Luau Crazy

This year for Maddie's birthday we've decided to have a Hawaiian luau type party at home. It's the first home party of the year in her class. The other parents keep asking, "So, it's at your house? Oh, you're brave"......Well, no, I'm not brave. I actually enjoy it. But I don't say that because then I get the Martha Stewart type comments. I love planning parties because it's a creative process. I love the themes, the decorating, the cake, the loot bags.....Oh, I really love making loot bags. It's crazy, I know.

Last week, one of the girls mentioned to Maddie that her party would be boring because it was at home. In my efforts to prove this little misguided friend wrong, I've gone over the top.
" Don't worry, I said to Maddie", in a super hero kind of way....."This will be the best party ever." Now I'm scared to add up the bills because I keep finding cute Hawaiian stuff and I keep buying it because no one is going to say our party is boring!!

What has happened to us? Why do we need to go over the top for our kids birthdays? I remember having great birthday parties in my back yard. It was simple. My mom set up a few games. The games were nothing fancy - we're talking drop the clothespin in the bottle games. We had cake, we played and then everyone went home. That was that. I know my mother never went to a party store. I remember one year she found party hats at Safeway. That was a big deal. Unfortunately, as a child, I didn't deal with excitement well. My mother couldn't plan too far ahead because I would get so worked up I would actually throw up. Some years she didn't tell me it was my birthday until the day before! Then on the party day, I would often be banished to my room for having a fit when I didn't win all the games. It's a good thing I've outgrown my childish ways.

Anyway, Saturday is luau day and you can bet that Mike and I will be up late Friday night putting the touches on our Hawaiian Paradise here. Crazy? Maybe. Boring? Never.