Since this is
my blog, I'm going to tell you what
I liked about David's birthday party. (I refer you to David himself if you would like his opinion. He has no blog, MySpace account, or email address, but he is getting better at communicating on the phone.)
- The idea. Greg (for various wise reasons) insisted that David have a birthday party this year. I was resistant...until Greg took David to the Daddy & Me Carnival. The highlight was the bubbles: the children dipped plastic tennis rackets into small plastic trash cans filled with bubble solution. The result was dramatic and a lot of fun. It seemed like the perfect 3-year-old birthday party activity!
- The invitations. I was determined that David help me make the invitations. I wanted him to be involved as much as possible--it was his party (and he's my arts'n'crafts kiddo)! I decided to make the invitations with soap bubble prints. David picked the colors and mixed the bubbles with the paint. He had a good time blowing the colorful bubbles...for about three minutes. This was my first time with this activity (which, by the way, I think is a lot of fun), and by the time I figured out how to really get it to work, David was bored. So I pretty much made them myself. Oh well. But David did help deliver them!
- The bubbles! The badminton rackets we found at the dollar store were perfect. We simply filled up a few plastic trash cans with bubble solution, and the kids went at it. I love this idea! It was so easy, too. (Here's something we learned: I thought we would be thrifty and make our own bubble solution, but we did the math, and it costs 3x more to make your own than to buy it by the gallon!) Eventually, the kids discovered the fan on the a/c--the ultimate bubble machine!
- Our backyard. I love our backyard, so it makes me happy when it makes other people happy. As expected, the bubbles only held their attention for so long. But there were lots of other things for nine fun-loving kids to do. The sandbox was a big hit. I was amazed by how many kids can fit in our tiny sandbox! Kudos to all the kids for sharing the small space and working together on a fabulous tunnel system. Besides the sandbox, there were trees for climbing and a giant dump truck that served as the perfect form of transportation for rides down the hill.
The party hats. When I told David he was going to have a birthday party, he immediately began talking about party hats. He couldn't wait to pick some out! He was very proud to wear his fire engine party hat. I love that kid!- The Party Like Crazy Bubble Water party favors from Target. I love these! They have blow straws that are so much easier for kids to use than those wands. They contain only one fluid ounce, so if one spills, it's not much of a mess. And they provide entertainment during the present-opening period. The kids were able to sit still in their chairs and blow bubbles while David opened his presents. The bubbles added to the festivities and made what can be a somewhat boring part of the party a little more interesting.
- Pre-scooped ice cream. (I know I didn't come up with this on my own--I must have read it somewhere?) The night before the party, I spread out cupcake liners on a tray and filled them with one scoop of ice cream each and then put the tray in the freezer. When it was time for cake and ice cream, distributing the ice cream was super fast. (We also had cupcakes, which David had lovingly decorated with sprinkles and M&Ms.)
David's friends. David is a little social butterfly, and we are blessed to know many wonderful people here. The invite list for a party is always a little tricky. I took the path of least resistance and simply invited his church playgroup friends. They are used to playing with each other, and it was fun for us moms to hang out together. As I was watching these children play together, I was so grateful for David's friends, both past and present. And I am very grateful for their moms. David was sad when his friends left, and he ran to me crying, "Mom, I need my friends! I need my friends!" David, I understand perfectly.
