If you ask my husband, he will say that I am always throwing parties or entertaining in some shape or form. He is an introvert so getting together once or twice a year with others is stretching his social comfort level. I, on the other hand, am an extrovert. I would be happy getting together with friends and family on a weekly basis. So, we have to meet somewhere in the middle. I find that to be a good thing because if I had it my way I would be overwhelmed with party/entertaining details constantly and always on the verge of being stressed out.
Some form of a get together at Halloween is a given in my house. We have been doing it for the past five years. Of course, some years it has been smaller than others because of the day of the week that Halloween falls on or because I am pregnant or taking care of a baby. I have grand visions in my head of someday turning our entire wrap around porch into a haunted tunnel! Mark my words, I will do this someday!
I almost always host family at Christmas and I usually go all out in the food department. In the future, I would like to do an annual open house for Christmas. At the present moment, Carlos has shot that down because we are always so crazy busy that time of year. I hold out hope that I will convince him though. :)
One year I did a 4th of July party and I loved it! It was a ton of work though in really hot weather. I may add that to the yearly calendar though once the kids are older and I have free helpers. :)
So, what is the point of all of this? Well, Claire's 1st birthday is approaching this July and I can't decide what to do. I had largish parties for Annie, Lily and Noah when they turned one. I hardly did a thing for Megan when she turend one....Carlos was living out of state and we were stuck in Delaware on our own trying to sell our house....it was stressful. So, do I go ahead and throw a party for Claire or do I do something simple at home with just the family? I honestly can't decide.
I asked the hubs about it and of course he is all for not throwing a party. On one hand, I kind of agree with him. I am worn out on a daily basis from life with five kids. Do I really need to add party planning and prep to my schedule? Especially since we will still be doing school when Claire's birthday rolls around...we started late last year because of Claire's birth and my surgery. Maybe just a cute cake, a pretty hat and outfit at home with family is the best idea.
On the other hand, will I look back and regret not doing a party? I feel awful that I didn't make a huge deal out of Megan's 1st birthday. I don't want to feel that way about Claire's 1st birthday. I also think it would be fun to have a birthday party for Claire. Her birthday is July 5th, so we could do a red/white/blue theme and decor would be easy and cheap to find.
Any thoughts or opinions from anyone? I would really appreciate them. :)
I am an extrovert, but I hate entertaining. I wish I were better at it and enjoyed it more, but I simply don't. I'm always envious of people who do it well.
ReplyDeleteIf you enjoy doing it, if it makes you happy, do it. That's my 2 cents.
I didn't realize how extroverted you are! I imagine your kids have picked up on your love of parties and socializing, and they're benefitting from all of the plans that you make. I think you should have a big 1st birthday party for Claire IF you feel like the joy and fun you would get out of it would outweigh the stress of adding a long to-do list to your days.
ReplyDeleteAs I've expressed several times on my blog, I really, REALLY wish I was more extroverted. I have become somewhat more so since become a mom, but I think I've hit my ceiling. :-) I watch neighbors who have people over all the time, and see them happily greet their guests, and I think about how much fun they're about to have, and I wish there was something I could do to make myself more like them.
I deeply love having conversations with good friends whom I enjoy and trust, but mingling with crowds of people (no matter how nice those people are) is simply not something that brings me great joy, no matter how many times I've tried to force myself to feel that way.
I do thoroughly enjoy the creative aspects of event planning -- coming up with a theme when needed, deciding on a menu, decorating, etc..... If only I could plan and execute parties and then go hide in my bedroom while they're actually going on! :-)