I was standing in the middle of Room 14 at my Houston elementary school with twenty-two three-year-olds vibrating at a frequency that could literally shatter glass. It was March 12, 2023. The sugar was hitting their bloodstreams. Mateo was holding a plastic Triceratops like it was his own child. Sofia was asking me when we…
My son Leo turned twelve on a humid Tuesday in Atlanta back in March 2024, and let me tell you, the pressure to deliver a budget harry potter party for 12 year old boys is heavier than a stack of Hogwarts textbooks. I am a single dad who once thought a party meant ordering three…
Glitter is forever. It lives in your floorboards, your dog’s fur, and probably your soul after hosting thirteen seven-year-olds who all think they are the rightful heir to the throne of Genovia. Last February, specifically on Saturday the 15th, I stood in my Austin living room while my golden retriever, Hops, tried to eat a…
@the_real_matthew: Alright, GINYOU fam, Matthew here, feeling the familiar pre-party jitters. We’re hosting Easter at our place in New Orleans this year – big family gathering, which I usually love! Evelyn and I have our hands full with Arjun (3), Ivy (7), Milo (10), and Chloe (13). Then you add in all the cousins, and…
My kitchen looked like a highlighter-yellow unicorn had exploded in it. It was April 12, 2024, exactly three hours before Leo’s 7th birthday party, and I was staring at a slumped, sad pile of what was supposed to be a majestic fondant rainbow. I had spent $18 on specialized fondant tools and another $12 on…
Lily’s tenth birthday was looming like a humid Austin thunderstorm, and my backyard was currently a construction zone of canvas tents and fairy lights. I was determined to pull off the “glamping” vibe without my credit card melting under the pressure. Ten girls. Age ten. Double digits. The stakes felt impossibly high because, at that…
My nephew Jaxson turned nine last April, and he hit me with a request that made my millennial heart skip a beat: he wanted a Paw Patrol party. Not a cool skater party or a video game marathon, but a full-blown pup-themed bash. Most parents think nine is too old for Adventure Bay, but in…
Stickers on the floor and a half-eaten chicken nugget under my desk describe my average Tuesday in Houston, but nothing prepares a person for the sensory overload of a toddler party. Last April, I helped my friend Sarah plan her son Liam’s 4th birthday. Liam is obsessed with JJ. Finding the best tablecloth for cocomelon…
Chicago humidity in mid-June is no joke, and trying to tape paper to a brick bungalow while two toddlers scream for juice is a special kind of hell. On June 14, 2024, my twins, Leo and Maya, turned two, and I had exactly $50 in my pocket to make their birthday feel like the greatest…
My backyard in Austin felt like a neon-colored battlefield on April 12, 2025, as twelve sticky three-year-olds sprinted toward a table laden with what I hoped were genius superhero party food ideas. My nephew Leo, the birthday boy, wore a cape that was three sizes too big, tripping over it while screaming “I’m the Flash!”…
