I realize it's been a few months, but we did have a birthday party for the birthday girl, oh, way back in mid-November. As parents, we wanted her to have fun and invite some friends, but we didn't want to go into debt in order to do so. Plus, the problem we have around here is that a lot of people do the same parties. Riley has been to several at the bowling alley and a bulk at this local chocolate shop. Not that there's anything wrong with having a party there, but we just wanted to do something different.
We finally settled on a roller blading/skating place. Riley originally didn't want it there, but we were able to convince her that it would be fun. She invited 10 of her friends (and one brother of hers), and we had the party the day after her actually birthday.
The kids seemed to have a fantastic time--some of them had never been on roller blades/skates before. So those girls took a bit longer to get out there. What I love about kids this age is that even if they've never met, they can immediately become friends and not hold any preconceived first notions about anyone. Girls were holding hands, trying to keep each other from falling; meanwhile Jeremy is zooming around the rink due to his many hours of actual ice skating.
About halfway through the party we met in a separate room for the kids to enjoy some Italian ice and open presents. The problem with that was that some of the girls needed to use the bathroom, which meant blading/skating over there and trying not to fall.
The other disappointing aspect was that Phil lost his jacket, which had his car keys and checkbook in the pocket! We had the entire staff looking around for it, they announced it over the PA (although I later joked that we were in Bear country, and who would willingly give back a Packer jacket), and about 45 minutes later it was located in another party room. I guess someone thought it belonged with their group, but we were just so thankful that it was found.
Riley had a fantastic time with all her friends, and since her party, she's been invited to two other birthday parties...both at the same place! And they were both for girls who had been at her party! The best part of all was that for the third straight year, we asked parents to not buy Riley any presents and instead to donate food to give to the local food pantry. Some parents did purchase gifts, but we ended up bringing 133 pounds of food to the food pantry! Riley was so proud to give the food, and when we brought it in, one of the volunteers gushed over her and told her what a wonderful thing she was doing. (To which Jeremy complaining: "Am I going to go have to do this for my party?")
Here are some pictures from her party. Enjoy!
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