Happy Birthday to Lu

Our sweet Lucy is seven!

The birthday tradition for our family has evolved into

The Four Options

1. a really nice gift from Daddy & Mommy
2. a fun outing with the family to somewhere amazing
3. a Daddy-Mommy-Child date where the Birthday kid picks the movie & restaurant
4. a birthday party with friends

Lucy firmly stated weeks and weeks ago that she wanted to go to the Omaha Zoo. We haven't been as a family since she was one, so this has been a stated objective of hers for some time now. I approved of her chosen Option, and flipped the calendar to May, picked a good date, and wrote "Family Zoo Trip" in ink. Plans made, date picked, job done.

Skip to last Thursday. "Mom," Lucy comes to me. "I've decided I want a friend party instead."
"Are you sure?" I ask, because that gives me only four days - including Mothers Day - to plan, purchase and pull it off. Not to mention invitations! Or advanced notice!
"Yes," she affirms. "I would rather play with my friends, and we can go to the Zoo for Eliza's birthday."
This tells me two things: Lucy has been trying to con Eliza into choosing an Option to benefit herself. And Lucy wants a big party.

Sigh.

Still, I am into facilitating agency and the whole choice-and-consequences experience, so I went with it. Lucy and I ran to the store(s) in search of invitations. Nothing. Unless I was throwing a party for a pregnant lady, a recent graduate, or a blushing bride, there were NO party invitations to be had. Ugh. I did NOT want to have to make them, or I wouldn't have gone to the store in the first place!

But, I'm resourceful, so we wandered up and down a few aisles, looking for merchandise we could re-purpose. What we found was this: a 20-pack of velum wedding confetti packets. But it was all in white and generic flowers (as opposed to hearts or doves or wedding bells) so we snapped them up. We took them home, wrote the party information on some cute scrapbook-style tags we found, tucked them in the confetti packets, and hopped in the van to deliver invitations personally. I think it turned out really cute.

I let Lucy pick out a ready-made cake they had on the Mothers Day display, and we got blue and green schtuff for decorating.

Monday morning, I deep-cleaned the back porch (swept up leaves and tree seeds, scrubbed chalk doodles off the brick, wiped down old cobwebs, etc.), and had Hyrum help me put up a folding table. Lucy and Eliza made the favor bags while Gabba helped me with the birthday banner and the pinwheel supplies (we made paper pinwheels for our activity; they were super cute, and made a fun center piece until it was time for everyone to go home and take theirs with them). Hyrum taped the tablecloth down while I balanced on the ladder hanging plastic gem danglies and tulle. We finished right at 4 o'clock, when the first friend arrived for the "Afternoon Tea Party," but the back porch was completely transformed. Even I was impressed. And inspired: it didn't take very much time, and we used a minimum of supplies/money. What can I do next time? Hmmmm....

Due to the late notice, only two of the six girls she invited could make it. But Gabba, Eliza and Yvy were there. As long as you have three sisters, you'll have a party no matter who shows up! (And kudos to Lucy for including them in her plans in the first place! I'm glad my girls consider each other bestest buddies!)Lucy and Miriam practice tea-cup etiquette while they enjoy their strawberry lemonade

Party -goers enjoying finger foods and silliness

Yvette behaved rather well, all things considered. The Push-Up Popsicles were a hit replacement for traditional birthday ice cream...Lucy's idea, not mine.

Birthday Girl Lucy blows out the sparkling candles

Friends and Sisters enjoying birthday cake

And I love that I can count on the After Easter mark-down to get dresses for my May birthday girls for Ebeneezer Scrooge prices. I just had to say that.