Birthday Month

It seems like September is birthday month. Between last weekend and this weekend, my kids are invited to three birthday parties, and Chip just had his birthday play date on Monday.

Birthday play date? Yeah, I'm not into the rent a hall, stuff kids with sugar and send them home w/ stuff to clog mom's vacuum scene. Been there, done that. Our first birthday party was a gymnastics party for our oldest when he turned five. It took great pictures, but the stress to enjoyment level just wasn't worth it to us. He got to do cool things, but he didn't really get to interact with his friends that much...and there was just too much "stuff" involved, both in getting it together and in what he took home.

His next brother down we tried birthday at the park! We had some planned games and food. It was a small gathering and lot of fun, w/o the huge outlay of money or the loot fest that takes kids focus off what's really important, their friends. So that's when we found what we were in to.

As is so true in every area, Chip is #3, and his party is a year late, and it's planning stepped down yet another notch. So we didn't have cake and games. We met at BK and the moms talked and the kids played. Everyone STILL had a great time. He's still talking about it now, three days later.


Not that anything is wrong w/ the "production" parties. We have skating and swimming parties coming up this weekend. Both kids involved are wild with anticipation. They'll come home and say, "can we?" Can we?"

And I'll say, maybe next year.