In 3 short weeks my son Miles will be celebrating his first birthday. Well actually we’ll be celebrating it since he’ll have no idea what’s going on and probably just be freaked out that so many people are standing around looking at him. He cries when there are more than 2 people singing loudly at the same time. He gets cranky when people are passing him around like a bag of money. I’m not really sure why we feel like we need to throw big parties for babies that just want to have life as usual. That being said, I am planning his party and it will be big. My husband and I have big families and even just inviting our closest friends can create quite a mob scene. My hopes are high that things will go smoothly and that Miles will enjoy his day at least for the most part.

The menu will be pretty simple since no one who’s coming is a foody or anything like that. Barbecue chicken, mac and cheese, vegetarian baked beans, quinoa salad, green salad, some fresh vegetables and hummus to munch and of course the cakes. One big cake for the gathering crowd and a small personal sized cake for Miles, both chocolate. I think that pretty much covers the needs of everyone. We have one vegan friend that will be content with salads and beans and the cakes with be vegan too.

Since we’ve had quite the summer, there has been little time to plan any party time activities. The fact that there will only be 3 other children at the party lets us off the hook for a lot of games and the sort. I figure if we put out enough toys for each child to have a couple at a time and some crayons and paper, things will be peaceful enough. We are lucky to have a large front porch with a roof, so even if it rains we can baby gate it and let the kids get out a little if things get too intense in the house. The adults can certainly entertain themselves by playing with the kids and catching up with people they haven’t seen in a good long while. Our parents for instance haven’t been in the same place at the same time since our wedding 2 years ago. I’m so glad that all of the grandparents are going to be able to celebrate Miles’ day with him.

The hope is that Miles will at least have fun with his family and that there won’t be too many tears. I think the best strategy here is good nap planning and giving him enough breaks through out the day to get away from the whole big thing and catch his breath. He gets along particularly well with our niece Dominique, so I think that I will try to assign her the job of being mood monitor and if it seems that he’s getting too over loaded, she can try to remove him form the the situation for a bit. Why would I assign someone else to be his mood monitor? Well, I foresee myself being trapped in the kitchen for a good chunk of the day and sadly won’t be able to be with him as much as I would like. Maybe I’m wrong, but I know how hosting a party goes. You work and work and work some more to make sure that everyone has what they need and you really don’t have time to sit and think and look and listen to what the party is actually about.

I’m so in love with my little family and am excited about sharing our happiness with our other loved ones. I just hope that all my planning and work will leave me some time to soak in the amazing gift that I’ve been given in the form of a beautiful, healthy, brilliant son.