Our youngest was 3 years old yesterday.
Who knew that organising, preparing for and executing a children’s birthday party would be so draining?
Who knew that pass the parcel would become so complicated - reading the expressions on the children’s faces to figure out who should get the parcel next, and decoding the layers of wrapping paper to figure out what was coming next (for the loaded presents that were intended for boys or girls)… and memorising who has already won something.
Our one mistake was not putting a prize in every layer. While trying to make one of our daughters win (by far the most insecure), she of course unwrapped a layer with nothing in it. How do you land it on her again without it looking like a fix?
The rest of the party went wonderfully - games of musical statues, sleeping lions, and hunt the thimble. Unfortunately the weather was horrid, so we were limited to indoor games. The older children eventually broke away to go and play Gamecube together in the play room. I looked in from time to time and have some pretty hilarious photos of high spirits during Mario Kart races.
The one thing I will take from yesterday, and share with others is that childrens parties don’t run smoothly by accident or luck - they run smoothly through hard work. It is in the hands of the parents at the party to make it fun - and we did (I think).
W and I were humbled by the amount of money people had spent on presents. Although we had bought one big toy (a tricycle with a steering handle), we hadn’t spent a great deal on toys and presents. We tend to see “stuff” as unimportant - we would rather give time to ours than toys (if that makes sense). That being said, we have some HUGE thanks to give to our friends and family who either posted or delivered some amazing things.
We’re going to be writing some pretty important thankyou cards.