Last year, I decided that big birthday celebrations were not for me. I went all out for Doll Face's birthday last year. I made party favors, put together goodie bags, rented a party venue and poured over party planning. I ran around like a mad woman, and tried to accommodate everyone that attended Doll Face's birthday party.
And I hated it.
At the end of the day I was stressed, I was unhappy, and I was unsatisfied. And I know that sounds selfish but it's the honest truth. I just felt that my initial intentions were lost among streamers and birthday cake.
I wanted my daughter to feel special and loved. And I honestly didn't feel like this was accomplished because I didn't get to actually spend time with her at her own birthday party. I was so preoccupied with making sure things ran well and that everyone was happy, that spending time with her was sacrificed. It was not something that I wanted to repeat again.
So, I decided that she will only have four more birthday parties in her life time: 5, 10, 15 and 21. I will not put myself thru the stress of planning and executing a birthday party every year. Instead, we have decided to either take a family trip or just have an intimate gathering where we celebrate her big day.
This decision has really lifted a lot of stress from my shoulders. Sometimes the expectations we put on ourselves can be overwhelming. And if it's not working, it is time to reassess the situation and do something different. I love my daughter, and I want what is best for her but I also want to enjoy raising her. Stress plus Mommy equals no good.
This year's birthday was exactly what I envisioned. It was simple, it was thoughtful and it was stress free. And I LOVED it!
The birthday girl woke up to a balloon surprise from Daddy. He inflated about 50-70 balloons and laid them on the living room floor for Doll Face to find in the morning. She was ecstatic to find the balloons in the morning. I have to give my husband credit for this idea. It was an awesome plan and produced an amazing response. And he didn't even go on Pinterest to come up with the idea. Yay hubby!
I decorated our little apartment for her. And set out her birthday gifts. The Fisher Price Little People Disney Princess was a total success. Doll Face loved it.
After a little cleaning up and wardrobe change, we set off to lunch. Per the birthday girl's request, we went to John's Incredible Pizza. She loves this place. Think Chuck E Cheese on steroids We had pizza, rode the roller coaster, and played arcade games.
Afterwards, we came home and had some of the homemade cake I made.
And I hated it.
At the end of the day I was stressed, I was unhappy, and I was unsatisfied. And I know that sounds selfish but it's the honest truth. I just felt that my initial intentions were lost among streamers and birthday cake.
I wanted my daughter to feel special and loved. And I honestly didn't feel like this was accomplished because I didn't get to actually spend time with her at her own birthday party. I was so preoccupied with making sure things ran well and that everyone was happy, that spending time with her was sacrificed. It was not something that I wanted to repeat again.
So, I decided that she will only have four more birthday parties in her life time: 5, 10, 15 and 21. I will not put myself thru the stress of planning and executing a birthday party every year. Instead, we have decided to either take a family trip or just have an intimate gathering where we celebrate her big day.
This decision has really lifted a lot of stress from my shoulders. Sometimes the expectations we put on ourselves can be overwhelming. And if it's not working, it is time to reassess the situation and do something different. I love my daughter, and I want what is best for her but I also want to enjoy raising her. Stress plus Mommy equals no good.
This year's birthday was exactly what I envisioned. It was simple, it was thoughtful and it was stress free. And I LOVED it!
The birthday girl woke up to a balloon surprise from Daddy. He inflated about 50-70 balloons and laid them on the living room floor for Doll Face to find in the morning. She was ecstatic to find the balloons in the morning. I have to give my husband credit for this idea. It was an awesome plan and produced an amazing response. And he didn't even go on Pinterest to come up with the idea. Yay hubby!
I decorated our little apartment for her. And set out her birthday gifts. The Fisher Price Little People Disney Princess was a total success. Doll Face loved it.
After a little cleaning up and wardrobe change, we set off to lunch. Per the birthday girl's request, we went to John's Incredible Pizza. She loves this place. Think Chuck E Cheese on steroids We had pizza, rode the roller coaster, and played arcade games.
Afterwards, we came home and had some of the homemade cake I made.
It was a truly amazing day! I can't believe that she is 3 years old. My baby is growing up fast. Life is good. We are so blessed and thankful.
omg, how adorable she is! happy birthday to her!! lil g is turning 5 in a few weeks and i haven't even started planning a party yet :( i suck!
ReplyDeleteAwww, you don't suck Sabz! *Hugs* Hope you feel better soon. I am sure as soon as you get better, lots of plans will be under way. :)
DeleteYay for small parties my little one is 4 and she has never had a party. We always make sure it's very small making the day all about her and she loves it therefore we love it.
ReplyDeleteI learned my lesson the hard way. LOL. Never again. Small and intimate is 100x better. :)
DeleteI think that's a great idea to space out the birthday parties and just make the other birthday special intimate family days :) Happy 3rd birthday to your daughter
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I only ever had a handful of birthday parties the rest where wonderfully special family dinners and outings. I never resented my parents for it, because my birthday was always a special day. The year of my 16th birthday I actually asked my parents if I could go on the school trip to Italy instead of having a big Sweet 16. I turned 16 in Rome and no birthday party could have ever topped that.
ReplyDeleteI love the balloon idea, that is so fun - I will have to remember that. And kuddos for your Hubs for a great idea, awesome! It looks like a great time, Happy 3rd Birthday to your beautiful girl.
ReplyDeleteI love the small and intimate idea. I have done big parties every year for our oldest (mostly because she was an only child and we were longing for another so it was my escape instead of thinking of not having more kids to plan parties for) but as she gets older she doesn't seem to care as much about the big party.
This year should be interesting, I am doing what I swore I never would do and combining my kids birthday parties, lol. We have June 28, July 7 and #3 is due June 29th so the first 2 are going to have an ice cream party for just family, we'll see. I am sure I will psych myself out about it more than I should!