A Birthday Party or a Birthday List, But Not Both

Admittedly, I’m a little stingy when it comes to birthdays – yes, even my kids’.

It’s not that I don’t want to celebrate the momentous occasions of my children’s births, I just can’t get over the excess of it all. Relax, I’m not the kind of person who’s going to insist we celebrate Christmas in April in protest of commercialism or anything like that, I just really feel that just because we can spoil our kids, doesn’t mean we should.

But even though this is the way birthdays have always been around these parts, it doesn’t mean that it’s easily understood by my kin. So on the occasion of BooBoo’s 6th birthday last week, decisions had to be made. When asked back in July what he wanted to do for his birthday, BooBoo presented me with a hefty birthday list and the desire to have a big party at an indoor inflatable jumper facility. “Oh Honey, that sounds like a lot of fun,” I said, “But this list of presents along with a birthday party is going to cost a lot of money. You’re going to have to decide what matters to you more, the presents on this list or a birthday party.” [Read more…]