My living room looked like a silk-screened crime scene on the morning of May 12, 2025. I was sitting on the hardwood floor of our small house in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta, surrounded by enough glitter to choke a vacuum cleaner. My daughter, Lily, was turning seven, and she had decided six months prior…
Twenty-two seven-year-olds in a Houston classroom during a thunderstorm is a recipe for disaster, but trying to execute woodland party ideas for boys in that same environment adds a layer of chaos only a teacher can truly appreciate. I’ve spent fifteen years managing “indoor recess energy,” which is a polite way of saying children running…
@julian_partydad: Hey GINYOU Party Crew! Julian Rossi here, your friendly neighborhood party dad from Memphis. Easter’s right around the corner, and I’m already feeling the pressure. My wife Sarah and I have four little (and not-so-little) team members – Kai (2), Piper (7), Ellie (9), and Isla (13). Trying to wrangle Easter baskets for that…
My living room looked like a red Muppet exploded. It was April 2, 2025, and I was sitting on my scuffed hardwood floor in Beaverton, surrounded by three different shades of red cardstock and a lukewarm oat milk latte that I’d forgotten about two hours ago when the glue gun started smoking. Leo, my oldest,…
Rainey Street was already buzzing with the Saturday brunch crowd when I realized my biggest mistake: I had sixteen grown women coming over for a “Tutus and Tequila” 30th birthday bash and exactly zero headwear that didn’t look like it belonged in a preschool cubby. I spent three hours scouring local boutiques in downtown Austin,…
Last March, my living room looked like NASA mission control if mission control were run by three caffeinated kids and a very confused golden retriever. Leo was turning seven, and his only request was a “Space party, but with aliens that look like tacos.” Don’t ask. I spent three hours gluing silver foil to cardboard…
Twenty-two third-graders in a Houston classroom during a thunderstorm is a recipe for a migraine, especially when you are trying to celebrate a birthday without losing your sanity. My classroom floor usually looks like a glitter bomb went off by 2:00 PM on a Friday. Last February 12, 2024, I decided to lean into the…
Maya turned eleven last Saturday, and if you have a pre-teen in the house, you know that transition from “little kid” to “aesthetic teen” happens faster than a Portland rainstorm. She told me months ago she wanted a “vibe” that was retro but not babyish, which led us straight to scouring the internet for the…
My living room in Austin was a literal glitter crime scene by 11:00 PM on March 12, 2024. I had hot glue stuck to my favorite yoga pants and a half-eaten taco from Torchys on the coffee table. My nephew, Leo, was turning three the next morning, and I had promised my sister I would…
My son Leo turned nine last April, and I decided, in a moment of sheer parenting bravado, to host the “Leo’s Grand Prix” at our local park here in Atlanta. It was eighty-five degrees, humid enough to melt a popsicle in three seconds, and I had thirteen boys vibrating with enough sugar-induced energy to power…
