I thought I would cry but I didn’t. My little girl turning two feels like a huge milestone for all of us! I wanted to throw a little party for Maia’s second birthday because I am so proud of this journey we’ve been on together and I’m so proud of the beautiful little person she’s grown up to be and I wanted to celebrate that! I also wanted her to feel special and to have an exciting day although I’m not sure how much of it she’d actually remember. Hosting an event though, however small, is totally out of my comfort zone. I like to think of myself as a social person and I do enjoy social gatherings, but I’m not a natural entertainer and my hosting and baking skills are definitely lacking! At the time of Maia’s birthday a few weeks ago I was still very busy working full time and tired from being 33-weeks pregnant… What’s more, during this year that I’d been back at work I’d lost contact with most of the mum friends I had made during my year off, so I wasn’t even sure who to invite (or who would come). But I was determined to try – Maia would not miss out just because mummy is new in her role!
I quickly created party invite on an app on my phone while I was queuing for lunch one day at work and I reached out to the few friends I have with similar age children as well as to parents of children Maia had made friends with in playgroups. I ordered party food from M&S and a cake from the same cake shop I trusted last year for her christening. I found unicorn-themed party decorations, tableware, and balloons from Amazon. I worried about not having proper entertainment (Do we need a clown?? Or a bouncy castle??), but then remembered how easy Maia is to keep entertained: I’d play nursery rhymes on loud speaker and spread stickers, play dough, crayons and paper on the floor of the playroom. Sorted, right?!
We had her party at home on Sunday December 1st (her real birthday is on the 2nd) starting at 11am. I wanted to be sensible and to respect the afternoon nap of most kids, including Maia’s. It was a good plan because by 2pm we were all knackered, but what fun we had! In the end we had nine kids (plus parents) come and I’d say it was definitely enough. 😀 Maia got a bit shy as usual in a bigger crowd, but she got braver as the day went on and played nicely and didn’t mind at all to share her toys. She was particularly happy about her two-year old friend Alexis coming – she spoke of him coming for days in advance and still now, weeks later! It’s silly how nervous I was about Maia’s party but it all went just fine and Maia was so excited it nearly burst my heart! It made me think, for the millionth time, how being a mum makes me a better person and pushes me outside my comfort zone to do things for her. I don’t think anyone thought less of me for serving off paper plates and not having done the baking myself… And I genuinely think that at least the kids had fun!
So I was not crying on her birthday but that’s only because I literally had no time to get emotional! 😀 I also had no time to take photos but I wanted to share with you the few snaps I do have (without our little guests to protect their privacy).
Off the hook until next year, phew, haha! Now I just need to get through Christmas which we are hosting this year, eek! This mummy & wife gig is never ending – thank goodness for daddy/hubby’s support!
xoxoxo,
Sini
P.S. Any tips on not getting so stressed out about hosting kid’s parties??