A Little Bit Different

This year Soren turned three and we decided to do our first "friend party" to celebrate. But the idea of keeping up with the Jones' to in the party department was overwhelming to me, especially at this age. So we did a "play date" instead. Even that was hard, because as I listed the friends Soren has, there were more than 10 -- what I thought would be a ridiculous number of toddlers to have for a 3rd birthday. So we choose a small list for our playdate and kept it to a couple hours with a simple autumn craft the kids took home and some cupcakes.

Soren had a great time and I wasn't stressed about it. And also important to me: we didn't break the bank. We have chosen to do things a little bit different. Also this weekend, Soren was invited to another 3 year-old party. I wasn't there, but he had an awesome time and came home with a terrific favor bag. The party had a theme with adorable handmade invites, themed treats, and more. It was the kind of party I've seen lots of friends put on. I've seen an amazing carnival party. A campout party. And just saw a little girl's Alice In Wonderland tea party with amazing decorations, themed food, Queen of Hearts croquet. I have an acquaintance who performs at princess parties. I look on with jealous admiration for these parties; the craftiness, the creativity and the energy that people put in to the birthday parties. I'd love to be a kid at one of these birthday parties.

But I know my limits, and while I love hosting and having an open home, we have chosen to do things a little differently. We know our limits financially, physically and creatively. We have chosen to teach our kids contentment and use their birthdays as part of that. We still want birthdays to be fun and we want kids to have a great time. We have made an intentional decision to focus our energy on enjoying the celebration rather than stressing about the details, and this first effort was, we think, fun for all. Even me.