E's Birthday

E went to a birthday party a couple of weeks ago where rather than having a pinata, they had goodie bags filled with candy hidden around the yard. Each child had a bag with his name on it which he had to hunt for. Well E loved this idea so much that we had to do it too. It seemed that E's guests loved this idea too. They spent about 45 minutes trading candy afterwards. The moms were surprised at how into the trading they all got.

The kids had a great time playing tag, too. E didn't bother with the couple of games he had said he wanted to play (freeze dance, etc.) but we did do "hot potato". Then as each child got the ball, rather than being out, that child got to give E his present to open. We've done it this way for a few years now. It's a civil way to decide whose present will be opened next, and has the added benefit of the kids having to sit in a circle, so everyone ends up being able to see and doesn't squish in tight.

It was a brutally hot day, and a few of the preschoolers ended up dancing through our neighbor's sprinklers. We went through a lot of water and juice.

Having cupcakes and ice-cream cups worked out as well as I had hoped. I didn't need to spend time cutting up a cake, and dishing out ice-cream. And happily, other than a very few candy wrappers, the kids were really good about using the trash can.

We were a little disappointed that two of our newer friends were not able to make it. Nevertheless, it was a terrific day; E really enjoyed himself.