Finding safari party ideas for 12 year old boys in the middle of a Portland rainstorm felt like trying to start a fire with two wet sticks. My oldest, Leo, hit the big 1-2 last month on April 13, and the pressure was on because he’s officially “too cool” for the cartoonish jungle themes I…
I stood in the middle of a Target aisle on Tuesday, October 14, 2023, clutching a crumpled list while a toddler screamed three aisles over. That was my first mistake. My daughter, Maya, was turning eight, and she wanted a winter wonderland that didn’t look like a dad-managed disaster. I learned quickly that a high-quality…
I never thought I would be writing about ironic aquatic themes for high schoolers. My living room in Logan Square is currently stained blue. Finding baby shark party ideas for teenager crowds sounds completely absurd until you realize that nostalgia is the literal currency of Gen Z. I originally planned this entire ocean setup for…
I stood in the middle of a party supply aisle in suburban Atlanta on a Tuesday night, sweating through my work shirt and desperately typing how many crown do I need for a cowboy party into my phone with my thumb. A teenager in an oversized polo shirt restocked neon pink slinkies next to me….
The floor of my living room in Beaverton looked like a primary-colored minefield last Tuesday morning. My youngest, Leo, is turning five, and his only request was a party where everything—literally everything—looked like a plastic brick. I spent three hours scouring the web for lego party supplies for kids while my four-year-old “helped” by dumping…
lucy_mart: Okay, GINYOU fam, I need some real talk here. Easter is creeping up fast – like, seriously, how is it already April 13th?! – and with five kids (Arjun 1, Arjun 2 – yes, two Arjuns, don’t ask, long story involving my husband Owen and a spreadsheet error – Willow 3, Zoe 6, and…
My living room floor still looks like a pit stop gone wrong, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Last Saturday, April 11th, was the big 9th birthday for my twins, Leo and Max, and I decided we were going full throttle on a Grand Prix theme without crashing our bank account. Living…
Leo looked me dead in the eye last April and told me he wanted an Octonauts party for his eleventh birthday. Most dads in Atlanta would have tried to steer their kid toward Minecraft or some generic sports theme, but I’ve learned the hard way that when a kid has a vision, you just strap…
Living in a tiny two-bedroom in Logan Square with four-year-old twins is like living inside a pinball machine. Last April, specifically April 12, 2025, the pinball hit the jackpot. My twins, Leo and Maya, decided their shared fourth birthday had to be a Roblox “Noob” theme. I had exactly eighty-five dollars in the “fun fund”…
My living room looked like a rainbow exploded, and not the expensive, professional kind of rainbow you see on those over-polished Instagram feeds. It was April 12, 2025, just one day before my twins, Maya and Leo, turned five. I had exactly $35 left in my “celebration stash” after paying the rent here in Chicago,…
