My Mini Sidekick’s Birthday Celebration 🎉

Let me start off by wishing my favorite little sidekick a happy birthday!! My little guy turned 3 which is a big deal!! It was his golden birthday!! I must also mention the fact he was a pandemic baby, and never had a party. We lived on zoom for 2 years; like the rest of the world!

Well, since it was his first party, I started planning MONTHS in advance. I'm talking about 5 months in advance! Honestly, I've had the first three years of themes in my head; just needed to execute it. This year was a play on Sesame Street! What I didn't consider is the level of detail. Let's admit it, we all fall victim to social media standards at some point. I fell for it for a second; until my sister and mom snapped me out of it (which they usually keep me pretty grounded).

I had planned the party for a start time of 11am. Which to me is brunch time! I thought it would be so adorable to have a toddler brunch. Let's be honest though. Who was the brunch for? The kids? The parents? Myself? Yep, I was trying to impress the parents and prove something to myself for 2.5 seconds. Then I thought about the fact that this party is for my son!! My job is to make him smile and have the best time ever!! After talking to my hubby and my girls (if you see "my girls" just know I'm talking about my mommy and sister), pizza and (Honest) juice was the deciding factor.

Now, mind you, my son has a winter birthday and we live in the Midwest, which means I have to get creative! The power of social media can be amazing. I looked up different activities, and ran across an indoor play area. The place literally comes to your venue and sets up an entire inflatable play area! I knew that was the winner! I found a local community center and we were set! Looking on Instagram, I always see such amazing party decor, but I thought to myself, it's a toddler party, where they're going to be playing their hearts out! I stopped at my local dollar store and grabbed colorful tablecloths; and stopped at my favorite grocery store for the cupcakes! Everything else of course came from Amazon! I ordered decorative cookies from someone local, and those were also a hit! Oh, and of course you can't forget matching family birthday shirts (thanks sis-in-law)!

The invite list. I tried to make sure all were invited, and still inadvertently missed a few (I still have guilt). Then you have last minute RSVP'ers, then last minute "I cant make it" guests. A little stress came over me as my list grew at the last minute because I had to buy extra food. However, it all worked out because everyone was sent home with either extra pizza or cupcakes!

The party. My son had the BEST time!!! He's never had so much attention on him, and he sang happy birthday right along with the guests! To be honest, he's still singing happy birthday LOL! There were kids crying when it was over; in which I learned was a good sign of a good time! Every kid had a blast, and every parent was grateful for a nap afterwards!

The after party. This mama was beyond exhausted. While planning, you plan with excitement. During the party, you're running on adrenaline. Then, you crash. My body was tired and my social battery was depleted. When you have a toddler, none of that matters! Thankfully, my hubby let me get an hour nap in, which was extremely helpful! This is when partnership is important! Ask for help; accept the help!

All in all, I'm so happy everything turned out the way it did. My son is still talking about his party, and the smile on his face is really all that matters! I'm always encouraging parents to rest when needed, and guess what, I'm taking my own advice.

If you're reading this, plan the party for your kid, not for social media or anyone else. Also, plan an hour, or a day to recoup!

Have a great week!

Sprinkled with love 🧡✨