Birthday Blues

In 25 more days, Bella will turn one year old. Wow, how time flies when you're tired beyond belief...oh, I mean, when you're having fun.

Now, it's time to plan the ever-important FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY. Jona and I briefly flirted with the idea of doing nothing at all because, really, is she going to remember anything from that day. I mean, I only remember only bits and pieces of my own life before Grade 3 (but then again, I think I have a memory problem as some of my friends have told me). However, since most of my parent friends gasped at the idea of not having a party, we are now toying with the idea of having one.

First, we thought that we could rent out the party room in our condo but that was way too expensive. Then, we thought of having it at an indoor playground but it seems that "responsible parents" book their kids' first birthday parties MONTHS ahead of time. I mean, I was already flabbergasted that I had to get on the waiting list for daycare once I knew that I was pregnant and now this? This parenting thing is not only exhausting but it needs its own logistics coordinator! Apparently, indoor playgrounds are generally booked 6 months before the actual birthday party and they're more expensive than the condo party room idea!

So now, we are thinking of renting out a room in the local community centre and putting a bunch of toys in there to have a party. Which puts me in another dilemma, where am I going to get a bunch of toys? Living in a small condo, we have limited the number of toys we give to Bella. Also, we believe that roundish kitchen utensils and cardboard boxes can serve its original purpose as well as be fun kids toys (and we were proven correct). So unless I empty out my kitchen drawer on the day of the party, I am at a loss for kids entertainment. Then, I thought, maybe we can rent really fun, big toys from some company for the occasion. Turns out that there isn't such a company in the Greater Toronto Area (a possible business idea for someone?).

So what are we going to do? If we can rent out a room at the local community centre, we are going to ask the parents to bring a toy to share with the rest of the little guests. Might as well start instilling the lesson of sharing now...