Hello GINYOU community! Paisley Howard here from Des Moines. Easter is just around the corner, and I’m already deep into planning mode for our big family gathering. My grandson, Ethan, is just over a year old now, and he’s into absolutely EVERYTHING. We also have two rather enthusiastic beagles, Daisy and Duke, who think anything…
My kitchen table looked like a glitter bomb detonated on April 12th, exactly three hours before Maya and Leo’s fifth birthday party was set to start. Living in Chicago means you never trust the spring weather, so I had two plans: one for a sunny day at Millennium Park and a backup for our cramped…
Austin heat is no joke, but neither is a four-year-old with a very specific vision for his “Grown-Up Wild One” birthday party. My godson, Leo, decided that he was over primary colors and wanted something “fancy like a knight,” which translated into a black and gold theme that tested every ounce of my party planning…
Leo turned seven last April, and I spent three sleepless nights obsessing over the structural integrity of a paw patrol party treat bags set. Most dads in Denver worry about their lawn or the Broncos’ offensive line, but I was elbows-deep in Children’s Product Certificates (CPC) and lead-paint testing results for tiny plastic whistles. My…
The roar inside my two-bedroom Chicago apartment was deafening. Eight ten-year-olds vibrating with pure sugar adrenaline. Maya and Leo’s milestone tenth birthday had finally arrived. Bringing a magical Colombian casita to life in a cramped urban space felt utterly impossible. Normally, I am the undisputed queen of the fifty-dollar birthday bash. I scour clearance aisles….
My dining room table was completely covered in silver spray paint, black frosting, and exactly three dozen miniature styrofoam balls. Leo and Maya were turning six. Living in a two-bedroom Chicago apartment means hosting 21 hyperactive kindergarteners is an extreme sport, but paying $400 for a two-hour slot at a suburban trampoline park just wasn’t…
Austin in October is still ninety degrees. My golden retriever mix, Brisket, was hiding under the patio table to escape the brutal Texas sun while I stared at a massive plastic bin of assorted plastic bricks. Planning a joint birthday is brutally hard. Finding legit lego party ideas for 11 year old boys that do…
Pink glitter is the glitter of the devil. I know this because six months after my twins’ second birthday, I am still finding microscopic pink specs embedded in my cheap living room rug. Maya and Lily turned two on April 10th. We live in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Space is…
Twenty-two sugar-fueled five-year-olds in a poorly ventilated Houston classroom. That was my Tuesday last April. I have thrown more than six classroom parties a year for a decade, but this specific request from my co-teacher had me sweating. She needed to know how to decorate for a baby shark party on a ridiculously tight budget….
My Golden Retriever, Brisket, was actively eating a black-and-white checkered napkin while I sat on my living room floor in Austin, Texas, surrounded by cardboard boxes. It was May 14th. Exactly three days before my nephew Leo’s third birthday bash at Zilker Park. My sister had just handed me the title of “Decorations Director.” It…
