Not including our own party, Kaia and I have attended three birthday parties this year. It's funny to note the differences between each one as each party was thrown by a family of a different nationality. And yeah, be forewarned that I'm probably generalizing, but whatever.
The first party we went to was in January. It was thrown by a Mexican family. They had two huge jumpers. I think the fence was torn down purposely in their backyard between their neighbors probably because they were close friends with them or related. So it was like one big combined backyard. Anyway, there were like a million kids there, most I assume from the neighborhood...all unsupervised. I had to go in one of the jumpers once and yell at some kids. I told the husband he would have been embarrassed if he were there because I was livid and yelling so loudly. They had really yummy home cooked Mexican food. I felt a tad uncomfortable at this party since I didn't know anyone there. However, by 7pm when they still hadn't opened presents yet, I told Kaia it was time to go home. I figured this party went well into the late night.
The second party was in February, thrown by a Filipino family. Being Filipino myself, I felt most comfortable at this party even though I only knew the mom, although I did feel like an idiot since I can't actually speak Tagalog. I think most of the kids at this party were relatives. They were well-behaved and the adults would come out periodically yelling at the kids if they did something wrong. There was a jumper and activities (pinata, little kid pinata, etc.). They had a roast pig and a bunch of my favorite Filipino desserts so most of my time was spent going back and forth between the backyard and the food table. I was a happy camper.
And yesterday, we attended a party thrown by white folks. It was straight out of what you would expect to see on tv or the movies. Beautiful house. Super friendly parents. A garden-themed party for Christ's sakes! I felt so, so, so uncomfortable around the other white parents listening to them talk about little leagues and high school sports. I was so amazed to see a sea of white faces and blue eyes and blonde and brown hair surround my black-haired, brown almond-eyed child. It was like I stepped into a parenting magazine circa 1950.
But this was the cutest party ever! They had a table filled with dirt and worms so you can go examine them and pet them. Their was an aquarium filled with ladybugs. They had the kids decorate their own flower pot with glue and pretty paper/fabric, and then they gave each child a flower and had them fill up the pots with soil and take it over to the "watering station" to water them. How fuckin' cute is that! The "cake" was a huge flower pot filled with pudding and whipped cream and crushed oreos to mimic dirt and gummi worms. And they had small individual pots for each child. Kaia only ate the gummi worms and snuck a few more from the table. I, however, scarfed down everything in sight. Sandwich wraps, pb sandwiches cut into butterfly and flower shapes. Oh, well, correction - I didn't touch the broccoli or carrots they had on the table. The loot bag had a few plastic garden tools and a few packets of seeds. So, so cute.
And if I didn't want to be her, I would so hate the mom. She was tall and pretty, yet totally down to earth in her blue jeans, tie-dye shirt and tennies (and she still looked amazing!). And so friendly and welcoming...to everyone. She possesses the social graces and charm that I completely lack. But she was genuine, too! Whereas I showed up looking like a sumo-wrestler with my bangs in a ponytail away from my face because they make me want to kill myself because of my allergies. And I was going to throw on this cute fitted tee shirt, but once I had it on I saw all my rolls. Not cute. Sigh. Maybe she can be my role model.
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