My living room still has a faint shimmer of iridescent glitter from Sophie’s fourth birthday last April, and honestly, I’ve stopped trying to vacuum it up because it just feels like a permanent part of the floorboards now. Planning a party for a four-year-old in the middle of a rainy Portland spring is basically an…
Maya turned three on April 12, 2025, and I learned more about the structural integrity of butterfly birthday party blowers than any sane father should ever know. We live in Denver, where the wind coming off the Rockies can turn a backyard gathering into a high-stakes pursuit of runaway paper goods. My living room looked…
The smell of pepperoni grease and sweaty socks is the official scent of a nine-year-old’s birthday party in Atlanta. I stood in my kitchen on April 12, 2024, staring at a stack of yellow cardboard and wondering why I ever agreed to do this alone. My son Leo was turning nine, and his only request…
My kitchen table in Rogers Park looked like a primary-colored explosion happened on a Tuesday night. Glue sticks were rolling across the hardwood, and I had blue glitter in my eyebrows that stayed there for three days. My twins, Leo and Maya, had just announced they wanted a “Rescue Squad” theme for their ninth birthday,…
Eighteen nine-year-olds screaming “It’s-a me!” at the top of their lungs while sprinting through my backyard in Austin is a specific kind of core memory I’ll never forget. Last March 14th, for my son Leo’s 9th birthday, I decided to go full-throttle on a Mushroom Kingdom theme without draining my savings account. I spent exactly…
Saturday afternoon in East Austin usually involves taco trucks and overpriced cold brew, but on March 14, 2026, my backyard transformed into a shimmering, chaotic tribute to a cartoon dog from Brisbane. My niece, Chloe, was turning 8, and she had one non-negotiable demand: “Make it sparkly, Auntie Sarah.” I took that to heart. I…
Twenty-one fifth graders in a Houston classroom on a humid Tuesday afternoon is a recipe for a disaster that no amount of teacher training can prepare you for. Last October 14th, I decided to host our annual fall harvest bash, and let me tell you, my sanity was hanging by a very thin thread. Between…
My kitchen floor was a sea of sticky pink residue and discarded lace doilies last Tuesday afternoon, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Maya, my middle child, just turned six, and she insisted on a “fancy lady tea party” even though our Portland backyard was currently a muddy swamp from three straight…
I stood in the middle of my living room in Atlanta on March 12, 2024, covered in what looked like the aftermath of a strawberry milkshake explosion. My daughter, Maya, was turning six. She wanted a Hello Kitty theme. Not just a small cake or a few plates, but a full-blown, pink-tinted extravaganza. I am…
My living room smelled like damp cardboard and lukewarm apple juice last April 12th. It was Leo’s third birthday, and I had somehow convinced myself that a “Wild One” theme was easier than just ordering pizza and calling it a day. Looking for safari party supplies for kids is a total rabbit hole. You start…
