Interesting question…. July 21, 2006
Posted by spacemom in : Food and Drink , trackbackI was reading today’s post at Forks and Chopsticks, and I think Stephanie has some interesting points.
We are in the midst of a birthday hell. There are 13 birthdays in Soleil’s class between May and August. We have gone to party after party after party. There is quite a spread in party stuff.
One had a song entertainment. We had to sing songs with the kids and generally feel like we were thrown in a mommy and me class.
One got moved to an indoor place at the last minute. It was great, but crazy. The cake was amazingly huge and expansively decorated. The kids were wonked out on sugar!
One was on Luna’s birthday. This was pleasant and in the family’s home, but they did hire a story teller who did a great job, but it interrupted the kids playtime to do stories (good? bad?)
One was at a puppet theatre in Boston. This was too much for some of the kids. The show was 45 minutes long and the kids went a little nuts at points. It was better for older kids instead of 3-4 year olds.
Several have been canceled due to weather or moved to another inside place.
So far, nothing has been so over the top as described in Forks and Chopsticks. That is good, but I do feel the pressure. For alot of the kids in Soleil’s class, the parents are older and have chosen to have
one child. I think these kids are getting lots of attention (which is good).
So some of the parties are beyond what I would do. We want birthdays to be fun, but not an elaborate event. We already know that in 9 years* we are screwed (and again in 11 years), so why not keep parties simple
and fun?
Our birthday party for Sunday is scheduled as such:
3:30pm- Party start. We will have the sprinkler ready and the wading
pools filled.
4:30pm- Pizza and cakes (yes, Soleil wants an ice cream cake, but I am
also making another cake tonight, you know, open box, bake?)
5:00pm ish- Beat the crap out of the pinata!
5:30pm Send kids home with the goodie bags we made last night.
Is that so much? Don’t kids just want to play? Do we need to entertain our kids? Or should we let them entertain themselves?
That is what I thought when I read Stephanie’s post…
* Bat Miztvah happens at 13. This is guaranteed to be a big party… like $5K big party just for all of the people you have to invite…
Comments»
I hate kids birthday parties. And I still remember how stressful my own parties were for me. So far we have managed to skip them and just have a few family members over, so no loot bags or games or other such stuff. And I also hate the present issue. It doesn’t seem fair for the “birthday kid” to rip through all their stuff in front of the other kids, but then you want people to have the pleasure of seeing them open it…frankly, when it comes to my kids’ birthdays, I’m just a big ol’ Grinch!
We are of the same school of thought re: birthday parties. All of Morgan’s parties have been at home, with simple games (last year I filled a box with rice and hid “jewels” in it and the kids dug for jewels) or activities (we also had a table to make crowns) but mostly the kids just PLAY. They all have a blast. I think this year we might celebrate her bday a few weeks early (since we are moving) so we might do it at a park. Simple but fun. I think some parents go way overboard and it can cause more stress (for them as well as the child) than fun.
Have a great time on Sunday and Happy Birthday, Soleil!!
I hate what people do at kid’s bday parties too. Good gawd, some of these people spend more money than I did at my wedding. I’m in favor of the family-members-only birthdays until the kiddo begs to have a different kind of party. Part of this comes from my hatred of being invited to friends’ kids’ birthday parties when I have no kids myself. What’s the point? Ugh, nothing more boring then sitting at a “party” for other people’s kids watching them all run around after their kids and having absolutely no conversation. Here’s my public service announcement to the world: don’t EVER invite single friends to your kid’s bday party, and think long and hard whether your married-but-no-kids friends would REALLY find it quite as fascinating as you think. (oooo boy, I’m grumpy today, sorry, this waiting for referral news has got me all twisted up…)