Ah, birthdays.  I know some people turn them into a three ring circus for their children.  If that is the case for you, please don’t be offended by this.  It just isn’t how I do things.  It wasn’t how I was raised.

Birthdays were simple affairs in our family.  We would probably go out for dinner.  This was an extremely big deal because we seldom went out for dinner.  My mom would make my favorite cheesecake, and I still make cheesecake for my birthday.  I guess we got presents too, though I honestly don’t remember that being a deal.  I am sure it was, though.

So pardon me for raising an eyebrow when your child has super parties that beat my sweet sixteen (pizza, my house, a few friends, and of course cheesecake).  I am just not accustomed to it.

Now that my children are getting old enough to be invited to parties, they seem to be catching on that their a bit, shall we say, “low key” in comparison.  Tater thought it was a big deal to have his at the park before he discovered bowling and swimming parties.

The difference is we don’t have a large family.  We don’t have scads of people who expect to come to a shindig, complete with children the same age as ours.

Some who know me might point out that I am a cheapskate.  Which is true as well.  My husband and I mapped out our priorities years ago, and big parties play little part in that.

The truth is that I don’t see anything wrong with some cake and a few presents being the focus of a kid’s birthday.  My kids pick out their cake theme (imagine my horror at having to make an “Edmund Fitzgerald cake”  Yes.  The SHIPWRECK) and I make their cake myself.  They get a toy or two.

What I don’t have?  Major stress.  Invitations.  Party favors.  Themed paper plates.  Though one year I did get a Mylar balloon from the dollar store!  I don’t have to stress about goodie bags.  Usually I just thrust extra cake onto the family and send them on their way.  I mean let’s face it.  On the actual “birth day” I did all the work.  And I should repeat this why?

JD will be turning a year old in less than two weeks.  Most people would rejoice at a Saturday birthday.  My husband has to work.  He asked me “can we just celebrate his birthday before I go to work in the afternoon?  Just us?”

I said sure.  It isn’t like JD is going to really remember.  Though I do plan on attempting a Blue’s Clues cake, because he does seem to enjoy that program.  I haven’t found his present yet, because he doesn’t really need anything.  I was eyeing this toy mailbox today, only to have kittens when I realized it was almost THIRTY DOLLARS.  SERIOUSLY?????

My grandmother will tell me that parties back in the old days meant “Kool Aid and cake when the family came over.”  Then again she gets a kick out of when I wrap their presents with the funny papers.  They also had one bike for five kids, and it was used.

Some of my down to earth friends have confessed that they realized they could buy a really awesome present for what the party costs and made pains to cut back.  I respect that.

It means they won’t be too surprised when they are eating homemade cake in the park at our parties!