Birthday Parties Aren't Stressful... When They Aren't At Your House!

Saturday was my son's second birthday party. (He turns two on November 11. Yep... He was an 11/11/11 baby. I'm awesome.)

Last year at his first birthday party, I tried to do everything. I cooked a full meal. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, chicken. You name it. I made it. I baked cupcakes, made homemade decorations, spent hours toiling over every single detail, and invited everyone I knew that had children. And you know what? Besides the pictures, I barely remember it. I do remember being so stressed and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. (Excuse the cliche.) And I remember after it was over, saying "We get to do this every year?? Yay..." Sense the sarcasm?

So this year, I went a different route. I really didn't have the time to invest in a ton of homemade decorations, and we had so much food left over last year that I didn't see the sense in cooking a feast again. And cleanup last year was awful after all of that work! So I rented out the Children's Discovery Museum here in our town. I baked a simple box cake and cupcakes and used canned icing and sprinkles. I bought two tablecloths, colored plates and napkins, and one helium balloon. And I got a veggie tray and a few bags of chips. Ta-da. Instant birthday party with very little fuss. We invited a small group of friends that our son sees on a weekly basis, mostly little boys from our church family and their siblings. I did stretch out of my plan and make treat bags... out of the leftover Halloween candy that I didn't want to keep in the house. I will remember this trick every year for his parties.

And guess what? I know that it just happened, but I remember it! I got to talk to some parents. I got to play with my son. I took my own pictures. And it was amazing! Yes, I did pay a fee to rent the museum, but compared to the amount of money and time I spent on all of the food and decorations last year, it was so worth it! The best part was that when you rent the museum, you get it for a two hour block. The first and last fifteen minutes were set aside for setup and tear down. So when it was time to go, our family helped us gather the little bit of items we had brought and out the door we went. And I came home to my clean home with a few fun presents, I put on comfy clothes, and I watched football.

Best birthday party day ever. I don't think I will ever throw a crazy intricate fully-homemade party again. Because I guarantee my son and his ten friends had so much fun Saturday that they didn't care one bit about what I decorated with and what they ate. Except the cake. They all liked the cake. :)