Even though Dada of Ma'at and I knew this, we procrastinated doing the actual work for the party. The ideas were conceived in our imaginations about what we would do, it was just the execution that we were lacking.
The week before his party we had three evenings where one of us was at an evening meeting (we both serve on local boards), which didn't help. I spent several nights and days that week making a piñata for the party. That was fun because it reminded me of being a kid in Odyssey of the Mind (OM). It was a big project, but only a small part of the overall party.
Another night I spent printing and cutting out "creature power disks" to be used as party props. I had plans to make something so the kids could play "pin the power disc on the Kratt brother's creature power suit," but that never happened.
Saturday was spent cleaning the house. This included digging out one of the countertops from all the junk that is always there. This counter is actually called the junk counter in our house.
Sunday, the day of the party, the morning was also spent cleaning and preparing and setting up. The kids whined and clung to me as I tried to get things done. I found myself yelling at them (well, speaking sternly?) to just go play because I needed to get x,y,z done!
Why are we doing this again? I asked myself. The point of a birthday celebration is not to be stressed out and yell at the child you are celebrating! I should have planned better. I should have done more ahead of time.
But in the end, the party was fantastic. Dada of Ma'at came up with a great last minute animal toss game to replace the missing "pin the creature power disc on the Wild Kratt brother's suit." I think the game had a better flow to it too because it needed almost zero parental aid. The food was set minus the cute signs I was going to put with it. But hey, most of the intended audience can't even read yet! The piñata worked well. All the kids had fun with the creature power disks and animals set up around the room. Episodes of Wild Kratts played on a screen in a corner for guests who had never heard of the show.
All in all the party was a big success. I spoke with another mom who has a child older than Big Bro about my struggles to get ready for the party. She confirmed that yes, after years of kid parties, she has learned to start everything far in advance (including the cleaning), and she's gotten better at it each time. So I guess I will just chock it up to yet another one of those parenting learning moments.
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