My first and second attempts at throwing birthday parties for our daughter were frantic affairs utterly lacking in the qualities that are supposed to define a party -- you know, like fun, for example. If one were to witness these exhausted, cooped-up, late winter birthday parties at our house, one would feel rather sorry for the child being, "celebrated." And one might suggest prescription meds to the host.
But you can cue the Rocky theme music because this year will be different! I have been baking and I have been shopping and I have been planning.
There will be a tea party.
There will be crafts
and scones
and cucumber sandwiches
and hats!
And if those aren't the ingredients in the recipe for three year-old fun, I don't know what is! Gentle reader, does "scone" not equal "fun" in your world?
I'm not fooling anyone, am I?
Do I know what I'm doing? Hell, no. But I am going to feign some confidence, even as I second-guess my every choice and decision:
Am I sending the wrong message to my daughter about gender roles? Will the girls sit still and do a craft? What do I do for Eva? What happens when someone asks about Eva's pictures? Where will I find the watermelon tea that the birthday girl requested? How can I make a handle for the teacup cake I've imagined?
Mainly:
Will I hold it together or will I be deported back to Angstganistan from whence I came never to return to HappyPartyFunLand again?
This started as an online journal in early 2006. At the time, it was a carefree spot for silly diatribes and the occasional photo. Since then, I got pregnant with mono.amniotic mono.chorionic twins, learned one of our daughters had a heart defect, spent 11 weeks in a hospital room and 29 more days with Eva in the NICU and PICU before losing her. We have two children who are alive and thriving and one who didn't make it. For me, this has become that place in between.
Ooo, a birthday tea party is the best idea! I don't know if this helps, or is just the least of the worries, but last time I was at the market, I noticed that Republic of Tea has this line of tea called Little Citizen's Tea. And while they don't specifically have watermelon tea, they do have fruity, kid-friendly tea, like cherry vanilla.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing my daughter really liked at her last birthday party was a scavenger treasure hunt thing. I wrote clues in rhyme, and hid the next clue, and at the end, in the treasure box, I hid the gift bags for each kid. It ends up being a really long activity, and the kids mostly stay focused.
And about Eva, I read this on someone else's blog, but I incorporated it during our holiday cards, which is simply to put remembering Lucy at the end of our cards, but you could do it in the gift bags. Happy Birthday. Remembering Eva. Just an idea. Maybe a lousy one at that. There is no handbook, and sometimes I think there oughta be. xo