We had C’s fabulous 7th birthday party today. It was really wonderful. The kids got to go swimming, and at this age, most of her friends have just recently learned how to swim and are really into it! The weather was gorgeous. (After several days of 95 + degrees plus extremely high humidity, we got relief today with 85 degrees and low humidity…. ahhh!!!!)

I have to say, I feel really great about this party. It was somehow relaxed and I think I’ve figured out why that was so. Compared to A’s birthday two months ago, when I was feeling disorganized and stressed out, this birthday was a total breeze. Almost effortless, even.

Part of the reason for the difference is that A’s birthday was sort of complicated; I had it at the nature center and had to co-ordinate with someone else’s schedule, and didn’t know all the pertinent details about when and what would be expected. Today’s party was great because we didn’t have a strict schedule: I let the kids interests guide the flow of the party.

We had it at our swim club, which is always a wonderful place to be. After a generous amount of pool time, the kids gathered at our picnic table for snacks and I allowed C to open her gifts up, as long as she had the attention of the kid who’d given her each gift. So, this allowed her to see what she got and thank each child individually. Kids who were interested in watching her get gifts could watch, but those who just wanted to hang out eating junk food could do that too.

After we were all sugared up, there was optional face painting, playdough, or playing at the playground, or hop back into the pool for a while. Kids got to do whatever they felt like. (The face painting & playdough is a regular bonus on Thursdays at our swim club, so we joyfully got to add that cute little freebie in.)

Then we enjoyed pizza for dinner, and followed it up with some crafty stuff with making “puffy pets” out of pom-poms, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Followed very quickly thereafter by a very soft ice cream cake. Candles and all. And I even had matches. And a knife for cutting the cake.

All went quite smoothly but the biggest difference is that I had so many great friends helping me out in different ways. The group of kids for sure were C’s friends, but by and large their parents are actually my friends too. This is a group of families that I really relate to and feel comfortable with; they really pitched in and helped out.

Eric helped by keeping an eye on A as she played with his daughter, and by washing the re-usable plastic plates (I’m really trying to keep the waste down to a minimum at parties I host). Colleen picked up my husband from the train station. My husband helped by ordering and picking up the pizzas. Evangeline brought a fruit platter and an extra cooler with ice. Other friends helped by just being there, hanging out with me and having a nice time. I felt supported and surrounded by people who cared. And meanwhile ALL the kids had a blast! It was a truly great day.

Only one glitch. I was having so much fun that I didn’t take any pictures. Not A Single One. Some memories are best recorded by living them, instead of just photographing them.*

Here’s how I feel now – sleepy tired happy:

*CORRECTION: I did take a few pictures AFTER the party was already over. The photo of C holding her birthday balloons (newly added to the top of this post) is from when we’d returned home from the party.