Birthday Party Madness

Maybe this confession will make me a bad mother, but I am not a fan of throwing kid’s birthday parties.  Yes, I love to celebrate the birth of my children.  Yes, I love that they want to celebrate their birthday with others.  No, I do not enjoy the work or the pressure that goes along with the party. 

To be honest, I am not a Pinterest-y or DIY mom.  I don’t have the time or the inclination to hand craft beautiful invitations, party favors or cutesy food displays.  It is simply not a priority to me.  Besides, my kids are only 4 and 5 years old.  Do you think they actually care or remember?  No.  The ones who remember the cute party ideas are the other parents.  Now, if I am throwing the party for my kids, shouldn’t I throw a party for the kids?

Please do not think I am looking down on moms who have the energy and passion to throw the fancy parties.  I have friends and family that do it.  To them I say, “More power to you!”  It is not like there is anything wrong with it.  I just don’t do it myself.  Well, that is not entirely true.  When Biggest turned four, we had a backyard carnival, complete with a bounce house, ring toss, face painting, even a basket full of real live puppies.  Was it fun?  Yes.  Did Biggest love it?  Yes.  Was it a lot of work?  Yes. 

Given the chance, I prefer to hold the party on site somewhere.  I prefer to have a party in which someone else cleans up before and after.  Someone else helps to control all the chaos.  Yesterday for Littlest’s birthday, we went to an indoor trampoline park with all our cousins.  It was awesome.  Kids were entertained.  Adults were entertained.  I had to send invites and bring a cake, that was it.  We even had someone who ran the event for us while we were there.  She cleaned up the room, she cleaned up the kids, kept them all happy.  Littlest loved her party.  What could be better than that?  (Did I mention it was a pretty inexpensive party as well?  Score!)

I rejoice the day my kidlets were born.  I also want them to feel special on their birthdays.  They deserve to feel loved and adored, especially on their birthday.  I just choose to show it in my own way.  For Littlest, it was cupcakes for breakfast this morning.  After all, you only turn four once!

Happy birthday, Littlest!