Exactly a month from now, the boy is turning 5 and he has been counting down for weeks already! I can’t blame him, almost every month, a classmate hosts a birthday party in his class and he said that together with other kids in his train (they are grouped in trains), they talk about their birthday plans during break time. Indeed, kids who are coming up on their 5th are showing a big interest in party planning!
“I want a LEGO party, mommy!” The boy requested. “And let’s we make it fun!”
The theme he wanted did not surprise me at all. My Kyle has a big love for building blocks, and creating anything with them is what he usually does. The birthday party theme is then sealed: LEGO. Now the first time mom with a school kid asks, “How does one organize a birthday party in school?”
Mommy and Kyle. Thanks Josef for this photo! We love it!
October is going to be a very challenging month for me. I have a scheduled surgery on the 1st week (I’ll talk about this soon), and the birthday comes 2 weeks after. I am not so sure if I’ll be mobile by then. Hence the planning should be done now.
And the birthday boy should be heavily involved in planning. Planning his fifth birthday with most of the party ideas coming from him will be cool, isn’t it? It’s also going to be a great way to make him feel respected, and trusted! Plus, it’s going to be a great way to show him that he is becoming a creative and responsible five-year-old!
Writing a Letter to the Teacher
Before going into the party details, the very first thing that I will do is to send a letter to my child’s teacher for inquiries concerning the party. I’m glad my kid’s school has a very good teacher-parent communication, which is usually done in the form of exchanging letters when both parties are not available for a meet-up. (I have sent several notes already.Heheee!) I’ll ask the teacher the following:
- How long will the party be, and how many kids are there in the class?
- Does any child in the class have dietary restriction I should be aware of?
- Are we allowed to host a party game and to introduce a craft activity?
- Are we allowed to bring in fast food? (Although the dream is to serve bento boxes, I couldn’t be sure if I could already cook for a party size by then)
Planning the Party
Now on to planning for the details. As I’ve mentioned, Kyle will be THE party planner for his birthday this year. From theme selection all the way down to picking what he likes to be in the loot bag will come from him. I’ll give him several opportunities to feel the party planning excitement. My part? We’ll, I’m thinking of showing him several party design ideas (which I’ll be gathering online) to consult what he likes! =)
The Plan:
- Have him narrow down his decision for the LEGO theme. Will it be a LEGO Superheroes? LEGO City? Ninjago?
- Ask him to help me in designing and assembling his party invites (This being said, it’s going to be a DIY invite for the entire class!)
- If games and crafts are allowed, I’ll allow him to make suggestions. He is the excellent gauge what may hold the attention of kids his age!
- He will decide what food to be served given a budget which we will be discussing together.
- He’ll be my little helper in purchasing and assembling the party favors!
In organizing the kid’s birthday party in the coming days, simplicity should be my best friend. After all, simple party can be very happy for as long as it is planned with the birthday kid’s interests and tastes in mind! As a friend puts it, K. I. S. it away –Keep It Simple, mom!
Excitement is mounting— we’re going to be five very soon— Hurray!
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