Eva June turned five last month and she couldn’t be more excited about it! Back in the summer, she started talking about her birthday and birthday party and mentioned she wanted a surprise party. I went back and forth with her about that and tried to see if she truly understood what a surprise party meant. She wouldn’t know when the party was, where it would be, who would be invited?! Was she really okay with that? I never was truly confident that she understood but I accepted her answer of “yup!” and set out to plan the perfect surprise.
As a mom to three kids, who get invited to multiple parties every weekend (it seems), we’ve been to our fair share of parties and party places in our area. They are typically at places like: trampoline parks, craft/pottery studios, bowling lanes, arcades, laser tag, pools… the list goes on. There’s really no shortage of ideas! But, she doesn’t meet the height requirement for most of the activities at a trampoline park, and she doesn’t truly understand arcade games, bowling balls are really heavy… it’s tough to choose a crowd pleaser! But back in September when Javi chose to go to the mall on his birthday and we stopped at Build A Bear Workshop, they mentioned they do birthday parties and I thought that might be a great option for Eva. It’s something different, she LOVES teddy bears and stuffed animals, and the mall. So after a few weeks of thinking about it, I scheduled it, and invited some of her friends!
We kept it a total surprise. We didn’t even tell Javi and Lola. They’re terrible at keeping secrets. We arranged for my parents to pick up Eva the morning of her party and they took her to the mall to “shop for her birthday”. Once they left, we told the kids what the plan was, and we hopped in the car and got to the mall first to meet her friends. When she arrived (a few minutes after the start of the party) and saw all her friends, she was so happy — smiling from ear to ear. It was really the cutest the reaction. I acknowledge it could have gone a totally different way (tears…) and I’m so thankful it was SUCH a positive experience.
The kids got to make a stuffed animal, play games, sing songs, pick out an outfit for their animal, she got to ring the bell, everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and then we passed out individually-wrapped cupcakes on their way out.The total party was about an hour and 15 minutes and it was perfect! She still says it was the best day ever. Also, for 10 kids, it was cheaper than many of the other party options out there!
A few days later was her actual birthday! She was a little upset that she had to go to school on her birthday since Javi had the day off when it was his birthday in September and Lola always has the day off (December 27). But her tune changed once she realized she could take in a special snack, bring her birthday book to share, and she’d get a birthday pencil from the school office. 🙂
Since she doesn’t go to school until after lunch (it’s a 1/2 day PM class) we went to have her hair cut and nails done in the morning. She was so excited! I brought her home, and Sean got her a special lunch (italian subs) and we ate before school. After school, we went out to a special dinner, and then had cake at home. She LOVED her birthday.
I truly, TRULY cannot believe she’s five. I know she’s no longer my youngest, but for so long she was, and so it kind of still feels like she’s the baby. Five, or a whole hand as she says, just feels so big. I’m so excited to see what this year has in store for her!
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