I’m glad my kids are “too old” for birthday parties
The drama of children’s parties were overshadowing any kind of celebration
When my twins turned seven, we had a small party at home with a handful of their friends.
It was a classic 1970s party with fairy bread, homemade sausage rolls, Twisties and soft drink. There might have been some watermelon too, but 10 years ago nobody rolled their eyes at a junk food feast.
In the aftermath of the twins’ party, one so-called friend refused to speak to me for a very long time. My crime? I didn’t invite her son — a child my kids hadn’t seen in three years because they live far away. According to this mum, I was an evil witch for excluding him.
After many years of dealing with birthday party dramas, I’m thankful that stage of our lives is now over. By the age of 10 or 11, most kids prefer just to have something small with two or three friends like a trip to the zoo or the movies. Phew.
Here are some of the birthday party dramas I’m glad to see the back of. You might recognise one or all of these:
The present drama
I don’t miss the drama of buying presents. One mum emailed parents a list of suggested gifts. Nothing was more than $15, which was fine, but it’s not a wedding.
