It's April 1st, which means (all kidding aside) Derek's birthday is fast approaching and we need to figure out how we're celebrating this year. In our house, we don't do your typical "parties" per se. I've never been big on the whole idea of inviting a screaming mob of savages--I mean "my children's beloved playmates"--over to get sugared-up and run amok while I attempt to keep them under control and entertained. It's just not my forte, and my kids know and accept this. We also don't go in for the expensive off-site theme parties: bowling or laser tag or rock-climbing for 20 of your best buds. Instead, our family tradition has evolved into honoring the birthday person with a series of more low-key but equally-festive events. First, the Celebrity gets to choose a restaurant where we will go to eat the Birthday Dinner (this applies to all four of us). Next, (for the kiddos) we host a small Family Party with the local grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and godparents--this includes the very important "Cookout and Cake" portion of our program. Finally, the Birthday Boy invites one special friend over for a Special Outing (generally a kid-friendly movie...with snacks, of course) and a Sleepover. So you see, we manage to pack lots of food and fun into our annual activities (while avoiding an overdose of Party Mayhem).
Aware of Derek's impending birthday, I began brainstorming ideas for presents. I expected him to drop hints about updating his drum set, or maybe a Wii game or two...but when we got around to the actual conversation, here's how it went:
D: "Hmm, almost a month 'til my birthday, what will I get?"
Me: "What do you want?"
D: (immediately, no pause whatsoever) "Money! Power! Prestige!" (emphatically...but with a huge, goofy grin)
Me: (speechless, gaping at him incredulously)
D: (calmly) "Oh, and a laptop, that would be nice."
Me: (recovering) "Yeah, NONE of those is likely to happen..."
Unfortunately, gone are those simple childhood days when I could just pick up some Legos, or a new toy truck, or some nice educational cartridges for his Leapster game and be done. Now he'd most likely be happiest with an Amazon giftcard...or just the cold, hard cash in his hand! (Although on second thought, that may be even easier!)
To further complicate matters, each time I tried to nail him down as to what specifically he'd like to do for his Celebration of Derek, he hemmed and hawed in that (exasperating) pre-teen-male noncommittal kind of way. It finally got to the point where I forced him to decide: "I know (and very much appreciate...most of the time) that you're flexible and laid-back, but we need a plan! Now tell me what you want!" When pressed, he agreed that having the usual Family Get-Together would be nice. But he quickly, firmly added, "Only if you make the cake! With buttercream icing! I hate store-bought cakes!" Awww, how cute--I've trained my childrens' tastebuds to reject artificial, chemical-laden faux-icing! (In the interest of complete honesty, however, it should be noted that this is partially due to the fact that I've always been too cheap--I mean "frugal"--to purchase high-quality cakes from an actual bakery...hey, if they like the organic boxed-mix and homemade frosting, that's perfectly okay with me...)
So I believe we're just about set for the commemoration of Derek-turning-12. Chocolate cake and gift certificates it is!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment