Writings by me

We are triumphant; last Saturday was Freddie’s 7th birthday party and it was a noisy, crazy blast. Politics aside, I’m very pleased we did it the way we did and for future reference here are a few things I learned:

1. Delegate where possible

When Freddie asked me for a Wonder Woman cake, I panicked slightly, especially when he said it absolutely had to have a lasso. I’m not great at cake decoration or one for fiddly things which require finesse. Luckily it was Nanny to the rescue and we ended up with a beautiful Wonder Woman cake, complete with lasso and crown (how?!). The tip? Don’t be afraid to delegate; family members, especially Nannys love to help.

• Keep it loose, but not too loose

If you’re planning on a theme, remember that time spent and cost do not always guarantee interest. Freddie had decided on a Lego theme, a Legomasters’ style building session with all his friends. But his friends had other ideas; the day was bright and sunny and within five minutes of the first arrival, a full-on water fight was underway. Did we spend a while sorting Lego beforehand? Yes. Did they spend most of the time doing other, unplanned stuff? Also, yes. In the end the Lego was a nice bonus but kids will just do what they want to do. Not planning too many activities helps with that.

• Resist the urge to crash out when everyone’s gone

This urge is strong but you will be happier the next day if you do at least one clean up task straightaway. I opted for the floors. Someone (okay, me) had exploded a confetti cannon all over the dining room floor.

• Provide treats for the parents

If you’re lucky enough to have a close bunch of parents (we went through lockdown together, we are solid!) moderate levels of alcohol and sweet baked goods go down very well and make the noise, inevitable squabbling and tears almost enjoyable. Any excuse for a party is a good one and you have something to celebrate too; you made it another year!

• Keep food simple

Frozen pizzas, crisps, cake, DONE. Because it was Easter we had chocolate nests but other than that, kids appetites fluctuate at the best of times, let alone when excited, which resulted in a lot of leftover pizza. It would have been a lot more disheartening if I’d gone to the trouble of making it from scratch. Frozen pizzas are your friend.

It was lush. Looking over at Freddie and seeing a huge smile on his face and watching Harry get stuck in, holding his own with the big kids was well worth the ridiculous amount of prep we put into it and the obsessing over invitation politics. Seeing all the kids go crazy in the garden with water pistols was refreshing to see and almost a little bittersweet when you consider the strain of the last couple of years.