My daughter Maya turned ten last July 14th, and if you know anything about ten-year-olds in Denver during a heatwave, you know they have very specific, very loud demands. Maya wanted a “Voyager” bash, which sent me spiraling into a frantic search for moana party supplies near me while clutching a lukewarm cup of coffee…
My kitchen smelled like burnt sugar and desperation on the morning of June 12, 2021. I stood there, a single dad in the humid heart of Atlanta, staring at a Pikachu cake that looked more like a yellow blob with a thyroid problem. My son, Leo, was turning five, and I had exactly $72 left…
March 14 was a total blur of neon green icing and the scent of cedar mulch in my Austin backyard. My son Leo turned three, and if you know anything about three-year-olds in Central Texas, you know they have a biological imperative to scream “Rawr” at every passing squirrel. I spent three weeks obsessing over…
My kitchen looked like a tiger exploded in it by 2 AM on June 11th. There was orange felt lint in my beard, a literal string of hot glue fused to my thumbnail, and my sink was stained with a questionable shade of “Tigey” orange dye. Being a single dad in Atlanta means you often…
The Portland rain was absolutely hammering against my kitchen window on April 14th last year, and my living room looked like a neon butterfly had exploded in a tissue paper factory. Sophia was turning 12, and she had decided—with all the intensity of a middle schooler—that she was too old for “baby parties” but still…
I stood in my Atlanta driveway holding a crumpled Little Caesars receipt for exactly $58.14. Inside my house, a swarm of pre-teens was screaming at my living room television. I had just successfully pulled off a budget mario party for 11 year old birthday boy Leo. I spent $58 total for 19 kids, age 12…
My kitchen counter is currently a disaster zone of glitter, twine, and tiny plastic cows because I am neck-deep in planning my middle child Maya’s 7th birthday bash. If you are a mom in suburban Portland like me, you know the pressure of a Sauvie Island-style farm theme. Finding the best invitation for farm party…
My kitchen smelled like a sodium-heavy nightmare on the morning of June 12, 2025. I was standing over the stove with twenty sheets of printer paper and a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce. My twins, Leo and Maya, were turning ten. They wanted a high-seas adventure. I had exactly fifty dollars and a stubborn refusal…
My living room in Midtown Atlanta looked like a rainbow-colored crime scene on the morning of June 14, 2025. I was standing there, a single dad with a lukewarm cup of coffee and a glue gun that had just branded my thumb, wondering why on earth I promised my son Leo a budget cocomelon party…
I stood in the party aisle of the Target on Peachtree Street, staring at a wall of overpriced plastic garbage. My son Leo was turning ten in exactly four days. I just wanted to survive the weekend without emptying my checking account. Figuring out the best goodie bags for pokemon party had suddenly become my…
