For Oscar’s birthday last year, you may remember, we eschewed a party in favour of a quiet meal out, inviting only one little friend along. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to throw him a party but after organising such a massive one for his first birthday, it felt like a lot of effort, that would have been wasted on a two year old (who may or may not have fallen asleep or had a melt down in the middle of it!). Whereas his first birthday party was for the adults as much as it was for the children, he now has friends he sees regularly. Little people he enjoys hanging out with. And as there was a time last year where I feared that this would never be the case, I want to encourage this as much as I can.
That’s why this year, I’m totally eating last year’s words and throwing a party for him. Despite his birthday seeming a long way off (it’s in the first week of April), I knew we’d have to get a wriggle on if we were going to book a venue. Because a venue, we are definitely going to need. I love the thought of having a party at home, with games of pass the parcel and jelly and ice cream however:
- my house is tiny. I stopped being able to have more than a couple of children in the house at a time once they started walking! If his birthday was in the summer we could throw them out in the garden, but it’s not so we can’t
- my boy isn’t the kind of child who likes to sit in a circle, even if prizes are offered. He’s not a game player (yet) and trying to force him to be one is only setting us all up for a fall
- while he does like jelly, he’s not that fussed about ice cream
Seems the party in my head will have to wait (and possibly forever!). My boy needs space to run, lots of things to do and cake (gluten free of course). Simple really 😉
It may sounds restrictive, but having a clear idea of what he needs to have a good time was a great starting point for us when it came to choosing the kind of party he’d most enjoy. We looked at the local provision and while there were several interesting options, we needed one that could tick all his boxes effortlessly. And when it came down to it, choosing his beloved Hen House in Haslemere was a no brainer really.
I’ve written before about his love of the soft play cafe, The Hen House. We haven’t been going as often as we used to recently, for various reasons, one of which being that he’s now busy at preschool, but also we’re more aware of the kind of environment he does best in. A room full to the brim with strangers, particularly younger children, pushes all his buttons and while he still enjoys The Hen House on it’s quieter days, a busy day at the soft play just isn’t for us. So the thought of being able to let him run lose, somewhere he knows and loves, with only his very best friends, makes me supremely happy. And call me selfish, but knowing that I really don’t have to do a thing about the organisation, unless I want to, makes me all the happier!
We’ve decided on an ‘exclusive’ party, for which they close the doors to all but party guests. While you can book for non exclusive use, we chose to restrict it as it allows me to control just how many little bodies there will be flying round at any one time and also gives Oscar the most room to play. They say they can cater for up to 30 children per exclusive party (15 for non exclusive), but I know this would be too many for Oscar. And me to be fair. At this age the parents will be staying with their invited children, which will be great (they’re all friends anyway) but it only adds bodies to the room. All things considered, in that case, we’ll be keeping it to around 10-15 guests. I think that sounds like plenty!
The party package is awesome! For one it’s all bookable on the website meaning a few clicks and it was all done. Every party comes with all party food and a birthday cake included. We could have added extras such as pizzas and burgers, but as Oscar eats neither of these things we decided against it. A quick email to the owner, allowed us to swap some of the standard items for gluten free alternatives and instead of a traditional birthday cake, we’re having a mountain of Hen’s gluten free brownies (the boy would bite your hand off for a brownie any day of the week!). And because they have the facilities we can also provide hot drinks for our adult guests. Or perhaps something colder and fizzier – they do have a licence after all. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this 😉
The food will all be prepared fresh on the day and catering, music and fun will be organised by The Hen House, meaning all I need to worry about now is the guest list, the invites and the party bags (although if I’d wanted, The Hen House would have done these too!). I did think about having a Thomas the Tank Engine theme, but I’m now thinking more of a Farm theme, for two reasons. Firstly its being held in The Hen House (geddit!) but also Oscar can happily say the names of all the farm animals, so it’s a nod to how far his speech is coming along. I’ve started a birthday theme Pinterest board and I tell you it’s probably a good thing I’m not having a hand in the food or decor. I could go nuts with this stuff!
I’m so excited. I know I was kind of a downer on parties last year, but seriously. A girl can change her mind can’t she? Actually, I find, that with a child it’s imperative to keep changing your mind. To constantly see things from a new perspective. After all, children do. Every day.
I’ll let you know how it goes!!!