Tomorrow night my home will be invaded by 4 or 5 twelve-year-old boys. The Dude celebrated his birthday almost a month ago. We had planned to have a sleepover and mall trip with friends, but one-by-one little league commitments claimed his guests.
We will start our evening with a taco dinner, the guest of honor's choice, followed by a non-traditional birthday cake. My Nana used to make a chocolate cake for me and now I make it for my crew. It is a favorite of everyone in the family, since I also allow it be eaten at breakfast. For those who are wondering what the heck I'm thinking, it's no different from a triple chocolate muffin from a bakery.
My son has "plans" for the festivities. Something that after dinner involves a Nerf war by twilight, movies and video games, and of course, junk food. We have Hershey bars, popcorn, Doritos, Fanta orange, grape Crush, oh and cheesy poofs.
Twelve-year-olds are far too mature for goodie bags. But let's face it, they still like the loot. Dude has put together a comprehensive profile on each guest. They will get a plastic red & white striped popcorn box filled with at least two of their favorite candies, and at least two packs of sports cards. NBA cards for this one, baseball for these four, football for these two and hockey for this one, and a pack of Magic cards for Dude. And then the popcorn boxes will be used for actual popcorn.
Sunday, after breakfast, we are planning on taking this crew to the mall "to hang out" for a couple of hours. Mom & Dad will be at the mall without being visible. I think we'll pull up a booth at one of the restaurants and order one appetizer or entree at a time to draw out the meal. We will be a quick phone call from the mall cops should they need us.
I long for the birthday parties that only last a few hours and have a cute theme. We made our way through Winnie-the-Pooh, Thomas the Tank Engine, The Wiggles, Blues Clues, NASCAR. My favorite birthday party wasn't even at my home, but at Build-a-Bear. It was for his fifth birthday and it was fun to watch him and his friends kiss little hearts, dance around in circles and pick outfits for their creations.
Oh that life were that simple still...... Sunday afternoon, we will collapse from exhaustion and frayed nerves. Heaven help us!
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Edited night of the party:
11:42 p.m. EST - They show no signs of tiring. All five of them are wound up on sugar and junk food. Sleep is the farthest thing from their minds.
1 comment:
I remember the Build a Bear party! Does he?
I think it's great the Dude has put so much thought into his guests and what they'd enjoy as well. I also think you very brave to endure a bunch of sugared up 12 year old boys!
They do grow up so fast! Still, mama, you done good!
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