Around here, birthdays come in clumps - 3 in the few weeks after Christmas, 4 in late spring/early summer, and 3 in the fall. I usually push the parties for the two January birthdays into February so I get a break from party planning in March, July, and August. I have no desire to plan elaborate parties. I provide the food and, with the right mix of friends, the fun should take care of itself. And, yes, I have reused birthday candles.
My eight year old daughter, Mini-Me, is having her birthday party this Friday. She is delighted to be using my preferred low maintenance/low cost birthday party format - the Friday Night Movie Party. It goes over best for elementary school-aged children but is ONLY low cost if you live in a town with a cheap movie theatre. The local movie theatre here in Small Town has two screens and shows first-run movies at a cost of $6 for adults and $4 for children.
Here's the game plan - 3 of Mini-Me's friends will ride home from school with her on Friday. [Mini-Me self-limited her guest list for reasons unknown. For those of you who don't drive a 15 passenger van like me, the size of your guest list will be limited by the number of extra seats in your car.] Serve ice cream and cookie cake for an afterschool snack. Let them play uninterrupted. REPEAT: Let them play. Resist the temptation to create more work yourself by providing a structured party game or craft. For those you are thinking that I am lazy and that it is the job of every self-respecting mother to provide elaborate party activities, I challenge you to get over yourself and consider the possibility that your children don't have to be entertained by you in order to have a good time. Of course, it's also possible that I am just lazy.
I digress. Around 5:30 pm, feed them a kid-friendly dinner. We will be having Mini-Me's favorite - nachos. Then take the kids to a 7 PM movie. Total cost for movie at Small Town Movies = less than $50 ($22 for 1 adult and 4 kids' tickets plus concessions.). Have parents pick guests up after the movie. Lots of fun and minimal fuss.
Love it! It's true, you are the one I call to reassure me that I don't have to stay all up in my kids' grills 24-7!
ReplyDeleteMy kind of party animal. I generally haw bigger parties when the kids are small but the older they get...pffffft. My claim to fame was the Teenagers 8th birthday where I had a neighborhood carnival in my backyard with bouncy house, booths (fishing, make a wish, duck pond, make a t-shirt etc.) Those days are OVER.
ReplyDeleteWow. I would have never guessed that you were such an elaborate party planner. Kudos to you. I ended up having to pass off the nacho serving duties to my older daughters, Queen Bee and Baby Girl, so that my husband and I could deal with the 19 yo. I haven't figured out a blog name for him yet, but if I had to come up with one right now it would be He-Who-Wouldn't-Know-The-Truth-If-It-Punched-Him-In-The-Face.
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