A 5-year-old wanted a Jimmy Carter birthday party. His mom delivers.
Lauren Ramos’ son, Ryan, likes the “typical boy stuff” — ninjas, dinosaurs, Spider-Man. But when planning his 5th birthday party, the little boy wanted it to be all about his favorite U.S. president.
On Saturday, the New Jersey family celebrated Ryan, who proudly ate a Jimmy Carter-frosted cake and wore his “Carter for President” T-shirt at his Carter-themed birthday party. The festivities came with a Carter cardboard cutout and a personalized banner with images edited to depict a grinning Ryan and Carter standing side by side, both sporting coned birthday hats.
Carter, the nation’s 39th president, is the only Georgian ever elected to the White House. A peanut farmer, he grew up in the tiny town of Plains, where he returned after his presidency and where he died in December at age 100.
About a thousand miles away, Ryan became fascinated by the man born generations before him — so much so that his family made Carter the centerpiece of his birthday celebration.
“It was Ryan’s idea. I’m just supporting him as a mom,” Ramos said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ramos said she actually didn’t know much about Carter when Ryan began asking about him after learning about Presidents Day in preschool two years ago. She showed Ryan all of the living presidents, which, at the time, included Carter. The then-3-year-old was instantly captivated by the leader and wanted to learn more, Ramos said.
As an English language arts teacher, Ramos bought Ryan a book about the former Georgia governor, and his curiosity grew.
“He just loved how much he helped people. He loved that he built houses for Habitat for Humanity,” Ramos said. “He wants to build houses when he grows up.”
The interest stuck.
Now, Ryan also has a Jimmy Carter pillow along with his other mementos, and the family handed out goody bags at his party stuffed with “Be Kind” bracelets, Carter pins, wooden hammers to represent his passion for building affordable homes, peanut-shaped erasers and a small American flag.
Days before the party, Ramos began sharing details of her planning and decorating activities to TikTok. Online commenters praised her for indulging her son’s niche interest — and found the whole thing hilarious. One post she shared got over 1.5 million views.
Her videos also got the attention of Carter’s daughter, Amy, and his grandson, Hugo Wentzel. Ramos said they sent Ryan a gift with merch from Carter’s 100th birthday celebration. The box included a hat, a tote bag and pins.
“He is just over the moon,” Ramos said.
In one video posted before Ryan’s party, his mom asks if he likes one of the party props — a life-size cutout of Carter’s face, which the boy holds in front of his own head.
“I don’t like it. I love it!” he shouts in response.
@parenting.be.like Thank you, Andrea! 💙😂🥹🫶🏼 #jimmycarter #fyp #singlemomlife #funny #funnykidsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Parenting be like what?
At the party, Ryan’s friends asked lots of questions about the former president and even chanted “Jimmy! Jimmy!” Ramos said on TikTok.
Carter and Ryan share a birthday month, and Ryan brought his Carter book to school for his teacher to read on Oct. 1, the former president’s birthday. Ryan even bestowed birthday wishes on his own version of Carter.
“I had the cardboard cutout in the kitchen, and he said, ‘Happy Birthday, Jimmy!’” Ramos said.
Ryan has been begging to visit the Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta, Ramos said. While a trip south is not in the budget for the single mother right now, she hopes to be able to take Ryan there one day.
“That’s another question we’re getting, like, ‘Are you from Georgia?’ No, we live in New Jersey,” Ramos said, laughing.
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