Roxanne’s Review Of Kids’ Birthday Parties (Part 1)

Davianna's birthday just passed and so in honor of that I thought about all the birthday parties we've held for both of our kids, and I evaluated what worked and what didn't.

Let's go ahead and put it out there. A parenting dirty little secret. Kids' birthday parties can be brutal. When was the last time that your child received an invite to a party and you were like, "Wow! This is going to be a lot of fun!"? Umm...never. I've always thought of myself as someone who just LOVES KIDS! That was before I started attending kids' birthday parties. I do not love screaming kids.

So I'm going to review the birthday parties we've thrown for my older daughter and talk about where we hit and where we missed.

Our baby's first birthday was actually a homerun. It was all the special moments you dream of on a Saturday afternoon evening. We invited friends in our close circle, most of whom also had a fairly new human. We had fun little activities for the kids like karaoke, and then we also had nice adult conversation with the people we care about most, our dearest friends and siblings and grandparents. We set the bar high on this one.

This party was a night out at Crabby Bill's with my sister, her kids, and the grandparents. Strictly family. It was no fuss, no clean-up, so that made it nice. I don't think we gave my daughter a robust party feel, because there were no games, no friends (just family). But hey, she was just turning two, so she probably won't remember. These early birthdays are more about the parents, right?

This year was INSANE. Her birthday happened right when we were instructed to not leave our homes! Her best friend attached balloons and a banner to the car and did a drive by and dropped a gift at the door. Crazy! But honestly, she didn't mind. She just cared about the cupcakes and presents and didn't seem to notice or mind that her friends were absent.

This was the year I had to say to myself, "Alright, Mama, it's all about the little one now. She's going to remember this." So we invited ALL of her classmates and did it up at Horsepower for Kids. It was a great venue, and everyone seemed to love it, but it was hot, even in May.

We did it up at a Bounce House, and again, invited all of her classmates. She loved it. The one smart thing we did is we picked a slightly odd time, Happy Hour time on a Friday. But the kids ate pizza and wore themselves out, so I think the other parents appreicated that.