A Tale of Two Parties

Last week I shared all about SJ's Tea Party and what a dream come true it was.

 Around that time I  read about another party from Allyson at 

All Our Days.

We each had a daughter turning 5 and both parties included

Friends

Family

Crafts

Food

FUN

Here's the kicker, when Allyson wrote about her daughter's party on her blog and the title was "Why Our Parties Aren't Pinterest Perfect... and Why It's Okay With Me"

Allyson's post was not a slam against theme parties or matchy-matchy decorations. She was simply sharing her story and how there can be pressure to have a certain caliber of kiddie parties these days. She writes 

"It used to bother me. But lately I’ve been thankful I don’t have to live up to Pinterest-worthy standards and I can instead simply celebrate and enjoy being with my family."

 I think there are a lot of people that need to hear that! 

On the other hand, I wrote about my daughter's party and included a link to the pinterest board that I used to plan everything.

Granted my parties are nowhere near perfect, but I'll admit they are "pinteresty" and they do tend to circulate via repins.

And sometimes that makes me feel self conscious. I even had a draft for a post called "Defending My Pinteresty Parties" in which the first line said-

"I know all of you reading this are going to tell me I don't have to apologize for celebrating my children in whatever creative means I choose, but I guess I have to convince myself."

You see, I read a viral post on Facebook last year that was about children and entitlement. It said-

"In a way, we are just too into this parenting thing. We used to have birthday parties where A CAKE made it special and now it’s an EVENT." 

I read that and a little chip on my shoulder started whispering

That's you. The parties you throw for your kids are much more ellaborate than what you had back in 1989. 

Oh internet  satan, you have a such a way of knowing how to tear me down. I took it personally, until I realized my kids are probably not on the brink of materialism. The 3 of them share a bedroom and the 5 of us share one bathroom. They don't have a swing set.  They don't have the latest game systems or an iPad. We don't buy them Christmas presents (because they get plenty from their relatives) and they have never been to The Magic Kingdom.

 So the trouble isn't in throwing a cutesy birthday party (or going to Disney World). It's when you make your kids the center of the universe and feel like you have to satisfy their every whim. 

Once I realized that I felt a lot better. 

The point of all this is to say Allyson's party and my party might look different on pinterest, but the heart was the same. We are both moms that wanted to celebrate a milestone and we had a great time doing it. And it looks like the girls did too! 

SJ with her birthday cupcake on the left 
(photo by: Natalie of Messy Mom) 
and Eliya adding homemade sprinkles to her cake on the right. 
(Photo by: Allyson of All Our Days)

This post is for anyone out there feeling pressure to conform to one extreme or the other. Don't let the internet determine your celebrations! If creating a couple dozen invitations by hand is your thing and you are able to do that, then go for it. If you can afford to fork out the money to have an all inclusive party where you hardly lift a finger, then I say more power to ya! If you want to go 1989 style and cover a 13x9 cake with a store bought jar of frosting and call it a party then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Most children do not care if you have party favors that coordinate with your theme or if the cupcakes are store bought. They are just excited to get to be a year older. I know it's  been a long time since most of us have had those feelings, but it's true!

So give yourself a break. 

You are not solely responsible for putting the happy in their birthday and neither is pinterest.