Some of the most fun children ever had…

How fast this first year flown in the life of baby George. I’m betting he will be having a much more lavish party than my kids ever had. Can you imagine the fuss. I can’t really remember all my five kids first birthdays… seems so long ago. Their ages now are 46, 44, 29, 28 and 26 but I can remember some of the many parties they had growing up. I remember one time my mother in law was miffed because the child was much happier playing in the big box the doll and pram came in instead of the toys themselves. Forever the tom boy, that one!

Birthdays at our place was always a very special occasion. The hints of gift choice were made obvious well in advance of the occasion and behaviour of the birthday person seemed to much improve prior to the day. Fear of the party being cancelled weighed heavily on their young minds. Most birthdays were celebrated at home on the farm with family and friends.

Pinatas and take home lolly bags were made in readiness and the cake was masterfully decorated by myself in their favourite fad theme of the time. There were Unicorn cakes, Pikachu cakes, Strawberry Shortcake cakes, fairy cakes, all the farm animals… So many I can’t remember! It didn’t matter what the cake tasted like the decoration had to be just right… and don’t forget the sparklers. My artistic flair in this domain was spectacular, or so the kids thought. All this decoration was done late at night while they were sleeping and magically displayed to be admired on the special day.

As long as they shared their day with their friends, had cake, lollies and the little boys dipped in tomato sauce, pass the parcel and a pinata they were happy. No jumping castles and no paid clowns. As they got older they opted for the friends sleep over. Party food, DVDs, giggling girls all night and sleeping bags strewn all over the house. Mayhap a McDonalds party thrown in on some occasions too! This seemed to go on forever, there was always a birthday just around the corner. No worries though, it was easy and no pressure to keep up with the latest party trick. Not like now, with all parents try to outdo each other with fancy parties and entertainment. Glad that wasn’t the case when my lot were little. Then it was just about having fun with your mates and eating cake… Oh and don’t forget the prezzies!

What are your Birthday party memories? Have you had some favourite ones? Tell us about them in the comments below…