Yesterday I talked about how we chose to have our kids’ birthday parties this year be a large group one. Because of the simplicity of planning and going to a location, this one was less stressful and possibly more memorable. Although I do enjoy coming up with fun food, games and activities, at the same time, this can be rather stressful for moms. In fact, I think Pinterest has not done moms any favors overall for party planning.
Pretty sure my cupcakes have never looked like this …
While searching on the site for recent ideas for my daughter’s Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party, I found some cute and reasonable ideas. Then I discovered the one page where the parent had hired a custom calligrapher to fashion the invitations. She stated the expense was worth it – mainly I wished that I had been the one hired for such a time consuming job. Even at minimum wage, I bet a pretty penny was paid.
For me, I want my kids to be celebrated, yet I do not want them to feel entitled to get every little whim and wish. Feeling special is important but being completely catered to is another story. I do want them to know their value in our family, yet I do not want them to think the world revolves around them.
This cake is more what I manage to make usually, although whatever I was going for did not exactly work. Thankfully, it tasted yummier than it looked. My sister is 3 years and 3 days younger than me. We have always celebrated our birthdays together – that is special to me now!
For many years, I was involved with a MOPS: Mothers of preschoolers group. (In fact, tonight my husband and I went to their couple’s soup supper – so great to have an evening with friends!) Anyway two of the many meetings I attended involved planning memorable birthday parties for your kids. The ideas presented were ones that moms can actually do in a reasonable amount of time and without a huge budget.
I had the opportunity last year to make the handout that was given to the moms complete with party themes, games and even recipes. Some of the ideas are more specific to the Lincoln area (including places to buy cupcakes), but some of the suggestions could be used by parents anywhere. I received permission from the contributors to post the document on this blog. By the way, since the document is a year old, some of the phone numbers or prices could have changed.
Party Central on Odyssey Through Nebraska
(Hopefully the link will work. I can be technologically challenged. The original document had much cuter font, but I was not sure how to exactly translate it over from Word to Google Docs in the same format).
Anyway, two last fun traditions directly from my house.
The first one was copied from my friend, Jen. When my birthday child wakes up in the morning, they will see their age counted out in crepe paper strips on the door. In other words, my son is just about to have nine strips hanging from his doorframe next month. Other than the fact that you have to buy inexpensive tissue paper and remember where the tape is (and possibly to follow up every time), this is rather easy. My kids love it and now remind us every time to hang them up. I try to do this while they are sleeping, but I think it may start being challenging when they can stay up longer than me!
My husband started the next tradition because for many years he has left the house for work rather early. So, he would leave the birthday child a message on the window. With dry erase markers, he would manage to get their name and a message. Once I bought him window markers, his true artist came forth. His messages have now turned into masterpieces.
Hopefully this post has encouraged you with some fresh ideas on planning your child’s birthday events. The important thing to remember is that effort is everything. As long as remembrance is the focus, the day will be a celebration! Happy birthday!
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