Impending Birthday Party Giddiness

My boys have birthdays in the Fall.  I think I've mentioned before how most of the beautiful events of my life take place in the Fall, for some reason.  Maybe it's because of my love for the season that I get so festive, but ever since they were born I get carried away at their birthday celebrations.   We don't have the regular Fall Parties like we used to, since parenting and life in general sort of got in the way, but I have the boys' birthdays.  One in October and one in November.  That makes up for the void.  Plus, we have such a large amount of extended family around, that having big get-togethers is unavoidable.  And since there were going to be 25 or 30 people at their birthday parties from birth on, I figured why not make it an event?

Then they started going to school.  And kids have birthday parties for their school friends.  So then I started adding ANOTHER party in between their birthdays, and combined it as an event for both of them to invite their school friends.  I figured it should be separate, because what little kid wants to go to a party and be bombarded with dozens of uncles, aunties, and cousins?

We were doing this little party where we would have buddies come over and carve pumpkins and eat cupcakes, and then just in general run around the place.  At least we have a lot of space for them to do that.  I think they enjoyed it.  But this year they want to do something different.  I guess they feel a bit old for pumpkin carving and cupcakes.  They want to have their party at Grand Slam, a place with batting cages and laser tag.  Sweet.

Anyway, I still have the family to contend with.  So I have the "big" birthday parties as well every year, and I get SO carried away.  I love love love to have parties, and what better excuse to have a theme party for the kids' birthdays?  So every year they pick a theme, and I go bonkers.  I make the invitations, which is half the fun, and start getting the stuff to decorate.  I know the decorating is more about me, after all I don't know that everybody even notices half of it, but I can't help myself.  It's so very much fun.  Every year they've managed to come up with a new theme, and some have tested my creativity.  We've done the typical Spongebob, Batman, and Hot Wheels.  But we've also done a Dead Pirate party and an Insect party.  Awesome.  So far my favorites have been the Dead Pirate party--very handy that A's birthday is during the Halloween season:

Dead Pirate Party!




And last year's Harry Potter party for J:

Oh, it's almost a sickness . . .

So yesterday I just started gathering things to do this year's parties.  A is having an Army/military party (which I had to help decide--he wanted an army zombie party, and I told him there's just something inappropriate about decorating with undead military), and J is having a Magic party.  This week I'll start making A's invitations.  That's probably my favorite part.  Camo paper and some block stencil lettering, I think.  Woo hoo!  

I already look forward to their graduation open house parties . . .