A backyard birthday party
A couple of weekends ago, we hosted Bo’s 5th birthday party in the backyard and it was the best time. When I asked him where he wanted to have his party this year, he took a second to think and then said “at home with my friends”. I was a bit surprised given that most birthday parties we’ve been to have been at a kid’s playground space, even last year we hosted his at a gymnastics gym. But he wanted it at home so that’s what we did.
I was slightly overwhelmed at the thought of hosting at the house and needed to plan. With his birthday being in early November, I knew that by then it may be too cold to have it outside so we ended up moving his friend party up to early October and it was perfect! The weather was beautiful, still warm enough to be outside but cooler to keep the bugs away, with some help from bug spray. We spent a few weekends leading up to the party working to get the backyard usable: replacing the staircase to the yard (as one does for a birthday party), doing yard cleanup, trimming the bushes, clearing all of the leaves (we have a ton of trees), wiping down the playset. It was so much more work than I anticipated but our yard looked beautiful in the end.
When it came to planning the activities and food, I thought back to parties from my childhood in the 90s. I just remember having so much fun just running around outside with all of my friends and eating cake. I searched the internet for ideas but in the end my original plan won out and it was a hit. We filled the sandbox with fresh sand and newer toys and I found Little Tykes hopper balls (you know those round ones with the handle you can sit on and bounce around) at Walmart for $6 a ball. We brought out the stomp rockets, the basketball hoop and a fun nerf ball game.
The invites were evites and he only wanted his close friends. The group was small, 6 kids and it was the perfect size. They all played so well together and had the best time. Since many of Bo’s friends have sibling’s in Bee’s class, I invited families to come along too. I had a little area set up for the little kids using one of our old area rugs to create a clean and dry section to sit on and put the Lincoln logs, train set, and truck duplex.
For food, I knew I wanted to have something more substantial for the parents but was also grab and go. The party was also planned for 3pm-5pm-ish so right between lunch and dinner. I ended up ordering mini sandwiches, a veggie platter, and fruit tray. And for the kids, I made peanut butter & jelly and sunbutter & jelly uncrustables. Those ended up being super popular! We had strawberry shortcake which is Bo’s favorite and turns out his friends all love it too.
This was the first party where I was able to truly relax and talk to the parents. It was a lot of work to set up but oh so worth it in the end. The kids ran around and snacked, the parents talked and it was a beautiful day weather wise. I’m looking forward to next years when it will be a joint party for Bo and Bee - maybe Halloween themed?!
