Why I Keep Coming Back to the Night Sky I have thrown exactly forty-two classroom parties in the last seven years. Yes, I count them. I have the spreadsheets to prove it, tucked away in a navy blue binder that smells faintly of dried glue and desperation. Every year, my second graders beg for something…
I am currently covered in a fine dusting of gold glitter and smelling faintly of saltwater taffy. Why? Because last Saturday, March 14, 2026, my backyard was officially overtaken by a crew of fourteen rowdy “pirates” celebrating my nephew Leo’s 6th birthday. It was loud. It was messy. It was, honestly, one of the best…
My daughter loves Hello Kitty the way some kids love dinosaurs — not as a phase, but as a whole personality. She’d been asking for a Sanrio party for eight months. Not just Hello Kitty. Sanrio. She had opinions about Cinnamoroll versus My Melody. She had an entire notebook where she ranked her favorites by…
My nephew has been into Pokémon since he was four. Not casual into it — like, knows the base stats for Gengar, corrects adults about evolution chains, carries a binder of cards everywhere. When he turned eight, there was only one option. I told myself it would be simple. Use red and white colors, maybe…
My son Connor is not a casual Marvel fan. He’s the kid who corrected me when I called Thor “the hammer guy.” He knows the Infinity Stones by name, in order. When he said he wanted an Avengers party, he meant he wanted an Avengers party — not a generic superhero party with a balloon…
My youngest daughter, Clara, has watched exactly one TV show for the past fourteen months. Not episodes. Seasons. All of them. Repeatedly. It’s Peppa Pig. So when her third birthday came up, the theme was never in question. The question was how to make it feel like the show — not like a pile of…
I spent three weeks trying to figure out how to make a Bluey party that wasn’t just blue streamers and a store-bought cake. My daughter Emma turned four in February. She’d been watching Bluey for over a year — the kind of obsession where she quotes episodes at dinner and corrects me when I mispronounce…
My son asked for a Paw Patrol party when he was turning 4. Simple enough, right? Then I priced the licensed party supplies. A set of 8 Paw Patrol plates was $11. The official tablecloth was $14. A cardboard standee of Chase was somehow $35. By the time I added it all up, the official…
Norah asked for a Stitch party in October. At the time, I was still unclear on exactly what kind of creature Stitch was — alien? dog? both? — but I knew he was teal and she loved him, so I said yes. Then the live-action movie dropped and by February I was fielding texts from…
May 3rd birthday + Cinco de Mayo = fiesta party. 13 kids, $83, backyard, and a piñata situation I am still recovering from.
