June 2008
Super-Special Summer Birthday Parties
By Julie Bloss Kelsey
One glance at the calendar, and your stomach drops. Your son’s summer birthday is fast approaching, and you haven’t even decided where to hold the party, let alone sent out any invitations. Thinking back to last year, you cringe. It’s hard to say what was worse – spending all that money on a party that was poorly attended, or seeing your son’s crestfallen face when only half of his classmates showed up.
Between vacations, camp and work commitments, summer can be a stressful time to schedule a birthday party. Here are some ideas guaranteed to de-frazzle your party planning and make your child’s summer birthday extra-special.
Select a Seasonal Theme
One way to make your child’s invitation stand out is to choose a unique party theme. The warm weather provides a wealth of party locations that are simply unavailable during the rest of the year. Take advantage of them if you can.
Enjoy an old-fashioned summer picnic. Reserve a pavilion at your local park and have everyone bring Frisbees, bicycles, sidewalk chalk and bubbles. You might even encourage your guests to bring a covered dish to share. Be sure to include summer treats like watermelon, popsicles and ice cream along with the birthday cake. Don’t forget that June 18 is International Picnic Day!
Splash in the water. Summer birthdays provide a wonderful opportunity to hold your party at the local outdoor pool, splash park or even in your backyard using your wading pool and lawn sprinklers. Outfit your guests with squirt guns and play jump rope using water from the hose. Just be sure that your guests arrive with towels and a change of clothes.
Go on a hayride. Since June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables month, what better way to celebrate your child’s birthday than to pick your own produce at a local farm? One to try: Butler’s Orchard in Germantown, Maryland holds country-themed birthday parties on the first and third weekends of the month from June through September. A tractor-driven hay wagon takes participants to the berry fields, your guests can take home their freshly picked fruit as a party favor. Call (301) 428-0444 or go online at http://www.butlersorchard.com and choose the “Country Birthday Parties” link from the “Events Calendar” page for more information.
Hold a tea party. Mary E. Tyler, mother of three, says that for spring or summer birthdays, a tea party is great for girls from kindergarten through about third grade. “All the girls wear fancy party dresses. We eat cucumber sandwiches, lady fingers and herbal tea with LOTS of milk and sugar. Each girl gets a cheap pair of white gloves or a straw sun hat to take home. An activity, like decorating the sun hats would be cool, though we've never actually done it. And we play traditional English girl games, like Ring around the Rosy, London Bridge, Button Button and so on. The invitations always have a picture of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.”
If you’d rather go out for tea, one place to try is Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in Alexandria. Your child (turning 6 or older; guests, ages 5 and up) can have her very own private tea party birthday at this museum. Call 703-838-4242 for more details or go online at www.gadsbystavern.org and click on the “Birthday Parties” link.
Celebrate America. With Flag Day on June 14th and the Fourth of July just around the corner, June is the perfect month to have a flag-themed party. Stock up on party supplies in patriotic colors, and have your guests wear red, white and blue. You can even provide miniature flags as party favors. For a special backdrop to your party, arrange for your guests to meet at one of the wonderful American icons on the National Mall.
Dare to be different. Unique holidays can provide a springboard for creative party planning. The month of June, for example, holds a wealth of unusual dates, including National Doughnut Day (June 6th), Go Fishing Day (June 18th) and Ice Cream Soda Day (June 20th). Visit a website like Holiday Insights (www.holidayinsights.com) for more ideas.
Target Your Invitations
Take note of holidays, both big and small. It’s easy to remember that July 4th is a busy travel day. But don’t forget that other holidays – like Father’s Day – are also times that families may be away from home. Plan your party accordingly.
Know where to send the invitations. During the school year, you can just send party invitations to school with your child. For this reason, you might consider inviting your guests to your summer party before school gets out. You might even send a “save the date” card first and follow up with the real invitation closer to the day of the party.
If your child’s school provides a class directory, make sure that you have obtained a copy before school lets out for the summer. If you have e-mail addresses for the parents, you might choose to provide online invitations. Some websites, like evite (www.evite.com), allow you to track your invitations (and responses) online.
Be sure to allow for mail delays if you send your invitations the old-fashioned way. Even within the same hometown, it might take over three days for an invitation to arrive through the mail. (I recently learned this the hard way.)
Don’t forget that some of your prospective guests may have divorced parents. These kids might spend all or part of their summers at a different residence. If you know the addresses, consider sending an invitation to both locations.
Include new friends. If your child is attending summer camp, why not invite some of his camp mates to the party? Your son may not know these kids now, but by the date of the party, he will likely have made some new friends. If possible, obtain names of camp attendees from the counselor before camp begins.
Get a Jump on Next Year
Plan a back-to-school birthday party. Just because your child’s birthday falls in the summer doesn’t mean that you have to celebrate it right then. You can always invite your child’s new classmates to a belated birthday party once school is back in session.
If all else fails, plan a half-birthday party. If you just can’t get your child’s summer birthday party scheduled or most of the guests don’t show up, never fear! Consider the experience of Jessica Rosenberg, mother of two. She says, “I'm a July baby … and it was always impossible to get people to come to summer parties. One year, my mom threw me a half birthday party in the middle of December. She rented the local ice rink … and invited my whole class. It was the best birthday ever!”
Julie Bloss Kelsey is a freelance writer and mother of two (including one June-bug). Visit her online at Mama Joules (http://www.mamajoules.blogspot.com), her family-friendly science blog.