Back when my kids were old enough to start having real birthday parties with their friends, I got overwhelmed pretty quickly. My daughter's birthday is in 2 weeks, and Easter is usually right around one or the other's birthday. That's a lot of celebrating in a short amount of time.
So, I made a new tradition. We don't do birthday parties every year. We take turns! I have two boys and one daughter, so one year is "Boys Party" year and the other is the "Girl Party" year.
When it's not his or her turn for a party, the birthday child gets to pick a friend to take out for birthday dinner, and they get to choose the restaurant! Then we bring the friend back to our house for cake and ice cream.
My kids all love doing this! They love having a friend with them to celebrate their special day, and I love not having to plan a party!
Here's the invitation we dropped off to his friend this year, printed on 5x7 photo paper (although ours had more personal information).
You could just invite the friend with a phone call or in person, but kids love getting invitations, and when it's a friend you may not know as well, it helps the invitation sound more legit to the parents. Or, am I the only one that gets "invitations" like "my friend said I could come with them to Six Flags" when you KNOW they haven't asked their parents?
We're off to enjoy the birthday festivities! Do you throw your kids parties? Every year? Every other year? I'd love to hear what other parents do!
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