The Perfect Party

We had Alex's birthday party yesterday. I was a little worried about it because all he wanted to do for it was 'play the Wii' and 'eat pizza cut into squares'. Usually, when I throw a birthday party, there are detailed itineraries that I hand out to all of my helpers (I usually recruit some poor souls to help create the 'atmosphere' I am aiming for). That way we stay on schedule, nothing gets forgotten and everybody knows what they are supposed to do, and when it needs to be done. Could I really hold a birthday party without the entire thing mapped out? It felt like I would be aimlessly floating.

Well, we held that totally 'laid back' free form party, and all those boys loved it. We purchased Mario Party 8 which turned out to be perfect. Four players can play simultaneously (you need 4 remotes). There are 'mini games' which take less than a minute to complete. We rotated players (3 games on, 3 games off) and I think the pace was almost perfect. (For those of you thinking of doing this, make sure you rotate the honor of being "Player One"-the one who picks the games being played. That hadn't crossed my mind, but the boys quickly brought me up to speed!). There were only a couple of boys who didn't have a Wii at home, so I helped them learn how to use the controls. I also help "Player One" to make choices representative of the other players wishes :). I was busy, but not stressed. In fact, I feel a little guilty about how 'unstressed' I was.

Alex decided he wanted his first 'all-boy' party (with the exception of his sisters and a couple of their friends). These boys were hilarious, their jokes were so, well, boy. They loved the pizza, the cake and the Wii. Definitely a different dynamic, but still darling. I loved being able to give them 2nds, 3rds and some 4ths of cake and ice cream! (After all it was a party!) They also took their Wii playing so seriously. It still makes me laugh to see those intent little faces.

My favorite part of the party was when Alex was opening his gifts at the end. Two of the boys gave him cash. Alex opened it up, smiled and then said, "Thank you for making me rich!". What a sweetheart. Happy birthday buddy. We sure love you and all the laughter you bring to our home!