My daughter Karin just celebrated her 8th birthday; her request was to have a sleepover. I am a sucker when it comes to birthdays — I have a hard time saying no. The planning and preparation begin immediately and I tend to go overboard, trying way too hard to make everything perfect. When you have expectations of perfection you are almost always guaranteed disappointment. This particular birthday became an expression of love for my daughter. The bigger and better it was became a way to show my love for her, so it had to be perfect!
It turned our pretty fabulous, even though I didn’t sleep much and it was a lot of work.
I asked my mom to help supervise the six young ladies who’d be sleeping over. Did I mention I picked them up in a limo to take them to dinner? Why, you ask? Because I’m crazy. Karin had mentioned that she had never ridden in a limo and how fabulous it would be, so I had to make it happen! Then came the question of where the girls would sleep and what they would sleep on. I had a company bring individual mattresses and tents with decorations, because that’s how I envisioned her first sleepover. My husband asked if I was going a little overboard and I answered, of course I was — you only turn eight once! I became a Momzilla, birthday style!
We decided that next year we are going out of town for Karin’s birthday. I can’t think of doing another birthday party, which got me thinking about the last time I did a home birthday party — three years ago! For that party I went all out too! I think that maybe every three or four years I can handle taking on the stress of planning a birthday party.
We only have so many birthdays with our kids in our homes, where they ask us to share in those moments. I absolutely want to cherish those moments, but I don’t think the most fabulous cake or decorations are that important in the big scheme of things. My advice on how to throw the perfect birthday party is don’t do it. Last year we took a cruise and we were in Jamaica for her birthday. She got to zip line thru the jungle and experience new cultures. We got incredible family time. She celebrated with other kids at a camp out on the cruise ship, and I had to do nothing but enjoy her which was perfect!
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I never had a single birthday party growing up. We’d have a cake but it was always just my mom and grandmother. So I love planning birthday parties, making elaborate cakes based on the party theme. But I’ve never planned anything as extravagant as what you’re describing. I might save that expense and luxury for a milestone like 13 or a sweet 16. Kids really just want to be with their friends. Some of our best parties have just been letting the kids free play then eat cake and ice cream.
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