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People have often asked why I do so much for my kids birthdays. And the answer is simple, because it was something I never got. My family is a wonderful, loving group that supports each other and we spent a lot of time together growing up. However, I grew up with young parents who were just trying to survive most days. My father was a student and worked construction jobs in between classes and on weekends. My mother ran an in-home daycare out of our tiny two bedroom apartment and was a waitress in the evenings. They both worked very hard to give my brother and I a good life, but there was never much extra in regards to time or money to allow for parties. Birthdays were simply celebrated with a cake, a few presents, and grandparents over for dinner.
While I cherish those simple memories now, I do remember the feeling of envy when I saw how other girls in my class were celebrating birthdays. Sleepovers, backyard parties with games, and one even at the local pool! I remember feeling like an outsider at these parties, like these celebrations weren’t real- they were some magical event that would fade away at midnight (or 4 o’clock at least when my mom would come pick me up).
When our son approached his first birthday I knew I wanted him to have that magical feeling that always seemed just out of reach for me as a kid. I wanted to have that day where we celebrated him with all the extra unnecessary things that made him feel completely special. Here lies the truth though, now as an adult I realized WHY my parents never went over the top with birthdays. We simply could not afford it. Parties are expensive! They probably wanted to give me all the glitter and streamers and a hundred kids running all around, they just couldn’t!
Now that I approached my sons party I realized that my husband and I were too going to struggle with the financial aspect as well. Our son had been diagnosed with a rare tumor at three months old and we spent most of this first year in and out of the hospital. We thank god every day for the amazing staff at our local Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, as they were able to remove the tumor eventually and we will forever be grateful to them.
The situation left us humbled but financially drained unfortunately. So throwing the elaborate event I pictured was not going to happen. I wasn’t going to let that stop me though. I decided I could still put together a great party- with a few fun details that would make his day extra memorable. I started brainstorming ideas. First I needed a theme- I love themed parties! With themes you can add those extra little details that wow your guests so much easier!
We decided on Sock Monkey theme because our son loved his little stuffed sock monkey. With that most of our theme revolved around color scheme more than anything. We used red and brown where ever I could to tie things together. I had a few table clothes from thanksgiving (brown) and a red one from Christmas. I made a picture board of all his baby pictures using an old window and chicken wire. I embellished it with a homemade pennant garland using red and brown scrapbook paper I already had.
I scrounged my cupboards for any clear vases and bowls I could find and we did a candy buffet table for favors- all with red and brown treats- most from the dollar store. (red licorice, chocolate teddy bear crackers, red suckers, chocolate kiss candies, etc..) I used a few stamps and fancy zig zag scissors to embellish brown lunch bags to put the treats in.
I made cupcakes and a small smash cake- simple chocolate with red dots, though looking back I now know amazon cake toppers are pretty cheap I would have purchased a sock monkey one to step it up a notch.
We thankfully had beautiful weather on the day of his party and were able to set up our back patio so cute. We strung Christmas lights up, borrowed a neighbors red tent awning, and ran the bubble machine we had gotten him as a gift so the air was filled with bubbles adding to the magic. All his favorite people were there. Grandparents, cousins, friends and extended family all came to wish our special little man the happiest of first birthdays. The day went perfectly even if it was small and done on a shoe string budget. Everyone commented on how cute the set up and theme were, and our little man was beyond happy that day!
That night as his dad and I cleaned up party remnants under the twinkling Christmas light canopy, and glow of our baby video monitor, we danced. Just the two of us quietly and contently thanking god for the gift of this child and the memory of celebrating his first birthday after the awful year we had endured with his medical issues. It was in that moment that we looked at each other and I told him I wanted to get married. It was not planned it just seemed like perfect timing to tell him what was in my heart!
Later that year he proposed to me officially in our tiny apartment kitchen, on my birthday. It was perfect. We went on to plan a wedding on an extreme budget as well (that post to come soon).
The thing I learned though that night on our small patio was that I absolutely have the resources and creativity to throw an amazing party. I have the eye to pull things together with what I have. I have the ability to feed quite a few people on a budget. I also realized that while I may never be the lady who looks like she hired a party planner I absolutely will be the lady that throws a really fun party who creates a lot of great memories every time they walk through our doors.
I hope that as you read this and other posts on my site that you realize you too can create amazing parties with just a few resources and a little creativity. Bottom line though it doesn’t matter what the cake looked like at the end of the day, or if the party favors didn’t quite turn out like you had planned. Its the opportunity for memories that you are really making. That’s what every birthday, holiday, or family celebration you have is really all about. Enjoy those moments and memories with those you love and celebrate every chance you can!
