From previous posts, you may know that my boys have had some blow out birthday parties. You may also know that we decided to change things this year for Jake as he turned 8. My husband and I decided that at some point the guest list needed to shrink and the expense decrease. Turning 8 seemed like a good age to tone it down a bit and it turns out…it was a wonderful party…even without a water slide or games and crafts.

Jake even decorated his cake with his own toys

We cut down from inviting 10 kids to a more manageable 5.  Instead of hiring My Once Upon a Theme (who we love and will use for Sam’s last big to do), I bought some supplies at the party store for a grand total of $35, ordered a cake and some pizza. We let the boys play video games and have a Nerf battle in the backyard. Everyone had a good time and my house was still standing at the end of the 2 hours.

Things could have been different….Jake’s friends are good kids and that made it easy. Maybe it is because they also know me as Mrs. Gump (the teacher) at school, but whatever it was…they were polite, cleaned up after themselves and said thank you. What more could I have asked for? The most important thing was that Jake enjoy himself and that he see the value in simply having some friends over and hanging out..some close friends..not everyone on the class roster I see some great parties ahead for the boys.

What do you do for birthday parties?

This past Tuesday my oldest turned 8. Like most moms, I find it hard to believe how quickly time has flown by. Since he was born here at Camp LeJeune in 2003 we have moved 3 times, given him a little brother and been through three deployments. Crazy!

Last Big Party When Jake turned 7

We have always thrown big birthday bashes for the boys, but we have made a decision that starting with their 8th birthdays, we are going to bring it down a notch. It is time to start inviting only those kids they truly play with instead of the whole class. No more bouncy houses and water slides….we are moving on to a party at the house with games, playtime, pizza and cake.  Jake and his friends don’t want to make crafts anymore or have a party with such a set “schedule” of events. All he wants is time to play Xbox with his buddies and Nerf.

Even with such a paired down party…there was still plenty to be done. Invites and the cake were ordered, paper ware and balloons……after all, we still need to make it a party  It just feels nice to know it will be more low key and it feels even nicer knowing that Jake is OK with that and even prefers it now.

We have one more blow out this summer for Sam’s 7th…….then I will happily plan his 8th as a more “intimate” affair

What about birthday parties for your Tweens? Low key or blow out?

Happy 2011! I am not sure how everyone else celebrated but our ball “dropped” right around 8:30PM. I would like to say we did it just for the boys since they are only 6 and 7 and would never make it til midnight. The truth is, I don’t think Kerry and I could make it either! They are too young to be able to stay up that late and we are too old.

Party Boys

We never really celebrated New Years with the boys until last year. We were in Ohio and my mom and dad changed all the clocks in the house so 9PM became midnight. The boys were convinced they were up til 12 and ringing in the new year properly. With our Ohio trip cut short his year, we were here in NC. There was no way to change all the clocks with the boys home so we compromised. I agreed to load up on supplies and pizza if they agreed to an earlier 2011…….it worked out for all of us.

It was a cheap party….$30 at the party store for some balloons, hats and noisemakers. When our timer counted down 3, 2, 1….you would have thought it was the real deal. The boys were thrilled and we got to celebrate with them while we still had some energy I can see this becoming a tradition in our house and it is one I really like. One day they will be older and may want to head out but I think we’ll always have our own little celebration a little early..after all…they may want to stay up one day soon but Kerry and I are just getting older

How did you celebrate New Years?

I tell you one thing, I love birthdays!  Most of all, I love my children’s birthdays!  I love having a whole day to spoil them and make them feel SPECIAL!!!

We have a few birthday traditions we do around our house.  On the morning of a birthday, the birthday fairy always comes and leaves a gift at the bottom of their bed.  It is usually something small and simple but is wrapped and waiting for them when they wake up.  We also allow the kids to pick out ANY cereal they want for their birthday.  This is especially exciting because I never let them buy sugar cereals and you bet they get cookie crisp or something super sugary like that!!  We also let them choose a restaurant to go to for dinner.  It is usually a toss-up between Chuck-E-Cheese or Texas Roadhouse.  I love traditions and love that they know some specific things they get to look forward to for their birthday.

I don’t always have a birthday party for them.  Every other year or so I let them  invite their friends over for a birthday party.  I let them pick a theme and we go for it.  This year, my 7-year-old chose a Star Wars theme.  We had such a good time planning that party.  The Internet was a great place to get ideas.

Getting ready for the party was a family affair and everyone got excited during the process.  We moved all the furniture out of the front room  and draped black industrial plastic from the ceiling to the floor.  We covered the plastic in glow in the dark stars, hung planets from the ceiling and used a black light to make the boys felt like they were in a distant galaxy. 

The boys had such a good time together and the birthday boy was bursting with happiness.  Another year and another birthday gone and LOTS more fun birthday’s to celebrate over the years!

What birthday traditions do you have?

As a mother of two, I try to do my best to plan ahead.  I set up hair appointments a month in advance, I call the doctor a month ahead of time for well-child checkups and I even make sure my calendar is marked when it is time to change the air filters in the house.

When it comes to my children’s birthday parties it is no different. I have worked with the same company for a couple of years now. I choose a theme through them, order a cake and send out invites…they do the rest (fantastic!) My only job is to get them a head count for the party………easy, right?!

Sadly, each and every year, I am reminded that many parents simply don’t understand or care about an RSVP. It has become a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I set a date for the RSVP (worded very nicely I might add with a phone number AND e-mail) so I can have an accurate count for things like goodie bags, crafts and games. If I can’t provide this number to the party company, they can’t plan accordingly. It never fails that I don’t hear from people by the deadline or they call the night before (worse yet…never at all). I would not want a child to leave the party empty handed because we did not know they were coming or watch them sit while the other kids make the craft. So….in an effort to help spread the word about what RSVP means…here is a wonderful link you can check out and share with your friends who may also be challenged by this issue.

The Meaning of RSVP

Anyone else have similar issues when it comes time to plan a party? How do you handle those who don’t respond?