The Summer Party {Mama Nomad}

My two girls both have their birthdays in the summer, one month and one week apart. Since little, little kids are not aware of the birthday expectation yet, and Mayan's birthday comes first (our oldest) there were a few years there where we'd have a party for her, and then end up doing something simple for her younger sister a month later. The year Mayan turned four, I spent months planning an all-out Wizard of Oz party (her favorite movie)--we had handmade paper poppies, melted witch punch, a throw-the-apple-beanbag-at-the-tree game, even a fallen "house" with whithered witches legs underneath.

(Grandpa helps lay the yellow brick road while a lollipop guild munchkin explores)

It was SO much fun! We asked our guests to dress up as well, but of course there could only be one Dorothy....and Mayan played the part perfectly in her dress, ruby slippers, and basket with Toto I had found on eBay. At the end of the hot July day we were surprised by a double rainbow in the sky! That is the type of birthday magic that you cannot buy anywhere....

(Blake was an Emerald City Guard and I was Aunt Em)

By the time Isadore's birthday came around a few weeks later, I was exhausted of planning and we didn't do much, but she was two and was happy with a cake and a new dress.

The year after that we had just settled in Portland and it was the first year we decided to combine the parties. I know, I know they say this scars children for life, right? They will spend years in therapy talking of how all they ever wanted was a party of their own....especially Isadore, living in the shadow of the epic Wizard of Oz bash of 2006.

Somehow I don't think that is the case for two reasons: one is that the summer party is FUN! The girls talk about it all year long, and the focus is really not about birthdays at all, but family and friends, freedom and food, games and laughter--celebrating summer and life. The other is that the girls get to choose what they do on their own special days--where we go (beach, zoo, a play....) and where we eat. We rarely eat at restaurants, so the birthday dinner is an exciting choice. They can eat anywhere they wish OR I can make them any dinner they wish. Its a tough call and they also begin discussing their thought processes at least 6 month in advance.

So this will be our third Summer Bash and we have our special traditions down already. The greatest appeal to me is the "old time" games. We have a nice big backyard--the inspiration for the party in the first place--and the kids do the classics: egg-on-a-spoon race (cost: one dozen eggs, you provide the spoons), potato sack races (sacks available for a $1 a piece at your local feed store!), three-legged race (silk scarves or bandanas work well), a pinata (filled with treats of choice--they can be as healthy as you choose) and last year, the big hit, a treasure hunt.

(This was one exciting, neck-and-neck race!)

(Blake explains the rules of the egg-on-a-spoon race to some eager participants)

My brothers and sisters used to do treasure hunts for me when I was little: hand me a clue which led me to another clue, then another until I found my "treasure" (we were very poor so this would usually be my sippy cup.) For last years party, I laminated cards with rhymes on them (these were so much fun to write!) and sent the group of kids, ranging from age 2 to 10, all around the property from the garden, through the house, out the front and eventually to the hidden far side of the house where everyone had an "X" marked bag with their name on it, containing books I had spent weeks gathering from thrift stores (picked for each child specifically), stickers, and a sweet. It was so much fun to watch them, and the kids took turns reading the cards to each other.

Here is an example of the clues I left:

"The place to wash away your troubles...
Do you like rubber ducks or bubbles?"
(this of course led them to the bathub)

The final clue:

"Alright, Crew, this clue's your last
The treasure is within your grasp!
Out the door and down the steps
To the side of the house that faces West"

(a guest just happened to have a compass on her and helped the kids find west--impromptu navigation lesson!)

("X" marks the spot!)

Summertime food is another great feature of the summer bash; the best part being it can be very easy. If its afternoon, we don't have to feed our guests lunch so an array of popcorn, pretzles, peanuts, and watermelon is just fine. The highlight the first year was turning our giant kitchen counter into a make-your-own-sundae buffet. I collected ice cream dishes from thrift stores a few weeks before, for about $1-2 a piece, and they gave the sundaes an old school touch. I added the scoop of cold ice cream and let the kids add bananas, nuts, chocolate chips, or berries. To mix it up last year we had root beer floats (optional: chocolate stout floats for the grownups, too)--it was a perfect (and inexpensive) summer treat.

(Time to make sundaes!)

I like to give our house a simple, festive feel as well. Nothing says birthday party like a bunch of balloons. One year I hit a great party shop near the waterfront and had them make me four big helium-filled balloon clusters in simple colors, some had polka dots--each bunch had about 8 balloons in it...and I only lost one to the great big beyond when I was unloading them from the Suburban when I got home. Oops. The party guest kids got to pick one out before they left. I also hung simple paper party balls along our back patio, sprinkled paper dots on the countertops, and had fresh cut flowers from our yard on every table. I gave some chalk to my sister-in-law to decorate the cement pillars out back with some of her lovely flower drawings. No cartoon characters, no "themes," no princesses or dump trucks--but very charming. A little Beatles music in the backround pleased guests, yound and old.

(The house is ready to recieve guests--lots of seating indoor and out for the grownups, and I also used brown grocery bags to cover the tables along with tins of crayons for guests to leave their mark)

This year our new garden takes up about half of the lawn, but I purposefully left enough space for a sack race. Maybe we will do something new like Twister or a slip and slide....how about a bubble gum blowing contest...(growups will have to participate too!) The best part about the summer bash is how flexible we can be and how we can work with whatever we've got and still have as much fun as ever.