Don’t Panic, It’s Birthday Season 2009!
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before on this blog, the mayhem of my holiday season does not end in January. In our family, after the flurry of gifts, shopping, and get-togethers, we have about a week of peace before the planning and anticipation starts for the three most awaited and celebrated days of the year – my children’s birthdays. We used to get about two weeks break after December, but since little William’s debut last January, the crunch is now even earlier!
So by around January 6th, the Epiphany, after I packed away the Christmas decorations, I started going on panic mode, which I of course didn’t notice but was calmly pointed out by my husband. I had good reason too – THREE birthday parties in a span of 10 days??!! For the past 6 years I had gotten away with doing joint parties for #1 and #2 – obviously the choice of #1 each time, where I snuck in a cake of # 2’s choice (like at the Hannah Montana party last year, #2 had a Mickey and the Beanstalk cake amid the rockstar purple and pink).
So this year, when he told me, very reasonably, that he wanted a Backyardigans party, how could I refuse? Then # 1 pointed out that as she was in a new school and had new friends, she also wanted her own party…..then, my Grandmother also said that little Will’s 1st was in need for a party, however small, for obvious reasons. So yes, it all made sense, and the panic button was pressed, hard. Logistics are the first nightmare as our garden is too small to have a bouncy castle or any kind of wild-running play; then the large expenses involved, and the sheer legwork of putting these things together – games, cakes, lootbags, decorations, entertainment and so on.
In the end I put my hands up in desperation and suggested the following: a tiny party for Wills 1st at home and we head to Disneyland for 4 days of sheer bliss (according to my kids) on the 7th and 8th, #2 and 1#’s birthdays respectively.
Thankfully, hubby agreed! Until next year…..
February 4th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
It must have been really cold nine months before-LOL! My daughter has been to 4 birthday parties in 2 weeks- and she’s a tween so not everyone even has parties anymore! I have stocked up on “girly presents this month- purses, makeup, and books (check out the Candy Apple series at http://www.girlzdealz.com- they are on sale!). If I didn’t have my gift closet, I would be scrambling! Disney sounds like quite the birthday party! Where do the parents get to celebrate their birthdays?
February 4th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Disney- what a great birthday party! Where do the parents get to go for their birthdays?
February 13th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
My husband and I went for a bit of adventure to Laos for my birthday last year – it was fabulous, and Grandma stayed with the kids!
February 18th, 2009 at 5:38 am
4 parties in 2 weeks! Wow, sounds like it can get a bit pricey. We had 2 in this week. I have to admit, I’ve done some work stocking up on our gift closet, so I usually have something available. I’ve been getting a lot of educational toys from winklestoys.com, so far they’ve proved to be a pretty good resource.