Summer-y Summary Part IV: Jared's Birthday

With a couple of exceptions, I mostly remember birthdays growing up being fun but pretty low-key affairs. Mom would bake a cake mix and decorate the cake with frosting and those stick-on candies that said "Happy Birthday." We would have some friends over and watch a movie or play on the slip and slide. We might even get to go with mom or dad to get our free birthday meal at Denny's. But I don't remember ever having huge elaborate parties. I didn't have a "friend party" every year. And I never went to an outside place like Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday.

So I don't know how I got swept up into big birthdays. Maybe it was because when we lived in California our student apartment complex had a tradition of huge birthday parties where you would invite basically all of the kids who lived in that courtyard and have a huge party. You kind of felt like a cop-out if you didn't at least have a huge cake with games and a pinata. Maybe it is because Dave always says, "Oh that would be fun for the kids, we should do it!" but somehow I always get sucked into doing a friend party. Part of me is crochety-old-person that says, "What was good enough for me is good enough for my kids. They don't need a party every year!! That will make them start to feel entitled and create spoiled kids, right?" (Now I'm REALLY starting to sound like an old person...) =] But part of me is a sucker and always ends up doing something... which usually escalates into something bigger and more expensive than I intended.

It seems like every year I say, "This year is going to be low-key. We don't need a friend party every year." And this has started to work a little bit. (Translation: My kids no longer assume that birthday = big pinata and 10+ kids coming over.) But although I have been successful at paring down the party, we always seem to end up doing something. Maybe that is a good compromise and I should leave it at that.

This year when Jared turned 8 I told him we weren't doing a friend party this year. Instead he could choose 1 friend to go to Chuck E. Cheese with us for lunch on his birthday and we would get some tokens. Nice, easy, low-key. Of course that one friend ended up turning into 5, but who's counting? Fine, I am a sucker.

Pictures of Camryn's Garden Birthday Party

Here are some fun pix from Camryn's garden birthday party that I threw for her, inspired by the plan she drew up. We ate snacks, decorated visors, made tissue-paper flowers, planted seeds in tiny pots-- and had cake and ice cream of course. We usually make a special decorated cake, but she requested an angel food cake with berries and whipped cream, so the cake pictures aren't too exciting. It was fun and much more smooth than last's year's princess party (with 12 four and five-year-old girls). I guess maybe I am learning something as I go (like don't throw a party for 12 kids if you value your sanity). =]

A Party? Naturally!

I have been debating whether to throw Camryn a friend party for her birthday (which was a week and a half ago) or not. I don't believe in throwing a big bash every year (especially after last year's 12-preschool-girl-princess-and-craft-extravaganza), but somehow I always seem to get sucked in. So I've been throwing around different ideas for a low-key easy party... maybe just get some pizza, maybe go to the park? (Is it just me or does it seem like birthday parties weren't such huge bashes when you were a kid? Does anyone else go into convulsions at the thought of having to herd 12 preschool girls through "Pin The Crown on the Princess" and gluing jewels and flowers on fun-foam crowns?)

I asked Camryn what she wanted, warning her that we needed to keep it fairly small and simple. She went to work and planned the party for me. She decided that she wanted a "Nature Party" and she drew up the following schedule: (I'm doing my best to represent how she drew this all over the page, you'll have to use your imagination...)

1 Plant Plants
2 look fore moths
A butterfly dance look fore-a-partner 3
4 resece [recess]
cake and ice crem Goode8bags
5 pinyata playtim7e
6 presints h9ome

Well, if she is going to go to all the work to actually plan the party for me, how can I say no? So we are going to do a "nature party." We are planting seeds in teeny pots, decorating visors (with self-stick instead of glued decorations- yes, even I occasionally learn my lesson), and making flowers out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners. We are skipping the pinata, but will be doing playtime, "presints" and "goodebags." It should be fewer girls than last year (and a year older), so we will see how it goes.... Wish me luck!