Michael, my oldest son, is making me and my husband laugh with the planning of his fourth birthday party this month. Once we finally settled on a theme (pirates and princesses) that all three of us could agree on, the fun began.
Who should we invite? My son: “Everybody”. He’s been going around to his friend’s parents asking if they received their invitation. (God forbid if I hadn’t invited all of his little friends!) Well, we didn’t invite everyone. However with about 30 kids along with their parents, we’re looking at 70+ people. My husband: “Who does he think that he is – P. Diddy? We wouldn’t even invite that many people if we were throwing a party for ourselves!”
Where should we have the party? My son: “At our house” That’s not happening. I get too claustrophobic with a bunch of kids running around in a tight space. So, we’re having the party at Chelsea Studios. They have great spaces at reasonable prices (Unlike other studios in the city that charge you 3 to 4 times as much when they hear that it’s a party, Chelsea Studios charges the same rates as they do for rehearsals, auditions, etc.)
What should we give the kids that come? We looked through various pirate and princess themed things and came up with bandanas, tattoos, eye patches and pirate bracelets for the boys along with swords that they would make as crafts at the party; tiaras, nail polish, lip gloss and princess bracelets for the girls along with the glitter wands that they would make as crafts. That was reasonable. Then, my son tried to start adding things for the girls. “We should get all of them glittery purses and necklaces and…” No. Anyway, Birthday in a Box has great party decorating packages while Oriental Trading has really great party favors and craft supplies.
Michael also mentioned that he wanted a (real) ship at his party with water (to sail it on) and a parrot. (No.) He also wanted all of the guests to have “tickets” to get in the party (like at the Children’s Museum). What can I say? At least he knows what he wants.