Ugh. I hate them.
We went to one this morning. It was very cute and age appropriate. They went with a bunny theme, and there were bunnies everywhere. Bunny crackers, bunny mac and cheese, bunny streamers, bunny gift bags, bunny favors. Lunch was served, there was a cute "find the carrot gift bags" game, and the mad rush at present opening seemed untraumatic to the birthday girl (amazing!). But the kids were fighting over EVERYTHING, from balloons to discarded strings from the wrappings. The mess we left behind was monumental.
Birthday parties seem a given. People ask how old Lily is, and when I say 1, the immediate response is, "Oh, and how was her birthday party?" Um...we don't really "do" parties here. We have cake and presents and family. But Andrew is turning 4 soon, and I have yet to be brave enough to have other kids over to celebrate. I've kind of been waiting for my kid to ask for it.
Which brings us to this year. Andrew wants a party. Or so he thinks. So I will try and put something together. And every party we've been to this fall makes me dread it more and more. It just seems so hectic. And I can't just invite 4 kids (one kid for every year of age is the old standard). There are at least 10 kids in playgroup, if you count their siblings.
I hate being the party pooper. But the pressure is ridiculous. Here's my rough draft for Andrew's invitation:
Come celebrate Andrew's 4th birthday!
Join us November 27th from 11-11:30
Pizza will be laid out with napkins and/or paper plates to eat off of!
Presents will not be opened until after the guests leave.
We will play one game.
Which the birthday boy will not play unless it is rigged so he knows he will win.
There will be cake...but it will be store bought and not hand crafted.
It may not taste good.
How's that sound to you? Not like a party I'd want to go to. Which is why the party planning should be left to people who enjoy doing that sort of thing.
-sigh- It'll all be over in a few weeks, right?
7 comments:
Amen to that one!! I find myself at all these Yorba Linda birthday parties where the parents must spend more on one kids party than I spend on one mortgage payment, I kid you not!! How am I suppose to keep up with that?
For Alec's birthday I just invited a few of his close friends from school and we went bowling. The kids had a focus in the bowling and the entire thing, including pretty good food from the snack bar, only cost me about $150.00. WORTH EVERY PENNY!
If I received an invitation like that, it would be the ONLY PARTY I would be willing to bring my child to. I always make Paul take the kids to parties, because I HATE children's parties. I let Robert have a party when he turned 5 (almost 4 years ago) and I STILL haven't recovered.
Oh, Man! I wish we lived close to each other. I can't WAIT to plan a real birthday party.
Then again, I can count on my THUMB how many parties I've been to recently. I guess I don't have to worry about birthday parties--he'll never be in school and his friends will always be out of town. Easy for me to say, seeing how the grass is always greener.
Chuck-E-Cheeses?
See, his friends are just a little too young for Chuck-E-Cheese. Or bowling. I just think this is too young for a "real" birthday party. In a few years, we can do some fun party games, crafts, etc. Right now it is just CHAOS! Again, it would probably be fine if there were only 4 kids or so. But I am obligated to invite the whole playgroup. And I only know 1 kid from his pre-school class, so that would be pretty lame.
AMEN SISTER! I am waiting for Norah to ask for one, but she has to wait until she is 5 for a "real" friend party. If she wants something at 4, she can invite 2 friends to see a movie or go to Open Gym.
Harper went to her first official birthday party this year. We do a fairly sizable family shindig for her and that's it. I refuse to host a child's party until at least kindergarten, and then, well we'll see. It is plenty stressful for me to have one extra kid here. But to make it more than that and then feed them cake? No. No thank you.
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