Can birthday parties actually be fun?
Question of the day: How do you create a successful birthday party?
We’ve got one Saturday for Alexander, who’s turning 2. In recent days, Shola and I have turned to one another and said, “How many people are coming to this thing?” We then both shrug and say, “Not sure.” We didn’t set out to throw a big party; it just seems to have grown with each day-care/church/park/family/neighbor friend we invited. And in some cases, we needed to reciprocate invitations. Invitations seem to go out en masse for kids’ birthday parties. Parents don’t know which kid to invite from day care, so they just invite the whole class. It’s a good idea for kids, but sort of makes it hard to plan a party.
But I digress. The real issue is what to do with these kiddies. We thought about a musician, but couldn’t find anyone suitable. A clown was forbidden after our baby, Rowan, reacted with utter terror to a clown at another party. Face painting requires patience, and that’s antithetical to the idea of two dozen 2-years-olds (remember: we don’t know if this is the real number of attendees) at a birthday party. So we’ve settled on the idea of singing some songs, letting them run around the playground and eating pizza and cupcakes.
But I’m on the hunt for ideas. Got any good games? Activities? Food?
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