No-Stress Birthday Party

Miranda is wearing the Le Top Spring 2010 " Wild About Monokinis" big dot beach dress

Every year since my daughter was born, I (as in, just ME because my husband thinks I always go overboard so he leaves me with the event planning since I’m the one who wants to make it so complicated :)) always have had a theme birthday party. For her 7th birthday, I decided to keep it simple and have a “no-stress” birthday party. She invited a handful of friends and met at a nearby park so they could play. It was like casually meeting for a playdate instead of a huge, overwhelming party. I’d have to say, it was quite refreshing.

• Instead of handcrafting personalized birthday invitations, I sent out electronic invitations (such as evite.com or pingg.com). This saves on stamps, too!
• Instead of ordering a customized theme cake, my daughter and I baked cupcakes. This was fun because we enjoyed quality time together which we hardly get to do when her little brother is around.
• Instead of ordering a multitude of dining courses and various drinks, we opted for pizza, juice boxes and popsicles.
• Instead of goody bags, we gave our guests cute water bottles filled with ice cold water to keep them cool while playing.

WOW! It was so simple and easy, and I was also able to relax and enjoy some time with the company instead of running around being the “hostess with the mostess.” Hmmm… I can get used to this.

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Birthday Theme: Safari Adventure!

Thrills, action and adventure!

Time flies when you’re having fun! And having a son surely made it go even faster. Paulo turned a year old this month, and to celebrate his first year, we had a little safari adventure. It wasn’t too difficult to pull together, just some coordinating. First of all, Paulo already had the perfect outfit to wear: Hip Hop Grasshopper from le•top’s 2010 Spring/Summer collection. All I had to do was to dress my family to match his attire. I bought pith helmets and bandanas to accessorize our khaki gear. We had a custom cake decorated with tiny snakes, handed out 3-ft. stuffed snakes as our party giveaways, and invited our dear friend, Jungle James, to bring his corn snake and other critters to entertain our guests. Oh, did the children have a wild time!

The party only lasted 3 hours, but at the end of the day my husband and I were exhausted. I realize now (after almost six years of party planning for my kids), it doesn’t matter how long the party is or how many guests are invited, the amount of work is still the same:

• planning
• writing out invitations
• shopping (food, drinks, party supplies, etc.)
• order the cake
• cleaning the house
• setting up the food
• mingling with the guests
• replenishing the empty food trays and drink cups
• serving the cake
• opening the presents
• cleaning up – BIGGEST JOB OF ALL!
• writing thank you cards

What I’ve learned is Children’s Birthday Parties = Work. THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTIES = EXTRA WORK!!! But it’s worth every moment when I see how much fun everyone* is having. So now that I’ve got one child’s birthday party under my belt, it’s off to plan my daughter’s birthday party. She’s going to be 6 years old, so I know it’s going to be a sassy one. I’ve get less than three months, so I better get to it.

(* That includes the parents!)

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