A Birthday Party: City Style

Growing up, many of the birthday parties I remember my parents having for me were at our house. We had a huge backyard with plenty of space for picnics, bouncy castles, and ponies {yes, my parents rented ponies one year.} I invited my friends from school, from the neighborhood and my parents invited some of their friends as well. It was a huge celebration in the comfort of our own home.

As I got older and pregnant with Harlan I imagined her birthday parties to be much of the same. I imagined our house in Tampa to be filled with pink birthday balloons and a room filled with family and friends. Outside we would be barbecuing on the grill while watching the kids run around the backyard.

When we moved to the city, our lack of space and no backyard diminished those thoughts and forced me to look for other options to celebrate Harlan’s birthday. A great part about living in the city is the immense number of kids places to have birthday parties. After looking through many of the options, we decided on Harlan’s favorite place in the city, Kidville.

The weeks of planning the party with the coordinator, I must admit, were stress free and probably the easiest party I have ever planned. I picked out the food, cake, and activities, and showed up to Kidville 15 minutes before party time with everything set up and ready to go.

Harlan and her friends had a great time doing various activities like cookie decorating, gym time, and photo frame decorating.

Although we didn’t have a backyard to barbecue, the kids still enjoyed pizza and birthday cake while the parents chatted with one another care free.

One of the best parts of the birthday party was that I didn’t have to lift a finger or clean up a thing when it was over! {Something any mom will appreciate.}

The birthday party might not have been what I dreamed of for Harlan before moving to the city, but seeing the smile on her face and excitement in her eyes made me relinquish the old dreams and happily start new ones.