Wanted: The Perfect Birthday Party
I’m starting to get a little worried. My son’s third birthday is in three weeks and I have no clue what we’re going to do.
For his first birthday we had a sizable party at the house. His second was at the local park district where the workers had great games and prizes for all the tots. This year I haven’t the energy to do either.
The options, though, are seemingly endless. You can take a tour of the fire department and have cake at a nearby park, go to the swimming pool or a splash pad, there’s also always a trip to Chuck E. Cheese or those bounce house places. I’ve even heard of parents dropping thousands of dollars for petting zoos and carousels in the back yard, fake snow for sledding in the summer and dancing, singing Disney characters.
With the exception of the aforementioned fancy pants party, I’ve considered all of these options. Many moms in my stroller-pushing set already had the hand-addressed invites in the mail by now. Not me. I’m pretty sure I’ll fire off a text to give folks a heads-up and then use Evite to spill the details.
But details on what? I’ve even looked to Logan for ideas. He told me he wanted candles. OK. That I can do. Beyond that? I don’t know.
And why do I care so much? Is it because I want it to be something he remembers? Kinda. After all I still remember my 5th birthday party at McDonald’s, which to me was THE best birthday. Is it because I want to impress my friends with a swanky kiddie soirée? Nah, those kind of people aren’t my friends.
I think it largely stems from this exhausting need to have everything perfect. I want the perfect house, husband, child, career and all in my life should be perfect, perfect, perfect. Much of that need died when Logan was born, but it occasionally rears it’s ugly head. Thankfully life’s happenings usually knock me back to reality. And reality’s a good place to be.
Hmm. I think I just figured out what we’ll do for Logan’s big day. Hubby can pick one family, I’ll pick another and we’ll have them over for afternoon of pizza and birthday cake. Problem solved.
Put me in your boat..just with an extra week to decide. Finn wants to go to the farm, Matt wants it small at the house. Small when you invite 4 or 5 kids = even more parents, which =s pitchets of sangria, apps and a whole lot more work.
We know we are getting baked by Melissa cupcakes (www.bakedbymelissa.com). They are bomb!!!! But that is it. That is all we know. And yes all on the quest to make him, err, me, err, the kids happy…and for it to be special for my #1 little man.
We will be doing a Toy Story theme. I’m making cupcakes and we are just going to throw the sprinkler in the yard with some squirt guns and water balloons. Nothing huge and totally cheap. Can’t believe our babies will be 3!
Candles sounds good. So do something that is real and fun and low-key. He won’t mind, esp. at 3.
The birthday parties I remember most are the ones where I had good friends and family to play with.
And I remember the cakes my Mom made me.
I also remember the year we had a thaw in the fi[eld by our house and my brother and Dad managed to make an ice skating rink. So I had a skating party. Very fun.
🙂
Yes, fun, easy and fun are my three wishes for his birthday. Though this weekend we went to a splash pad and I was like hmmm, *this* looks really easy… And I don’t have to clean my house. I need to stick with a plan and send out the invite so I can move on. 🙂