The best kids parties are the homemade ones!

I spent a large part of today researching locations for my triplet's upcoming 8th birthday, trying to find an original way for them to celebrate their special day. In the past year they have collectively attended fifteen bouncy inflatable parties and I'm not planning to subject parents to another two hour stand-around listening to loud music and screaming children.

I considered hiring ponies for our backyard and inviting some children to ride them but my husband is rather attached to his lawn and didn't like that idea. Then I pondered taking twelve boys to the movies followed by a visit to our favorite ice-cream shop. I pictured myself herding said boys through the popcorn line and caved immediately.

Thinking back to my childhood in England I remembered a very different kind of party. For a start, it would always be at the birthday girl or boy's home. We would start with party games including 'pass the parcel', 'musical chairs' and 'pin the tail on the donkey' followed by the sumptuous birthday tea. Tiny crust-less ham sandwiches, cheese and pineapple squares on a stick, cocktail sausages, chocolate rice crispy cakes and the best part of all - jelly (jello for my American friends) and ice cream!

All this, followed by a loud chorus of 'Happy Birthday' (without the cha-cha-cha) and time to go home with a slice of home made novelty, sometimes unusual birthday cake wrapped in paper and a balloon.

They were so much fun and always slightly different. Much more enjoyable and interesting than today's $275 one hour and forty five minutes affair, so rigid and structured that by the time the children are starting to relax and have fun, its time to go home. A slice of pizza and grocery store cake. So predictable. Dare I say it, boring.

So this year, my children are going to have their birthday party at home. We are having a water party in the backyard (good for the grass), with lots of fun games and activities for the twelve boys. I am making a 'swimming pool' cake in honor of all the hard work they've put into swim team this year and we are NOT having pizza! Still debating with my husband over the pony but either way we are, at home.