My daughter Hannah is about to turn six. Six! I am going to pause for a moment, and let that sink in.
My baby! My baby! What happened to my baby? It feels like just yesterday that she was born! Where does the time go?
OK, I’ve gotten that out of my system. At least temporarily.
Every year on the anniversary of Hannah’s birth we hold some kind of celebration to mark the occasion. Because, really, watching a child grow up is a momentous and wondrous thing. It requires some kind of periodic pause in which to wax nostalgic and celebrate the accomplishment.
Hannah samples her 1st birthday cake, sweetened with applesauce because she was my firstborn
In past years, we have only held family parties. When Hannah was an infant and young toddler, I couldn’t see going all-out on a big shindig, since she didn’t understand what was up herself. Then for a couple of years Hannah wanted a family party, and that was great. And finally last year, Hannah’s birthday fell smack in the middle of Jon’s stint as a 24/7 employee of Olympic Broadcast Services, which meant that our family was kind of busy and not up for a huge party.
2nd birthday cake, homemade and topped with whipped cream
This year, things are different. My daughter, my baby is now in kindergarten, and she wants a real party. And so, this weekend, I will oblige. After doing a little legwork, I decided that I didn’t want to shell out $200 or more for a 6th birthday party, so we’re holding it at our house. It will have a fairy theme, and there will be somewhere between 7 and 10 children there, including my own. I will have some back-up, from my husband and from my friend.
How times change – Hannah has a brother and store-bought licensed characters for her 4th birthday
I have party food, so we’re set on that count. And Green Planet Parties, the super-cool local mom-run business set up a section in their shop for fairy-themed parties, so I gathered some inspiration and some decorations from there. I’ve got a wand craft planned, and I have goodies for some goody bags. I’m also toying with the idea of having some kind of scavenger hunt.
Post-Olympic 5th birthday candles
The party is only an hour and a half, so I’m not all that worried about it. Maybe I should be worried about it. Maybe this is all going to be much harder than I think. But I was a Brownie leader for years, so I have entertained a bunch of little girls by myself for the same length of time with only my wits and some markers for backup. I think I can pull off one party. I guess only time will tell if I’m right.
For now, in spite of my confidence, I would love some party-planning tips if you have any to share. What has gone well, and what hasn’t gone well, at kids’ parties that you’ve thrown? Do you have any suggestions for activities or games? And what about music, do you think that’s important? I am a total party-planning novice, so I welcome all of your suggestions.
Enjoy your little ones birthday. My little one (my princess) is now 23 and I still have a birthday breakfast celebration with her and her friends – truth be told, there were times she couldn’t be present due to work or travel, so her friends and I celebrated without her.
I miss the fancy dancy birthday cakes and decorations…..you’ve prompted some good memories.
It sounds like you’ve got your plans all organized.
Have a ‘fairy’ good time!
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Happy Birthday! For party games, the best ones are the ones that are non-competitive, since you don’t want anyone feeling left out or disappointed. Treasure hunts are lots of fun, especially when the kids arrive at the food.
You can also do a fairy inspired project, like making fairy clothespins, or hair clips. Just make sure to have all of the supplies organized and set up beforehand.
I like having music, but turned down low in the background. It makes everything more festive, but the kids can still really focus on the activities.
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My firstborn will be 13 in July and just this morning, while walking home from dropping my son off at school I caught myself with tears in my eyes because I could hardly believe my baby girl was going to be 13 in a little over 5 months. If I’m this teary eyed about it now I can’t imagine what I’ll be like come July 22. It all goes by too fast for me.
My kids had their first schoo parties at 5 because kindergarten starts at 4 here (they have summer birthday so they missed the boat for a JK party). They were a lot of work but well worth the effort.
We just hosted a fourth birthday party for my little girl. Freeze-dance is always a good option for party-goers, and the craft is always nice. I second the scavenger hunt that ends up at the food – always fun. For my oldest, on his fourth birthday, there was a treasure hunt through the house that ended up at a large cardboard box. Inside were helium balloons tied to the loot bags – when the box was popped open all the balloons rushed out! It was a nice visual.
