Birthday Party Blues

Since the upcoming weeks aren't busy enough - what with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years on the way - I have assigned myself an awesome project to keep myself from getting too bored - (yeah, ok...)



I really need to get on top of a birthday party for Charlie. His birthday is in between Christmas and New Years and the poor kid always seems to get the shaft. Mind you he has never complained, God Bless him, but this year he had to endure a massive party for Max's birthday/graduation. The event for Max was so huge that I don't think we can let Charlie's birthday slide by this year without at least a decent amount of fanfare. And considering the fact that I am unemployed, I have no excuse not to take the time to make this happen for him.



Anyone who knows me knows that birthdays are just not my forte. When working, I could barely get birthday cards in the mail and when I did, it was anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks late. OK. Bad example. I still struggle with this. SO...a better example would be that when I was working I could barely get the book of stamps to get birthday cards in the mail. So you can imagine my ineptitude at planning an entire party. With invitations and everything? Dealing with RSVP calls? Oh my. You may as well have asked me to scale Everest than have asked me to get a cake with a for-real personalized message. So I managed one "organized" party for Charlie throughout the course of his 6 years. Last year when he said he didn't want a party, I sure didn't press the matter (oh Honey well OF COURSE you don't have to have a birthday party, you don't have to do ANYTHING you don't want to do).



But this year, no such luck. Discussions started as early as July, as a result of aforementioned Birthday/Graduation party for Max. Fortunately at the time, but unfortunately for me now, that party was at the end of June and revolved around the biggest, most obnoxious inflatable water slide you have ever seen on our front yard. It entertained hoards of kids for hours and hours. It is a tough act to follow in the best of circumstances...much less in the dead of winter.



So anyway first thing I have to tackle is the "where." I know that I sure as heck do not want all these kids in my house. I have a lot of trouble - well, ok perhaps it is a slight phobia - of a concentrated number of things - living things - in one place. A bird, a fish, a bug - all imminently "dealable" when they're on their own, or even in a group of two or three. But flocks of birds, schools of fish - even the recent ladybug swarms - all disturb me greatly, not so much because of the actual creatures themselves but because there are so darn many of them. Same theory applies with kids - one on one, I'm fine, everything's great - but put a large group of children in one small area? Two words: Hibbidy BaJibbidies. (You've seen Madagascar, right?) So, no - it would be better if this event is not in my own house. Way too confined.

Charlie desperately wants a "sledding" party, but I certainly can't guarantee snow. And I think renting a snow making machine is out of the question. Plus you know what would happen - all of these children would go sledding for all of 10 minutes and then want to come inside for the rest of the 2 hours that I would have them. And then I would end up lining them up against a wall and alphabetizing them (see previous blog post).



All of the other places just seem so done to death. On top of the fact that they all seem to be so very expensive. The one reasonably priced place is the one place that is a close second (my house being first) in the "never going to happen" category and that is the bowling alley. I can't take another bowling party. I just can't. And Charlie won't do cooking. That's "a girl party."

So I remain stuck.

The next thing to tackle is the theme - you know, Spiderman, Transformers, Harry Potter - Charlie is at an age where he is starting to grow out of these kinds of things. On top of which he changes his mind every couple of days. But you can't not have a theme, right? This can make or break the party for birthday boy/girl. One of my favorite stories of all time is about a birthday party theme.

In the Northeast, as many of us are aware, it is not uncommon for religion to play less than what you might call a leading role in our lives. One of my dear friends and her husband, who spent their whole lives here in the Northeast, relocated to the south. Needless to say, religion played a larger part in the lives of their new friends and neighbors. One summer, in an effort to better integrate - and quite frankly in an effort to get a few hours to herself, my friend sent her kids to a Vacation Bible School. It was great - the kids played games, sang songs, listened to stories - they were very excited about what they were learning and would recount it all in great detail each day. They were hooked on the Bible and all it had to offer - so hooked that her 5 year old son asked if he could please have a "Jesus" birthday party.

Now please don't get me wrong I think it's wonderful that Jesus was elevated to Number One Super Hero status in this boy's eyes, worthy of being the THEME to his birthday party. Not Spidey. Not Optimus Prime. Not even the NY Yankees. He wanted Jesus. That is just THE BEST. But what is even better is my imagination taking that further - to the Jesus cone-shaped hats, the Jesus napkins and tablecloth, the Jesus goody bags. Again, I mean no harm or offense - I don't know, maybe this stuff exists? I've just never seen it - not in any Party City around here anyway.

Sadly, Charlie really only has the vaguest notion of Jesus, so I don't think I'll be having the same issue my friend had. I think maybe we'll make due w/ the NY Giants.


So - what I am hoping for is maybe some of you might have some 7 year old "100% boy" Winter birthday party suggestions? Please let me know - would love to hear from you!