Our W is turning 2yrs tomorrow. Two years old! Wow. It's amazing that our first babe is now a full fledged toddler.
And I'm so excited about his birthday. Excited to have a fun filled, low key birthday that we will all enjoy. No birthday bash for us with overwhelmed, over-sugared, over-spent, over-stressed people. This will be a quiet immediate family event in which the morning is whiled away at Heritage Park. W will love it there! Trains ("toot toot! bumps!" says W anytime we see a train or train track when we are out driving around the city), room to run, and animals to see (He'll be able to practice all his animal sounds as hear them live!) What more can a two yr old ask for? Then after dinner there's the cake and gifts. A hockey stick cake no less. W still loves "GO!", so the cake will be a hit. On Tuesday we're having a few little buddies over for a playdate-with-cake, but it isn't a birthday party. Just a morning of unorganized play with three friends and cake. B & I decided against the traditional party as it's too overwhelming for all of us, especially W. He does NOT like it when people sing "Happy Birthday". I think it scares him. Plus it's just too easy to get carried away with the celebration. Really, children's birthday parties have now become like weddings. The cake, the menu, the guest list, the favors....all that's missing is the dress. Did you know there is a website to assist with diminishing the stress of birthday parties? Parents are doing their best to give their children the birthday they will always treasure and maybe the birthday they never received as a child. Whatever happened to home parties? You know....cake, jello, ice cream, weiner roasts (that was the social event of the summer during my childhood), etc. Now it's rented ponies, "live" pirates, rented tiger cubs and even limos (for a 3yr old)! Hopefully, as time marches on our boys won't feel like the neighborhood geeks because their parents provided small scale celebrations. We're just as proud and excited to celebrate their birthdays, just not in the market for the hollywood style soires. All I can really say is....let them eat cake!
I think a lot of parents must feel the need to overcompensate for not spending enough time with their kids. I do not feel that need!
ReplyDeleteWe used to have parties on certain years as a kid. The rest of the time it was just small gatherings with family. Always special, just not a big fancy affair.
I'm with you.
Happy Birthday W!!
I think that's a great idea...parties on specific years and family always. That makes it all more special rather than these unrealistic expectations and then the day is never as good as anticipated.
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