Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Yippy-O Ky-Yay!
I'm a total nut for my kids' birthday parties. Ever since my #1 son was about 7, we've gone all out to stage lavish (yet economical) theme party productions for our kids. The parties for me are truly a labour of love.
Some of our past themes have included spies, pirates and superheroes. This weekend for the first time we are doing a Western / Cowboy theme for #3, my youngest son.
The guiding principle with my parties is that they are not parties so much as they are interactive fantasy stories. Planning a party (which involves a brainstorming session with the whole family) begins with developing a story line aimed at drawing the guests into the fantasy from the moment they receive the invitation.
For example, the invitations for our legendary spy party was a Mission Impossible-style message burnt onto CDs. "Your mission, if you choose to accept it..." and all that. (After the mission recruitment message, the CD featured a selection of spy movie and TV themes. To this day, I have neighbourhood dads tell me that they've kept the CD and still listen to it.) Another example was the message-in-a-bottle invitations, sent out for the pirate party.
For the cowboy party, the invite is a wanted posted, featuring pictures of #3's brothers as the nefarious villains and a public call for able-bodied young men to join the posse.
Another feature of our parties is that there are no treat bags at the end of the party. Instead, the guests' take-home items are incorporated into the story, with the rule of thumb always being "if you play with it, you can take it home."
There is no minimizing the excitement this causes with kids. One of our pirate party activities was called "swabbing the deck"; the kids chased balloons with cheap dollar-store mops. This, amazingly, became the most popular take-home item. Kids exclaimed to their parents "Look, Mom, I get to keep this mop!"
Early on in my party-planning career, I discovered a guaranteed crowd-pleaser: a little activity I like to call "The Cathartic Beating of the Adult". At every party, the kids get the opportunity to whack me with pool noodles, squirt me with water pistols or (in this case) shoot me with imaginary bullets. Year in and year out, this seems to be the activity that makes the biggest impression on the guests, consistently leaving them rolling on the floor laughing.
A great deal of work and stress goes into planning these parties. Most parents, I know, would prefer to buy a store-bought, off-the-shelf party from Chuck E Cheese and other such places. To me, such parties are rather bloodless and lifeless. Nothing compares to the happiness you can give your child by being actively involved in his birthday. After all, if you can't commit, really commit to your child's happiness once a year on his birthday, when else are you going to do it?
If you're a parent and you're looking for party ideas, drop me a line. I'm always happy to help.
Now for the feedback part, dear readers: what are your birthday memories? Got any stories about either fantastically good or horrendously bad birthday parties?
posted by Mentok @ 11:12 a.m.,
11 Comments:
-
At 1:07 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
-
I've actually enjoyed every Birthday I've ever had except one. I usually get the most presents...because I'm the youngest.
Only bad birthday I experienced was 2 months after my dad died. I went to Denny's with my mom and we both just couldn't enjoy ourselves. -
At 5:01 p.m.,
said...
-
well i wish i'd been able to read this before the last party i threw! although even in my wildest dreams i couldn't come up with something so fun. your kids are really blessed to have parents who will do so much for them, and with so much love. : )
-
At 5:13 p.m.,
Library Mama said...
-
And I, dear readers, get to play the part of Miss Suzy, the saloon floozy, complete with saloon girl costume.
Think those six-year-old boys'll like that? -
At 5:14 p.m.,
Mentok said...
-
mjrc - thanks for saying that. I figure these parties are my legacy. Long after I'm gone, long after everyone else has forgotten everything else about me and all my other accomplishments have become meaningless, if you ask my sons what they remember about their dad, they'll probably say "He threw the best birthday parties." No matter when I die, I can die happy knowing that.
-
At 8:18 p.m.,
Bathroom Hippo said...
-
Wait until they get older Mentok...
At 16...they're not gonna be wanting anything do with Batman! -
At 8:47 p.m.,
Mentok said...
-
Oh, we've crossed that bridge a long time ago, Hippo.
With a tween-ager on the go, we're already fully into the rejection and rebellion scenario.
But even my oldest son still allows me to pitch him on birthday party ideas, since I've so far managed to keep coming up with cool, age-appropriate themes. -
At 9:20 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
-
Hi Mentok,
I'm sure it draws the whole family together & makes for super memories.
I was just wondering...
who does the cleaning up? -
At 9:28 p.m.,
Mentok said...
-
I do as often as not. We all chip in.
I don't stick Mrs. M with all the clean-up after we've had the fun, if that's what you're supposing.
The clean-up is indeed pretty major at these things. -
At 4:14 a.m.,
Rachel said...
-
Planning a party (which involves a brainstorming session with the whole family) begins with developing a story line aimed at drawing the guests into the fantasy from the moment they receive the invitation.
I can just imagine the entire family gathered around and you with your pad of paper and pencil...Freaking awesome.
and then I read this...
Nothing compares to the happiness you can give your child by being actively involved in his birthday. After all, if you can't commit, really commit to your child's happiness once a year on his birthday, when else are you going to do it?
And tears developed in my eyes.
This is so true! This really hit home for me. I still love my birthday every year, I look forward to it and always remember it being a big day in my house.
And the positive impact these parties will have on their confidence and self-esteem is priceless. Quite honestly you should write a book and parents should take notes from you and Mrs. M.
I am quite serious.
Cheers!! And I wish your youngest son a very happy birthday, may all his wishes come true. :) -
At 9:43 a.m.,
Mentok said...
-
Ah, thanks Rachel. That's all so nice of you to say.
Yes, the brainstorming session is much as you imagine it. We end up with a pretty sophistocated document called the Party Plan, including diagrams of the venue, materials lists, etc. My kids will already be experienced event planners by the time they grow up.
I have thought about writing a book about birthday party tips and tricks, but this is the first time anyone's suggested Mrs. M and I write a book on parenting. That's a high compliment for any parent. -
At 8:45 p.m.,
Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...
-
Oh no...Mentok...I wasn't supposing no such thing.
Have yourselves a wonderful time.
