We
officially have a three year old on our hands... This is just crazy! Leighton is a smart and polite (most of the
time) little chatter-box! She really
makes Jon and I feel like all-star parents.
For her birthday we decided to have a joint party with her BFF, Sam. Leighton has known Sam for practically her entire life and they are in play groups and school together. Having basically the same invite list, Sam's mom, Kate and I decided to do the party together. Leighon loves princesses and sam loves trucks... so we agreed on a Dinosaur themed party... a happy middle ground! Since every party thus far has been at our houses, we opted to have it at an undiscovered indoor play place at a local mall. We went in March to book the place.... 2 months prior to the party to make sure we secured the weekend we wanted. Deposit was paid and our date was in the books for a lovely stress free party on May 2. The place provided everything except the cake so entertainment, food, and fun were all handled and Magnolia Bakery could take care of the cakes. So, now all Kate and I had to do was sit back and relax and show up on Friday, May 2nd with our kids in tow. Easy peasy..... We thought!
The Wednesday afternoon before the party I get a phone call to confirm the number of guests for the party.... TOMORROW!!!
Me: The party is on Friday!
Party place: Are you sure?
Me: Damn right I am sure.... All the kids are in school on Thursdays
Party place: Well, let me call you back.
Two hours pass... I called two more times with no answer. Finally it is confirmed that in fact they wrote down the wrong date in their book even though the form we filled out was correct. The only options given to us to rectify the situation were to have the party on Thursday from 11-1 (that's a school/workday here) or on Friday from 5-7pm. Are you kidding? 5-7!! These kids are 3 and younger! Sure, we can have it then and your staff could deal with all the nighttime meltdowns.
For her birthday we decided to have a joint party with her BFF, Sam. Leighton has known Sam for practically her entire life and they are in play groups and school together. Having basically the same invite list, Sam's mom, Kate and I decided to do the party together. Leighon loves princesses and sam loves trucks... so we agreed on a Dinosaur themed party... a happy middle ground! Since every party thus far has been at our houses, we opted to have it at an undiscovered indoor play place at a local mall. We went in March to book the place.... 2 months prior to the party to make sure we secured the weekend we wanted. Deposit was paid and our date was in the books for a lovely stress free party on May 2. The place provided everything except the cake so entertainment, food, and fun were all handled and Magnolia Bakery could take care of the cakes. So, now all Kate and I had to do was sit back and relax and show up on Friday, May 2nd with our kids in tow. Easy peasy..... We thought!
The Wednesday afternoon before the party I get a phone call to confirm the number of guests for the party.... TOMORROW!!!
Me: The party is on Friday!
Party place: Are you sure?
Me: Damn right I am sure.... All the kids are in school on Thursdays
Party place: Well, let me call you back.
Two hours pass... I called two more times with no answer. Finally it is confirmed that in fact they wrote down the wrong date in their book even though the form we filled out was correct. The only options given to us to rectify the situation were to have the party on Thursday from 11-1 (that's a school/workday here) or on Friday from 5-7pm. Are you kidding? 5-7!! These kids are 3 and younger! Sure, we can have it then and your staff could deal with all the nighttime meltdowns.
So,
Kate and I decided just to host the party at her house... with one days prep time! We split up tasks and asked our friends for
supplies for the party like tables, kids’ music, ball pits, and even coffee
makers. Sometimes it takes a village and
this was one of those times! The kids had a blast playing, laughing, going on a
dinosaur egg hunt, smashing a piñata (I think it was the first time for most of
the kids to hit a piñata!) and eating snacks, food and cake!
This was one of the last minute, late night art projects... I still cant believe the place booked the wrong date!
Our 3 year old little lady!
Birthday girl and boy just hanging out under the table...
We
started with a Dinosaur egg hunt (thank God for left over Easter eggs!)
A friend
had these adorable dinosaur tails made for her son’s birthday party last year
and brought them to add to the fun!
Then
it was Pinata time (another late night art project)! The kids didn’t really get how hard they had to hit it…. So
one of the dad’s stepped in to finish the job!
Next
came food!
Then
came a run to the Emergency room… don’t worry, Corby is fine! One of the dads
is a trained medic… and there was even a first aid kit handy! She is now sporting a bald spot and some glue over her gash...
Kate and Jon stayed behind to keep the party going and the birthday boy’s dad, Clay, drove me to the hospital. The party didn’t skip a beat and Leighton never even asked were Corby and I had gone… jerk!
]
We
were able to take a potentially disastrous situation and turn it in to a
successful dual three year old’s birthday party! She’ll be 4 in another 11 months, so maybe I
should start planning next year’s party just to be safe... oh Dubai, sometimes you drive me crazy!
Until Later...
