This year, because we are lazy and Back to School is always super chaotic, we told our 5.5 year old Abbie that we will not be doing a birthday party for her. It takes time to sink in, so I made sure I started telling her this months in advance. She seemed happy to be hanging out w/us for her big 6 (provided we give her lots of yummy food and little gifts from mommy and daddy).
Of course, things never go as one planned. 2 weeks ago, hubby in his happy moment, decided, "Hey, why don't we have Abbie's friends and parents come over for a surprise party? We're already going to the Awana (kids' fellowhship) training for leaders (that morning & afternoon) with them anyways! So we sent out the Evite and were thrilled almost everyone could come!
So on Saturday afternoon (we celebrated 2 days early), we took her to Sam Woo and Diho bakery to pick up tons of food and cake. She was suspicious when I walked out with a big pink box that usually only contains cake (in Diho tradition). "Why do you have a cake in there, mommy?" asked Abbie. "Umm....." replied mommy. "Ok," I fessed up, "We're celebrating your birthday in 1 hour!"
That evening, she had a blast with her girlfriends and their siblings! They made up 'cheers' which were funny, and had a good time eating the cake! The moms and dads had a great time bonding too!
Thanks everyone for coming down after an exhausting/sleepy day of training! I've never done surprise parties before and it's almost impossible to hide things from your little ones (she already discovered 'Princess and the Frog' plates and cups in the trunk).....but it was fun to try anyways (and a good mental exercise in addition to my daily juggling act)!
That night after the guests left, our usually low key and mellow 9 yr old boy (big brother) had an unexpected meltdown because of the hoopla of sister's party....so hubby and I may secretly plan a small party for him too in November. He's had a few small celebrations in the past few years, but having a Thanksgiving birthdate is tricky because people are on vacation all week!
He never whined about having a party before (a pretty good kid!) but I think it won't be a bad idea this year, since a few close friends will help him socialize more and he can enjoy his buddies' company on his big 10! Besides, daddy and I like to eat and chat w/the parents of these precious kids too! So here we go as we continue our family circus/chaos. Next year, we will definately take a year off from parties (hosting them, that is)!
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