Beatrice turns 11 months old tonight at 7:00 p.m. I remember her birthday as if it was yesterday - or 11 years ago - or 11 centuries ago. Time is fluid that way, like the surf drudging sand and rock only to spill it back up on the shore over here, or over there.Or everywhere; I like being covered with Bea. Happy 11 months Beatrice!
However, as of a week ago, Mama A and I weren't fully aligned on whether or not to have a big and formal 1st birthday party. It's a lot of work and money and Bea's not going to remember it anyway, right? Sure, it's great to have the pictures and videos - and Lord knows we've already done plenty of that in the first 11 months - our TotSpot and Facebook family and friends have seen 'em all.
There are families with rich cultural traditions with huge, sometimes lavish 1st birthday parties. Our own families always throw 1st birthday parties. It's a glorious celebration when your baby hits the first year mark!
But what about the cost? When you search online for the "cost of baby birthdays" you get quite a broad range - $50 to $38,000. Interesting expenditure stories online.
What the --?
Regardless of socioeconomic strata, cultural and/or religious beliefs, me and Mama finally compromised and decided to have a more casual birthday for Bea. We're not in a birthday competition so no wagering at home.
Actually it is a party for us, because it's been almost a full year and we didn't break her yet. Yep, still intact.
It's still Bea's 1st birthday party - for us - with family and friends and food, cake and fun. No bouncy houses, no ponies, no starship rides and definitely no scary clowns. That crap comes next year on birthday number 2. (Yes, I'll have to work on Mama for the starship rides.)
Don't worry, Bea will still have fun. Like I said, we'll take plenty of pictures for Beatrice to look at when she's older.
What about gifts you ask? Oh, Bea gifts are good. Very, very good.
It's her party after all.
We never did birthday extravaganzas with ponies, huge bouncy things, fireworks, etc. That seems just a wee bit overboard, especially for a first birthday. It's a birthday, not a carnival.
ReplyDeleteFor the first birthdays and each subsequent ones until the parties stopped, we had them at our house, usually offered makings for sub sandwiches, salads, drinks, and of course the birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. The guest list? Families from both sides and very, very close family friends.
Now, people might have thought it was an extravaganza because of all the people, but both of us have large families and most live close by. We've always had our own built in guest list. We are lucky that way.
I hope Bea's first birthday is a grand one for all concerned. Congratulations on not breaking her!
Happy almost birthday Bea. When ours comes we will have family, friends, cake, and plenty of decorations. Nothing crazy though.
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