PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
October 30, 2009
In the land of the living...
Every year for the past few years we've hosted a family Halloween gathering at our house. My kids love to decorate for Halloween, and I love the chance to host a holiday party--especially a party that involves cooking up ghoulish looking cookies and other Halloween-themed food. I was so prepared this year--in advance, for once. Weeks ago I bought the party plates and tablecloth, and I've been collecting recipes and party ideas, and browsing Halloween sites for what seems like forever.
It doesn't look like it's going to happen this year. Thanks, H1N1. [more]
July 8, 2009
Party Hardy
I've made it no secret that I love planning parties. I had a blast last year coming up with goody bag ideas for L.'s eighth pool/Playmobil/knight themed party, but this year was more of a challenge. He's a kid who loves the comforting predictability of sameness, and at first he spent weeks declaring that he wanted the exact same party he had last year. Exact. Right down to the goody bags. [more]
- Tags: Summer, Parties, Children, Birthdays, Arts & Crafts
January 19, 2009
Birthday party, deconstructed
For those of you who might be wondering whether we survived T.'s fifth birthday party, we did. It went wonderfully, and now that we're on the other side of it I can say we're living proof that you can throw a party for 18 preschoolers (and simultaneously host a four-hour playdate for your eight-year-old son), stuff them full of lots of cake and ice cream, and live to tell the tale. I think the only problem during the whole 2-1/2 hour party was that I wasn't fast enough to write down the names during the frenzied gift unwrapping, and so T. [more]
January 15, 2009
Birthday madness
I'm not a night-worrier by nature; I'm more of a late-day, early evening, the-kids-are-in-bed worrier. At bedtime I'm frankly way too exhausted to think much about anything. I tend to get wound up with worries at about 9:00 p.m., and then those worries that have been festering all day explode to the surface, often during commercial breaks between favorite television shows. Scott, however, is a nighttime worrier. This morning he told me he was awake from 5:00-6:00 a.m. worrying about, of all things, T.'s birthday party on Saturday. [more]
December 17, 2008
My top six best party foods EVER
Because we travel for the Christmas holidays, we love to host a party or two this time of the year. There's something a little sad about a decked-out house at Christmas when no one but the four of you get to see it and fill the rooms with laughter and warmth. Plus, we love to entertain, and Christmas parties are always such fun, and such a great occasion for cooking up warm and fragrant treats in the kitchen. [more]
July 11, 2008
A recipe and a craft for the weekend
I was all set to write (vent) a post today about grouchy people in grocery stores, who somehow feel the need to step in and discipline your children right in front of you, even though your kids aren't actually doing anything too terrible at the time. This happened to me at Harris Teeter on Monday, and it really got my back up--particularly since I thought my kids were behaving pretty well at that moment, all things considered, even if they were being a little loud and silly at the checkout line. [more]
July 2, 2008
Birthday Wisdom, Part II (the practical version)
No sooner had I posted my column yesterday about L.'s birthday than I thought I should write a more "practical column" about birthday parties and party-planning, and what activities have and haven't worked so well with my own kids. But as I sat down to write, I realized I might need tons more column space than I have here to really get into all the ins and outs of children's birthday parties. So I'm limiting myself to tackling what I think are the top four essential parts of any child's party: food, goody bags, crafts, and presents. [more]
