Austin humidity is no joke, but neither is a two-year-old with a plastic bulldozer and a dream. Last April, specifically April 12, 2025, I found myself standing in the middle of my backyard with sweat dripping down my back and a bag of tiny yellow hex nuts in my hand. My nephew Leo was turning…
Pink glitter is still turning up in the floorboards of my Denver home ten months after my daughter Maya’s 12th birthday on June 14, 2025. I am a dad who takes safety seriously, so when Maya announced she wanted a “Malibu Dreamhouse” theme, I didn’t just buy the first pack of streamers I saw at…
I threw my nephew Leo’s third birthday in my backyard here in Austin last Saturday, and my limestone patio is still faintly dusted with red glitter. Three-year-olds are feral. They run fast. They scream loud. Sourcing the perfect spiderman birthday party supplies without spending a small fortune felt like a literal superpower test. I had…
Hi everyone! Jayden Meyer here, church youth leader from St. Louis. Easter is sneaking up on us fast, and my son Caleb (he’s 10 now, almost too cool for the bunny, but not quite!) is already talking about what he wants. Every year I tell myself I’m going to be organized, and every year I…
Twenty-two sets of eyes stared at me like I was the only person in Houston holding the secret to happiness, or at least the secret to a decent cupcake. Being a third-grade teacher means you are part-time educator, part-time circus animal tamer, and full-time party coordinator. Last March, I decided to host a “Big Catch”…
My middle kid, Leo, decided last month that he was officially too cool for superheroes, which is why I ended up frantically searching how to throw a black and gold party for 9 year old kids while hiding in the pantry with a bag of chocolate chips. It is a weird age. One minute they…
The Denver wind was howling outside my window on April 12, 2025, but inside our basement, things were even more chaotic as I stared at a pile of plastic whistles and sticky rubber ducks. My son, Leo, was turning seven, and he had his heart set on a full-blown backyard circus. I am that dad…
My living room looked like a comic book exploded. Red, blue, and yellow circles of paper were everywhere, stuck to the bottom of my socks and hiding inside the heating vents like tiny colorful fugitives. On April 12, 2025, I hosted a party for my son Leo’s second birthday here in Denver, and I learned…
My living room in Logan Square looked like a unicorn exploded in it last Tuesday. I sat on the floor, surrounded by three shades of pink tulle and a pile of silver cardstock, wondering if I had finally lost my mind trying to pull off a twin birthday bash for under sixty-five bucks. Zara and…
My kitchen table in Chicago currently looks like a glitter bomb went off in a Nintendo factory, and I am not even mad about it. Leo and Maya, my nine-year-old twins, decided three months ago that their birthday had to be “The Ultimate Mushroom Kingdom Showdown,” which is just code for me finding a way…
