged, birthday banners above. The capes hanging beneath the shelf turned the gift wall into the favor display simultaneously — every child could see their cape from anywhere in the room and knew it was coming home with them.
At the cake table: a “Happy Birthday” bunting banner, the birthday cake centered in front of it, two birthday girls in their Elsa dresses leaning in for the candles. Total decoration spend: $60.90 for decorations, plates, and utensils combined.
Elsa
The entertainment was an Elsa performer — she arrived in full costume, completely in character, and the room changed the moment she walked in.
For two four-year-olds with a birthday party centered on Elsa, the moment of arrival was everything. The performer sang, led the kids in games, and interacted with Parker and Anna and every other child in the room.
At $350 total — $175 per family — the Elsa performer was the single line item that every child at the party will remember. The froyo is long gone. The capes are probably in a dress-up bin somewhere. The moment she walked through the door is not forgotten.
On booking entertainment through Collect Sisu The Elsa performer from this party is available to book on Collect Sisu. Find her — and other character performers for kids’ parties in NYC — at collectsisu.com.
The Food
Food was brought in rather than provided by the venue: pizza and salad at $214, covering the kids and parents. Booze for the adults at $68.35 — because a room full of four-year-olds meeting Elsa is genuinely more enjoyable with a drink in hand. Paper goods at $67.31 handled plates, napkins, and cups in the party’s color scheme.
The cake was included in the 16 Handles package. The birthday crowns — $22.85 for the set — went to Parker and Anna at cake time.
The food split cleanly between two families: $107 each for the pizza and salad, $34 each for drinks. The total food and drink spend per family was under $200.
The Joint Party Math
The joint birthday is one of the most underused strategies in NYC kids’ party planning. Two children with a close friendship, birthdays near enough to share a date, and two families willing to plan together — the result is a party that’s bigger, more fun, and half the cost for each family.
What splitting actually saves
The venue, the Elsa performer, and the food are all costs that don’t scale linearly with two kids — you’re not paying twice for Elsa, you’re paying once and splitting it. The 16 Handles space fits the same number of guests whether it’s one birthday or two. The pizza feeds the same room.
Parker’s family and Anna’s family each paid $686.71 for a venue, a live Elsa performance, pizza, drinks, decorations, and a cake. A solo version of the same party would have been the full $1,373.41.
Full Cost Breakdown
| Category | Total | Per Family | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Handles venue + froyo | $550.00 | $275.00 each | Includes tip $40 |
| Elsa entertainment (available on Collect Sisu) | $350.00 | $175.00 each | Deposit + balance |
| Food — pizza and salad | $214.00 | $107.00 each | |
| Booze | $68.35 | $34.18 each | |
| Paper goods | $67.31 | $33.66 each | |
| Decorations, plates, utensils | $60.90 | $30.45 each | |
| Crowns | $22.85 | $11.43 each | |
| Cake | Included | — | Via 16 Handles |
| TOTAL | $1,373.41 | $686.71 each |
Hosting Tips from This Party
Find a venue where the walls do the work. The Frozen theming at 16 Handles meant the decoration budget could be minimal and the room still looked completely on-theme from the moment guests walked in. When choosing a venue for a themed party, look for spaces that already have a visual identity your theme can lean into. You’re not fighting the room — you’re building on it.
Capes as favors, hung as decoration. The Elsa and Anna capes served as the favor display and the room decoration simultaneously. Hung along the gift table wall, they were visible to every child from the moment they arrived. A favor that’s also decor is always a good decision — it does double duty and builds anticipation throughout the party.
The joint party is the most underrated move in NYC. Two families, one venue, one entertainer, one cake. Everything that’s expensive about a kids’ birthday party in New York splits in half. The guest list gets bigger and more fun. The planning load is shared. For two children who are genuine best friends, the party is better for both of them than a solo party would have been.
One performer, two birthday girls. Elsa didn’t need to be doubled for a joint party. One performer in a room of two birthday children and their friends is actually better than solo — the dynamic between two best friends both having their Elsa moment, at the same time, in the same room, is something you can’t manufacture with a single birthday. Book one great performer and let the moment happen.
Let the froyo be the activity. 16 Handles is a froyo venue. The froyo is part of the party experience — it’s an activity, a conversation, a moment of excitement for every child. Choosing a venue where the space does some of the entertainment work means you need less on top of it. Elsa plus froyo is a complete party program for four-year-olds.
Find character performers, entertainment, and everything else for a kids’ birthday party at collectsisu.com
Behind the Borrow is a series featuring real events from the Collect Sisu community. Want to see your event featured? Get in touch.