Over the last year and a half, it has become increasingly apparent that Caroline’s social calendar is far more packed with events than ours. Of course that’s not saying much considering that when we looked at our calendars for 2007 to mark down big social events, it equated to us writing down my cousin’s wedding on June 2…that’s it…for the whole year. Oh, I’m sure we’ll have other big events that will come up such as the Cattle Baron’s Ball or you know… a cookout at the neighbor’s house, but for now we’re not exactly all booked up.
Anyway, I realized that Caroline averages 3-4 birthday parties a month, which means that we average giving away 3-4 toys a month at these various parties. I have no problem with the gift giving, my issue is that I am a procrastinator.
In the perfect world that exists only inside my head, preparations for these parties would go like this. We would receive an invitation from some sweet child in Caroline’s class and I would display it on our magnetic chalkboard to remind me of the upcoming festivities. The day before the party, I would look through my stored stash of gender appropriate, moderately priced toys, pick one from the pile and gift wrap it in a room that looks just like Martha Stewart’s, complete with rolls of beautiful paper and streams of festive ribbon and more scotch tape than anyone could ever need. We would head to the party, fresh as a daisy, with the perfect gift in hand.
And then I wake up.
The reality is that the morning of the party, I notice an invitation displayed on our chalkboard and say “Oh man (truth be told I usually don’t say “man”, but I’m trying to keep it family friendly), that party is TODAY?”. Best case scenario, we head to Learning Express to find a toy that I’ll pay way too much for, but I do it anyway because it’s the closest toy store and they have free gift wrap. It’s just a bonus that I get to listen to Caroline whine and bargain to try to get a toy for herself while I threaten that if she doesn’t shape up, we’re not going to the party at all.
The whole experience really puts me in the party mood. Bring on the pinata and the Dora cupcakes.
There are times that I remember the party earlier in the week and while I’m making one of my thrice weekly visits to Target, I pick out a good toy. I always feel a little smug at my preparedness…it creates a real sense of accomplishment. I am ahead of the game. And yes, I need to get a life.
When this happens, I get home and deposit the gift on a shelf in our laundry room, still wrapped in the Target bag. The day of the party, usually around the time we’re about to walk out the door, I remember it needs to be wrapped and look in my real life gift wrapping station, which consists of a plastic container shoved under my bed filled with various wrap, ribbons, and an empty roll of scotch tape. Martha Stewart would cry if she saw it.
And I don’t mean a good kind of cry.
I’ll finally decide that maybe red and green polka dot wrap doesn’t necessarily look too Christmas-y or that the stork on a gift bag from my baby shower could pass as a whimsical birthday bird.
Anyway, I say all this to ask this question. Do any of y’all have a favorite gift that you like to give at a child’s birthday party? It can be anything, whether it’s for a boy or a girl, as long as it’s in a price range that won’t cause me to take a second mortgage on our home.
The dream of the gift wrapping room is never going to happen, but at least I could have my perfect stash of gifts that wouldn’t just exist in my head.
Martha would be so semi-proud.