A Birthday Party - Recession Style

Today was my first-born’s birthday and I didn’t plan a thing. I usually get overwhelmed in the month of December due to the holidays, the holiday parties and my son’s birthday. The social calendar is always packed to the brim and I find myself passing out at the finish line on December 25th. Not this year though. I took a different approach. I took my time, let go of the stress and let go of the quest for perfection. I scaled back on teachers’ gifts by getting them gift certificates and handwritten notes and I allowed myself to be at peace with that. I didn’t volunteer for all the classroom parties where I have to bake a dish or two from scratch. And instead of trying to plan a Colin Cowey birthday party for my son, I asked him what he would like to do. Chuck E. Cheese. That’s it. He would be satisfied with a couple of hours at Chuck E. Cheese.


The day started with my son’s basketball game at 11. We then walked over to register him and Mini Me for Spring Pony Baseball which was having sign ups behind the gym. Afterwards we rushed home so my son could change into his Cub Scout uniform because his den had a Go See at the fire station around the corner. It was a fabulous tour, which abruptly ended when the firemen got a call. I couldn’t have planned a better ending to the tour. In between the baseball sign ups and the fire station tour, I texted one neighbor and knocked on the door of another to invite their kids to Chuck E. Cheese. That was the extent of my invitations. Again, I was okay with this and most importantly, so was my Big Boy.


One neighbor couldn’t make it due to previous plans but the one across the way could come at 4:30 and so a party was set. By the time 4:30 came, my Big Boy had invited another neighbor and I thought, “This is even better than I expected.” We spent three hours in Chuck E. Cheese, acquired three more kids, and won 1,270 tickets. I dripped not one drop of sweat because this was the party that planned itself. This was the party that I let my Big Boy dictate what was going to happen. This was the party that had no goodie bags, no bounce house, no clown with the balloons. It was total no frills and it was great!

This was also the never-ending party. As a matter of fact, it’s 11:30pm and a few of the kids are STILL here. My little Bam Bam finally went down for the count just a few minutes ago. Everyone came over to our house after the Chuck. Through all of my lack of planning, I forgot all about a cake. I could not let my Big Boy’s birthday go by without a candle to blow out so at 9pm, I found myself hunched over the stove whipping up some cupcakes with sprinkles on top. At 10:07pm we were singing happy birthday. Mini Me had a little slumber party going on in her room with the girls while Big Boy was playing his new Wii Sports game with the boys.

Out of all the seven birthday parties my big boy has had over the years, I would rate this one a 9.5 on a 10 point scale. He had sooooo much fun. It just goes to show you that it’s the simple things that make life so special. These big production birthday parties are for the parents, not the kids. I’ve gone to birthday parties so big that you never even get to see the birthday kid. They’re hidden in a sea of kids and parents and all the equipment that comes with the production.

I think I may have spoiled myself this year. I am not going to totally rule out a big production birthday because they can be a lot of fun and quiet is kept, I love planning them (it’s the execution that I suck at). But there was something really special about this intimate, make-it-up-as-you-go-along party that will make me hesitate to go big.

Happy Birthday Big Boy!! Mommy loves you! Mmmwwahhh!