Blake: People.com
Blake Shelton Reveals the Sweet 'Handmade' Gift Gwen Stefani Got Him for His Birthday
Not only did Gwen Stefani throw boyfriend Blake Shelton an epic pizza party to celebrate his birthday, but she also surprised him with a thoughtful gift.
The No Doubt front woman gifted the “God's Country” singer — who turned 43 on Tuesday — a “huge” sign to put on display at his Oklahoma ranch.
“It’s like a ‘Welcome to the Ranch’-type sign,” Shelton told PEOPLE at the Universal Studios Backlot BBQ for IHG Rewards Club Chase Mastercard cardholders on Friday. “It was a handmade deal. It’s pretty cool.”
Stefani, 49, held the pizza party at her house on Thursday night and invited over friends and family. While she was the one to share multiple photos and videos documenting the night on social media, it turns out that Shelton was actually the one behind the idea for the birthday festivities.
“[Gwen] said, ‘What do you want?’ I go, ‘Well, there’s a big pizza oven out there, so we need to figure out how to use that thing,'” he said. “So they have a friend who actually owns a pizza restaurant here in town, he came over and knew how to do it.”
“I have no idea how to do any of that stuff,” he added. “It’s either a frozen pizza for me or Pizza Hut.”
Gwen’s sons Kingston, 13, Zuma, 10, and Apollo, 5 — whom she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale — also joined in on the birthday fun, and they even wrote out sweet cards for Shelton.
“Christmas, birthdays, any kind of holiday — they always sit down and take time to write a message and draw pictures or something,” he said. “Those are the coolest, coolest things, you know? It’s something I never experienced in my life. When they take time and actually make something, it’s pretty cool.”
In between the birthday festivities on Thursday, Stefani also shared in one of her Instagram Stories that she can’t wait to return to The Voice this season — and hopefully “beat” Shelton.
“I’m glad that’s she’s already feeling competitive,” Shelton said in response. “Of course, I’m not going to let her win. I’m going to have to win, but I’m going to have to do it in a way that she doesn’t feel like I beat her. I don’t know if that’s possible or not because I definitely don’t want to upset her — that’s not going to pay off for me in the long run. This will be her fourth time on the show, so she’s no stranger to it. She knows what she’s doing.”
While Shelton admits that it “sucks” that Adam Levine will no longer sit beside him on the show since announcing his departure in May, he thinks that NBC made the right call by asking Stefani to fill his spot.
“We’re all going to miss out Adam,” he said. “There’s no way around it. But she’s way better looking than he is, in my opinion.”
When it comes to working with Stefani, Shelton said he can “never get enough of her.”
“Even when I have a day off and she’s working, I’ll go with her to whatever she’s doing,” he explained.
At the Backyard BBQ event held on Friday, IHG Rewards Club Chase Mastercard cardholders were treated to an intimate performance by Shelton of his hits like “Sangria” and “God’s Country,” along with a Q&A. After the performance, Shelton joined the crowd for a game of giant beer pong as a fun way to kick off summer.
“Any time I partner with anybody on something like this, it has to make sense,” he said. “[A] hot air balloon ride with Blake Shelton — that wouldn’t make sense to me. But backyard barbecue and playing the guitar a little bit? That sounds fun to me, and it feels natural to me, and I think it’ll help everybody here be relaxed and happy and have fun.”