Like Jafta, I also have a birthday right after Christmas, so I really wanted to give him a party that made him feel special, but also that didn’t add to my list of things to do to prep for the holidays. I am a fan of the destination birthday party. After years of throwing my kid’s birthday parties at our house, I made a discovery: having a party at my house costs me twice as much as a destination party. (A large part of this is due to the fact that I tend to go into frantic remodel mode anytime I have a big group of people over, and a simple birthday party suddenly means repainting the bathroom and re-landscaping the backyard.)
For this birthday, we decided to have his friends over for a bit and then head to Rockin Jump, a fun trampoline park that my kids love.
Some notes: 1. His height. I mean … what even is this? All of these kids are his own age and he’s lurking above them like Slender Man. 2. I drove all of these boys in my car for 15 minutes and barely survived, between the farting (seriously) and the yelling and the loud laughing and the smack-talk. 3. This is the age where parental presence at a party is really not wanted. But it’s also they age where I no longer have to give those stupid goodie bags out. So, I’ll take it.
The kids had a blast at Rockin Jump. It’s the perfect place for tween boys with way too much energy. We went during their night-time “Glow Party.” They spent most of their time pummeling each other in the dodge ball court.
After Rockin Jump we came back to the house and the boys played games and watched Napoleon Dynamite.
I wanted Jafta’s party to be fun for him and his friends in a way that helped them feel like big kids, and this party fit the bill perfectly. It was a fun way to celebrate him, and I know he felt honored and had a great time.
