Rob and I have now celebrated 23 birthdays with and for our 3 kids, #24 will come in July. At least half of those celebrations have been in the form of parties in our house and yard. Once again, we have survived another May Madness - Mary Jane's party was last Friday night and Charlotte's was on Saturday. The birthday girls loved every minute. 6 year olds ran screaming around the front yard in their pajamas for Mary Jane's "almost a slumber party" and Charlotte and her friends had a great time rock climbing at an indoor climbing gym followed by pizza and cake at a restaurant that apparently was the meeting spot for every soccer team in the Greater Atlanta area. Like I said, we survived.
I will admit that the first couple of parties for the kids were really my parties. Mason's first birthday party started just in time for him to look at his cake and then go to bed. The celebratory cookout lasted well into the evening. Now, I am just a party planner - I send out the Evite and provide the food, often a chick-fil-a platter. This year Mary Jane asked me to bake her cake - it wasn't as good as a cake from Publix, but it had sprinkles so no one seemed to notice the taste. Charlotte originally wanted a slumber party, but I just couldn't get my head around the idea of 8 girls spending the night.
I have found that the key to survival of kid parties is not to start planning too soon. Friendships, themes, favorite toys can change in an instant. Also, I'm not very good at planning ahead - my kids have learned to accept that fact. Paying teenagers to come over and paint nails works 2 years in a row for very girly little girls, and I refuse to hand out goody bags. Mary Jane's friends each got a new book and Charlotte gave out $5 gift cards to Barnes & Nobel as party favors. As much as the parties stress me out, I will be sad when the kids give them up. Until then, I'll keep trying to come up with new ideas that involve old decorations. Maybe I'll even plan a party for myself, I've got a big birthday coming up in October.
