It’s About That Time Again
Ok, so Avery’s 2nd birthday is right around the corner (April 6) and as much as I try to quell it, the urge to throw him another birthday bash is just too overwhelming for me to ignore.
I get it that Avery doesn’t care what kind of birthday party he has. Heck, he won’t even remember it!
I get it that most of his “friends” don’t care either. And just like Avery, most of them won’t remember. Guaranteed.
But I care. I want Avery to look at his childhood photos and know that his milestones are important to me. No, we shouldn’t go into debt every time we want to celebrate a milestone, but certainly I don’t ever want to be accused of not trying my best to create special moments for him.
I contradict myself, I know. I went into a rant last February when I blamed my mother for forcing me to plan a more elaborate 1st Birthday Party for Avery than I had wanted. Well, I apologize because as it turned out, I really enjoyed the entire process and I suspect that subconsciously, I wanted a grand party all along as well but was too ashamed to admit it given our situation at the time.
This time around, it’s going to be different. I’ve started planning my kid’s 2nd Birthday party and I’m rejoicing in it, darn it!
Ok, so the theme I’ve chosen is Circus. First I was going to do a Circus/Carnival party, but after doing an image search online to get some inspiration, I quickly realized that the two are very different from each other. Carnival is more rides and games, while Circus is more animals and clowns. It was a no-brainer going with the Circus because Avery just loves animals so much right now. Besides, I have some Circus-themed invitations that I picked up from Target at clearance that might as well get used.
The venue has been picked after much research - the party is going to be held at Valley Green Inn in Chestnut Hill, PA. We’ve never dined there, but reviews of the place have been excellent. The party will take place out on the patio that has a nice white tent which can be opened or closed depending on the weather.
I’ve already hired a face painter for the children because if I did it myself, it would definitely look like crap. A balloon artist (they make shapes out of balloons) is on the list, but I’ve yet to find one. I don’t really want to hire a clown because I just don’t like them - ok, who are we kidding, I am deathly afraid of them, so I’m still working on Melvin to pose as one. If he doesn’t agree, I have 2 people who owe me big time who I can guilt-trip into being a clown for my child. I also would like a stilt-walker, a fire-eater and a contortionist, but they might frighten the little kiddies to death.
I have tons of great ideas for decorations that I’ve decided to do myself. I’ve started on the “Happy Birthday” banner and I like how it looks so far. I’ll post photos of my projects as I complete them 