I used to plan every detail for my kids birthday. I would have themes and take home gifts. And while I don't regret a second of those birthday celebrations. I have to admit I'm, literally, still paying for it. When my kids were really little I was a mostly stay at home mom and I would charge anything above our cost of living budget knowing one day I would be working again full time and paying it off. So now that I am working 60+ hours a week I don't have time to scrub my baseboards and windows before guests come over. Our hose is in the middle of several small DIY renovations. I don't want the added stress and anxiety of planning a party in my own home, and as a more mature mom I understand that my kids don't really care about the over the top decor and organic handcrafted snack served at their parties, they just want to run around on the playground with their gaggle of friends.
So for Vera's birthday this year, we made the switch to the nearby park. So we packed up the car with some Costco pizza (because one slice of non organic cheese on bread isn't going to undo all the natural food we eat and grow the rest of the year). And we brought a tablecloth from home that we already owned. I brought two drink dispensers, a bucket for ice, and my glass water bottles from my house - because I don’t think that the convenience excuse is really acceptable as far as disposable plastic goes. I'm not okay with single use plastic, so I made sure to bring glass water bottles and recyclable and reusable cups. I actually have a collection of ceramic plates and metal silverware and glasses that I have acquired from thrifting and mismatched stuff. So, I bring those for parties and it’s honestly super easy because I just put everything in a plastic bag and then drop them in the dishwasher when I get home. Not a lot of extra work and it doesn’t end up in a landfill and that’s really important to me when planning an event. Oh and I did bring a pinata that my mom had gifted to her mom. We had a stick and we tied it up to a tree.
Almost everything we had at home, it was just the pizza, cake and the balloons which came out to like $250 but if you can do it for cheaper please tell me how! Because that’s the lowest I’ve ever thrown a party for and I feel like all of her friends had a great time. I also brought some henna and that kind of allowed for some more entertainment. I guess think about what skills you might have to offer guests and how you can make the party special for your child and still cost-effective for you. Because ultimately the birthday is cool but I need to be able to have resources and financial security to help pay for everything for them, forever, so one day does not justify a huge investment like I had done in the past. Like I said, I don’t regret the past big parties, but I learned from them and I do want to be smarter about it for the future. From here on out we’ll probably do more of these park birthday parties.. They're free, you bring your own stuff, hang out with your friends, have a good time, go home and if everyone still wants to hang out fine, go back to the moderately clean house for an after party. And that's how I feel about Parties in the Park, what about you? How do you celebrate with your children?
Basic Checklist:
- Pizza
- Reusable or biodegradable Plates
- Cups
- Metal utensils
- Bag for kitchenware
- Paper Bag for recycling (another for trash if your park doesn't have trash cans)
- Cake and/or Cupcakes
- Candles
- Lighter or Matches
- Bucket for ice
- Ice
- Glass reusable water bottles (upcycled)
- Drink Dispenser(s)
- Lemonade or another drink by the gallon for dispensers
- Sharpies for labeling drink cups
- napkins
Optional but suggested:
- Balloons
- Table Cloth
- Pinata, (and candy!)
- Bat or stick
- Rope to hang it
- Folding table if you didn't reserve a table
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