Birthday Time

It's almost July which means that birthday time is coming up in my house. Both of my girls have birthdays in July because I am only fertile in October, apparently. I am pretty good at planning ahead for birthdays. Two months ago, I gave my kids an option - you can have a big birthday party or you can invite 1 friend to do an activity of your choice (movies, ice-skating, the aquarium, ect) AND $50 to spend however they please. They went for the cold hard cash....until 2 weeks ago. About 2 weeks ago my oldest was like, "I want a sleepover party for all of my friends." I really am not in the "zone" to be planning parties and I thought we had an agreement. I upped the ante. "I will give you $100." She thought for a minute. "No." Damnit! My youngest piped up, "I want a party too - at Chuck E. Cheese." Whatever.

I was like scrambling around. I booked the party at Chuck E Cheese A.K.A. the casino for kids. That place promotes gambling for children. My daughters become slot machine crackheads at that place. They just keep feeding the machines coins. I'm like "C'mon, there are 4 kids waiting to play." They are all glazed over, "Just one more time, I need more tickets." The Chuck E Cheese near our house is semi-decent in the afternoons but at night that place is scary. I wouldn't step foot in there around tax return time. The real reason my daughter wants to have her party there is to go in the ticket blaster. It's like one of those money grabber wind machines except that it swirls tickets around you. She is memorized by it. It will cost me about $200 to occur but you're only 6 once!

My older daughter wants a sleepover which seems easy enough - except that she wants a tiki themed sleepover. She was explaining to me what she wants and this kid wants me to build an island paradise in the backyard. I do not have the time, energy, skills or funds for that. This is not my Super Sweet Sixteen. So we are going to do some tiki torches and outdoor games. Limbo, pass the coconut, a scavenger hunt, sparklers in the evening (who doesn't love sparklers?). We will set up a craft table so they can make friendship bracelets, key chains and something else I haven't figured out yet. I will make punch in clear glasses with umbrellas and decorate the house will luau themed stuff. It will be fun!

Now the "friend" parties are taken care of. On their actual birthdays which fall during the week we will decorate with banners and balloons before they wake up, they get to open a present in the morning, they pick where they want to have dinner and then we do cake and cupcakes in the evening and they get 2-3 gifts from us.

We usually throw a party with all the aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandmom, nieces and nephews to celebrate as well. This year we are going to do a big birthday brunch instead of dinner which will be fun. I am going to put birthday candles in doughnuts! I am going to be sick of dinners and cake by the end of the month so I think it will be a good alternative.

We pretty much are having 5 birthday celebrations next month - I am going to be so tired and out of money by the time August arrives. The kids have lived through another earth rotation which is a big cause to celebrate. Not all parents are as lucky. So when I feel like I am starting to get stressed, I will try to count my blessings instead!