The Party
James is a big fan of parties. Me, not so much. I try to minimize them in a large way. Holidays, parties, celebrations, James wants them to be more. As soon as he discovers that party planner is a job, he will add that the his list of future occupations (current list: spy, photographer, stunt man).
Last year, he got Disney passes for his birthday and no party. I tried quite diligently for a similar approach this year, to no avail. So this year, James had a mining party, a gem party, a treasure party? Not too sure abut the theme name, you decide:
Here he is sifting through dirt for minerals. Even though is was 105, the kids stuck with this for some time. Although this picture is at the end, they got some pretty good sized crystals and were delighted.
He also got a pinata (one of his requirements), a soccer ball, picked himself. I filled it with the gift bags, a tip from a friend of mine, because all the kids really care about is smashing it to pieces, not what comes out of it. No fuss, no muss.
I set out bubbles, covered the tables with paper and left out crayons and markers (mostly used by adults), and left out chalk. And then I let the kids play. Except for the heat being atrocious, so they had to mostly stay inside with brief moments out, this worked well.
Similarly, decorations were simple, balloons (required by James every year), a birthday banner, some plastic gems and gold coins scattered on the table. Kids took the table decorations home; one girl in particular, after finding out this was allowed, divided them up evenly (so cute! and made clean up even easier).
So, in spite of the heat, the party was a huge success. I’ll be looking to worm my way out of another one next year. Tomorrow is James’ actual birthday, so I suppose there will be another post tomorrow. Three posts in one week? My fingers may fall off.
I know I was shocked to see you post two days in a row.
So what part of the whole party thing do you hate?
Is it the planning, the cleaning of the house before people arrive, the post-party cleaning, the expense….?
I used to plan theme parties for Lyssa. We had some really good ones.
But sometimes it took me two months to do all the planning and gather all the stuff I’d need for the party.
And I turned into a lunatic the day of the party.
Huh.
I wonder if I hated it and didn’t know it?
Laurie: So . . . we need to get you one of those safari tents for a fort, with boxes to climb, maybe a ropes course, and fossils buried in the sand outside. And we have slightly under a month. We’ll get right on that
. We did make fossils out of plaster of paris once and buried them in James’ sand (again and again). His friends’ were convinced they had found something amazing when they had come over. When you’re back to your real life, they have vacations where you can dig fossils.
Ami: I think it’s the threat of disappointment I hate about the parties, and the fuss, but mostly the threat of disappointment. James’ expectations are so high. His friends have those out of this world parties which I would never allow, everyone they have ever known invited, ponies, water slides, etc. Last year, his best friend had to be introduced to kids at her party. And he gets so excited for the party. When he was 4, he ran into the wall and dented it he was so excited. He used to not understand why he couldn’t have huge parties; it would bother him up to, but at the party, he was happy. Now, he “gets” only inviting “real” friends and is happy but I still have this fear that I will have done all this work and he still won’t be happy.
Glad to hear the party was a success. It sucks that it was Tucson hot the day of the party…. I’m still planning on a party for Mia. Wonder if the combo of sleep deprivation and stress of party planning will drive me to tears, or at least how often it will drive me to tears… Still no baby yet; it looks like she and I may share a birthday… Wonder how she will feel about that (especially once she finds out I was induced/had some power over the date). All I know is I am at the point where I WANT HER OUT!!!!
aww what a wonderful party. I am glad he had a good time and enjoyed the party!
Pinata … goodie bags inside … May need to try that. We are hoping it will not rain!
OOOh….Will you throw me a party for my birthday? I want to dig for fossils. I don’t remember your birthday parties. Were they quiet affairs? I had the most awesome one in fourth grade…pool, sleep over and zillions of kids. I wonder if Mom hated them. I still want the cake (angel food with chocolate buttercream frosting)and ice cream.
Sounds like a A+ party! Ugh though on that heat. BTW didn’t get a chance to comment on the castle post: totally jealous and if my kids could pack themselves up to mail they’d be there to play! Brava Mama and Daddy great job!!