Yes! "Birthday Season" is upon us!
birth·day sea·son /ˈbɜrθˌdeɪ ˈsizən/ [burth-dey] [see-zuhn]
–noun
The timeframe between April and July when all five of our kids have birthdays consecutively every two weeks.
I have to admit, last year being my first year of the FULL season, I was a little intimidated.
It can be difficult enough to plan a birthday for ONE child, much less five!
Plus I have always tried to throw some original flair into the parties instead of deferring to Chucky Cheese, which can add additional stress.
I've learned that Birthday Season presents me with two major obstacles:
1. Being Creative x 5
2. Being able to afford it all
To fix obstacle #2, we made the decision not to throw big gatherings for birthdays anymore.
Even though we love sharing these moments with all our family and friends, it can put a $$ strain on both sides.
I love supporting my friends by attending their kids birthday events... But I can imagine being in their shoes getting 5 birthday party invites to the same house within eight weeks! Gas to the country alone would kill them! lol
Then from our side, it can be expensive to make sure the kids get (majority) of the gifts they want, decorations, and fun birthday activities. Plus providing food and beverages for 20 to 40 additional people five times can be tough. Then you throw in party favors for children guests, birthday cakes and the dollar signs keep adding up!
We have decided instead that we will do an activity with the kids and then have presents, cake and ice cream with the family afterwards. That way we make sure each child feels like their birthday was properly celebrated and we still have grocery money by the end of the summer! ...Just in time to buy back to school supplies =P
For obstacle #1, I've really got to get my imagination in high gear! I have a few ideas nailed down but not the details to every party like I normally would have.
Time is sneaking up on me! Seems like it was just Christmas. =/
Birthdays 1 and 2 are this weekend. Happy Birthday to Tayler (7) and Tre'stin (8)!! Can't wait to celebrate with you!!
I'll update pics soon. :0)
-A
