![]() ![]() Just gotta be sure we don’t confuse the pitchers of Negronis with Shirley Temples. The consensus (by the adults at least) was that we obviously need to start making our kids function as servers at ALL of our parties. I did add a few fancy details: I couldn’t resist getting those balloons that spell out “PAX” (one good thing about a short name), and we hired a photo booth to be set up on our back patio. I raided our dress-up box, and put out some props (wigs, sunglasses, batman masks, etc.,). And it’s amazing how much a party can feel like a PARTY just by fancy dress and passed appetizers (even if the apps are mini grilled cheeses and they’re being passed by a big brother or sister or two). Pax had asked for mini grilled cheeses…a request I immediately dismissed as too much work, but Linz’s Dad made that happen, too, and a few of Raines’ friends took turns working the griddle and cutting and plating little grilled cheese sandwiches. Frankly, a few times during the party I forgot that it was just my kid and his friends because they were just so casually good at it. They pulled sheet pans of appetizers out of the oven, used spatulas to plate them on tiny bamboo plates and decorated them with edible flowers (a really stellar touch by Linzi’s Dad). This crew of 8th graders walked trays of appetizers around like they were…25 years old. Me, all night: “Welcome!!! Go ahead out back! And…umm…there’s no booze in that one let me take it back to the kitchen, the real bar’s over there…” The “bigs” (as we call them) all totally rose to the challenge. And so, by the time the first guest arrived, they were welcomed at the door with a cocktail-umbrella-decorated Shirley Temple, and their coat was whisked away and hung…somewhere. ![]() He spent an hour training our motley crew (all dressed in white and black) in things like food safety, being courteous to “guests” and managed to do it in a serious (yet fun) way that was…shockingly effective. Happily, Linzi’s Dad has catering experience, and came over to help. I had bought a few round, waiter-style trays on Amazon, some fancy napkins, cocktail umbrellas, and tiny little bamboo appetizer plates. The day of the party, I went to Trader Joe’s and bought a bunch of appetizers that just needed to be warmed in the oven (the entire cartful came to $138 god I love Trader Joe’s), and made a crockpot full of chili (per my usual hosting strategy). Instead of a venue and a caterer and a band…we had it at home, with Trader Joe’s apps and a portable speaker.īut it was fancy dress. We had heating lamps outside for the half-vaxxed kids, the rest of us roamed around inside.Putting my blogger advantage to use, I added a coat rack to our back patio with a bunch of faux-fur coats for the kids to borrow, so they could be both fancy and warm.īut the real stroke of genius? We “hired” Raines and his friends as servers. And yes: it was totally inspired by Gwen’s wedding. ![]() Since then, Pax has been asking for a birthday party exactly like Gwen’s wedding. And since I’m a suuuuuper fancy fashion blogger, I totally booked a wedding venue and caterer and a band for an 11th-year-old’s birthday party! Anything for my sweet baby boy!!īut we did end up throwing a big ‘ol bash on Friday that was so stupidly fun, I’m tempted to make it an annual thing. Lounging at a bar tabletop during the happy hour portion of Gwen’s wedding, he plucked an appetizer off of a passing tray and nonchalantly remarked, “This is the life, Mom.” ![]() Over the past few months we’ve been to weddings and bat/bar mitzvahs, and Pax has been deeply impressed. I actually don’t like kid birthday parties (there’s something about unreachable expectations and indulgence that, IDK, makes me give up before I begin), and his birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving, so, long-story-short, the kid doesn’t remember his last official birthday party. He obviously didn’t have one last year (pandemic), and the year(s) before that… well. Pax finally had a long-awaited birthday party last night. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |