I Hosted A Kids Birthday Party
The party’s invite list got a little out of hand and there were 51 humans that scheduled to attend (32 adults, 19 Children). Over 30 kids were invited.
But I was OK.
It was to be in an outdoor shelter. No housecleaning or strict party schedule at a kid’s amusement facility to follow. We will not have to chase down scattered kids to eat pizza, open gifts and have cupcakes.
We had a bounce house, pizza, chips, cupcakes, those drinks that come in the barrels, and goody bags for the kiddos.
I was ready.
The party should have gone off without a hitch. I started planning for a September party back in July. I researched, I priced out ideas, and I weighed my options. The best way to have this party (the most economical way), was to have a combined party for my two daughters (their birthdays are a week apart); and a joint kids/family party.
I was on top of my game, from food to brownies and cookies for those who passed on the cupcakes. The only hiccup should have been that I forgot the number 7 candle at home.
But that was not the only hiccup.
The other hiccups weren’t minor hiccups. They were large and loud coughing fits and they started less than 12 hours before the guest were due to arrive.
Bounce house, Bad Times
I had never rented a bounce house before. My most recent experience with them was at the school carnival. I remembered loud generators.
Since I had the party at a party shelter, I had to get additional insurance for the city to have the bounce house on city property. I read the bounce house contract carefully; and I was confident that I had covered it all. After all, no one was concerned with any of the details.
As I was working on the last minute planning, I was learning things. Important things.
The hardest lesson to learn was the one that almost stopped the party right in its tracks. The party was at 1:00 pm on Saturday. At 3:00 pm, I received a call from the bounce house company. The question was simple.
“How long of an extension cord do I need?”
Uh, what?
Well, of course they need power. I’m not that naïve. However,because of the, I was under the impression that it included a generator.
Needless to say, there was panic, there were tears (my tears), it was bad. The word “bounce house” was literally on the invite. Nineteen kids were expecting one. My husband was at work and has a high energy job (no time to step in), so I did what anyone else would do if they could. I texted my husband to give him the update and assured him I had the issue under control. Then I called my dad.
Within hours, I had three options to go on. We had: Plan A, I had a generator that hadn’t run in three years. Plan B, but we needed to buy a $100 battery. Plan C, drive 20 minutes to pick up my uncle’s generator.
Whew. Catastrophe avoided!
Not so fast.
Wasp Territory.
Yup. You read that right.
The plan was to drop my husband off at the shelter so he could prepare the area (table clothes and such while I went to pickup the balloons).
There was no decorating or filling the coolers with ice. Instead, there were swarms of wasps. He spent the forty minutes that I was gone dodging the jerk insects and avoiding the shelter all together. He couldn’t do anything while he waited until I returned with an electric swatter and wasp spray.
Thank God the wasps got the message and went to the plates of juice we’d left out in an area that wouldn’t bother us. The relief was minimal, as the bees now felt comfortable to come out. Eventually, we put the spray away as the guests arrived; and we all just put up with the unwelcomed guests. At least they weren’t aggressive.
It was only an adult disruption as the kids mostly stayed in the bounce house and the adults could calmly shoo our unwanted pest away from the food.
Of course, everyone commented on how the party pulled together. It was an amazing time and I get plenty of compliments, and get this, a lot of them were how prepared I was. I remembered everything from a sharpie to zip ties, to the pizza cutter, and even a lighter for the candle that I forgot.
I am lucky to have so many friends willing to help in a pinch. They are the ones who put out the table clothes and arrange the balloons. They watched the kids and never complained. It was wonderful.
So yes. Obviously everything pulled together, but it was only due in part of other wonderful people.
It even takes a village to raise adults.