Oh, you are so much braver than I. We actually did this whole thing backwards. When the boys turned 1, I had a HUGE party for them (for Julesy, we hired a Beatles cover band… no kidding.) But then as the kids got older, I got so much more lazy. The first few birthday parties were scheduled, and then canceled at the last minute when I decided that my sanity was being compromised. Every year, things have gotten less and less festive. I imagine that this will all change when they get into school and start asking for a real party with real friends, but I’m not looking forward to it at all. I am soooo not the Brownie Leader type, and I have trouble entertaining just my two kids for more than ten minutes at a time.
I can see you being awesome at this though! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
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Oh, you were a BROWNIE leader — you’re laughing! I don’t have any tips. I just generally have everything as organized as possible, then I grit my teeth, hold on for dear life and wait til it’s over. Plus, you’re doing the girl first — just wait til you have ten huge boys to deal with (learn from my mistake: the glow in the dark golfing, where it’s dark and they all have clubs? Skip that one.). Happy birth day to you and Hannah!
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Sooo…this “friend” you speak of…that wouldn’t be ME, would it?? If it is I am totally up for some party assistance since I will only have the one rugrat to deal with and she is essentially self-sufficient
This will be good practice since I have to do this whole thing myself in a few short months. I am lucky that I have the benefit of possible sunny weather and a huge backyard…hmmm…I’m liking the scavenger hunt idea!
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It wasn’t you, but I would LOVE any help you can offer.
Not sure what kind of ‘nature supplies’ are available to you this time of year, but what about making Fairy Houses? In our town there is an annual Tour of the Fairy Houses. Check this out, maybe it’ll give you some ideas of what to do/avoid?
http://www.fairyhouses.com/events/tour-of-fairy-houses-in-portsmouth-nh/
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Egg on a spoon, three legged race! Sorry I’ve never done it and even bailed on having a proper first birthday for Theo!
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Thankfully Emma’s birthday falls when it does and weather is usually great. In years past we have rented a bouncy castle for the back yard and just let the kids have at it. This past year though, we just went across the street to the park for snacks, cake, kite flying and old fashioned play on the playground. It was perfect. Hannah’s birthday is in the holiday season and the weather is always cold. I don’t enjoy parties at our house (too messy) so we have gone out for Hannah’s parties. We also have alot of friends who have children who celebrate around the same time so we have been able to have shared parties which share the cost for us. This past year we took a large group of children to west edmonton mall to Galaxy land and let the kids just run! There was a party room and pizza which made life very easy for us.
I always think of you guys on Family Day…we were away that weekend only to come home to a very happy message from Jon saying that Hannah was born. I can’t believe it has been six years. I still remember sitting with you at the reunion and you were happily trying to have a baby….and now…look at your lovely famiy.
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I cannot wait to throw kids’ birthday parties!!
I had always hoped my kids would be born in the summer which would facilitate cheap parties outside at the park. Of course I had fall/winter babies just like Hannah so I’m faced with the same dilemma as to where to hold these festivities.
This will be the year that I will have to have a party for my son and I’ve already started investigating places to have it because having 10 little boys in my house at the same time isn’t something I think I’m strong enough for mentally.
My suggestion is to not over-plan. If you have a craft, cake, presents, and free-play you’ve got plenty…and I bet you’ll still be a little rushed. Have fun!
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I’m the person who’s posted Why I Despise Kids’ Birthday Parties: A Rant (http://ironicmom.com/2010/05/11/i-hate-kids-birthday-parties/), so you likely don’t want my advice.
Just call me Rain. As in Rain-on-Your-Parade. Still, Happy Birthday to H and Happy “Birth” Day to you!
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K-that birthday party sounds like so much fun! I want to make a wand too
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My main advice is to make sure your spouse doesn’t develop appendicitis during the party. All else can be managed. Yeah, the little dude’s fourth birthday party was a little rough, but the fifth one went great! (Since my husband already had his appendix out.
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I only ever had birthday parties when the weather was nice (and I did shamelessly postpone them on a couple occasions), and I could send the group of wild and screaming kids (all boys, always) to run around outdoors. Now I’m looking forward to fairy themed parties … in several years time
Good luck!
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