The Birthday Party

Well, as my mother would say "The captains and the kings have departed". The games were played, the junk food consumed, and the video was watched. The birthday party is now history.

Of course, every birthday party brings back memories of the joy I got from planning and executing parties for my loved ones. [Some of them were more executed than planned] The best ones were a combined effort with my husband. It generally worked best for one of us to do the activities (my husband) and one of us to get the decorations and the food together (me).

One of most memorable ones was the five-year old party where my daughter's guests enjoyed several stations of outdoor activities, including a complicated maze made out of hay bales. What took my husband several hours to assemble, took them less than a minute to cycle through with their trikes and bikes. "What's next?" they asked.

Then there was the "Pirate Party" where I had the bright idea to bury 'gold' in the creek (pennies shined up with a mixture of vinegar and salt) and let the kids go panning for it. It was a great idea in principle. I didn't bank on the 'city kids' being in their good clothes and shoes. This necessitated my long-suffering husband having to carry them across the creek to avoid the mud. I distinctly remember a bit of mumbling coming out of his mouth about not thinking things through. [I also hadn't anticipated the cows coming to check out the party and freaking out the kids. Before we knew it, my husband was carrying the kids back across the creek within minutes of getting them all over there. He had two kids on his back, one on each hip, and one carried in front of him, to help them escape quickly from the wet noses of the cows investigating the fun. I think there was a few more mumbled words sent in my direction, if I'm not mistaken.]

Usually planning a birthday party comes with its own stresses. The ideas which look so great on paper often have un-anticipated glitches attached. For instance, the fourth birthday party for my #1 son was a "Rocket" theme. My artistic abilities being what they are, I thought it best to go to the library and get out books with pictures of rockets. I found some pages to photocopy so that I didn't have to sketch them Sketching would mean I'd have to explain to the kids what the drawings were. "LOOK kids, that's the nose of the rocket...how can you not see that??" Instead, I decided to do a quick run to my husband's office and use his photocopier. What I didn't predict was that this three-minute job would take most of my time budget. This was due to the fact that as the photocopier was running, I stepped out to go to the bathroom, and locked the keys to the office inside the office. Of course the locksmith who took two seconds to let me in was glad to relieve me of 50$. And I was still cutting out the rockets to hang up when the kids arrived for the party. But at least they knew what the cutouts were!

I think that was the same party where the power went out right in the middle of me cooking macaroni and cheese for the kids. My super-powered husband came to the rescue [narrowly rescuing me from a complete melt-down] , got out the camp stove and we finished up the party in great style. The funny thing is that my son doesn't remember any of the decorations or the power going out. He does remember how much fun it was to play in the refrigerator box that my husband had made into a rocket ship for them. I of course, was ready to lay down and die by the time the parents came to pick up the kids.

The older the kids got, the less extravagant became the preparations. For my daughter's tenth birthday, I planned a sleepover and the goodie bags were the goods that the kids bought with two dollars that I gave each of them to spend. One girl picked out the most beautiful interesting teacup with a haphazard dried flower arrangement in it. The oasis was even sticking up out of the cup. (In fact, I think there was even oasis dust on every crevice of the cup) She planned to give it to her mother. I tried with all my persuasive powers to get her to make a better consumer decision, but she was adamant that her mother would 'just love' the teacup and so she bought it.

Over the years, I have created Bingo games, planned Scavenger Hunts, and held High Tea Parties for "ladies in waiting". I have made Jello Wigglies, Under-the-Sea treats, and for one and only party, I went to the effort to make a cake [with the help of a dear friend] in the shape of a horse's head. It took us two hours to decorate. The kids didn't even want to eat it because they were more excited about the items in the goodie bags. This suited me fine because I saved it for the grampa/gramma party. The adults appreciated the hard work more than the kids.

While I wouldn't give up the memories of the unrestrained energy the earlier birthday parties required, neither do I have a burning need to be that vigorous in this season of my life. I am passing the torch so-to-speak. This year, I gave the birthday boy the task of creating his own party. He did the research. He called all the guests. He confirmed their attendance. He wrote out the menu. He even gave each activity a time limit so that he would have a rough idea on how long it would last. I was very pleased to note, that he not only planned the events, but he found the laser tag price to be lower if he booked it at a later time in the day so we got more bang for the buck(s). I have taught him well!