A Garden-themed birthday party for a 4-year-old girl

Garden setting

Four years ago, on the thirteenth day in September, as nature burst into new life and the Jasmine flowers bloomed, my “Miss J” was born. It wasn’t a lovely labour – you can read about it here – but when she was placed in my arms I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Another girl. Another healthy baby. Another life full of possibility. A sister for Miss A. A second daughter for us and a tribe of cousins ready to meet her.

We had shortlisted our girl names but hadn’t yet decided on the “the one.” It’s tempting to say we wanted to wait to see her to name her, but the truth is we simply couldn’t make up our minds. We liked three girls’ names equally. It was my husband who named her shortly after her arrival. “I think she looks like a J,” he said. He was right. She was small, delicate and oh-so-pretty. That she should be named after a Spring flower, the scent of which makes me happy, seemed perfect. And so, “Miss J” she became.

How to host the perfect kids’ birthday party

I’ve been a parent for just over 4 years now and it’s taken me 7 birthday parties to figure out where I’ve been going wrong. And the answer is simple: I’ve been hosting them at home! Last weekend Miss A was invited to two different 4 year-old parties. These smart mothers had the sense to outsource the parties. Clever.  Both parties were a hit and it has struck me that this could be the way to go.

Children’s birthday parties have changed a lot in recent years. In the last generation, most parties were celebrated modestly at the  family home where ‘Pin the tail on the Donkey’, and ‘Pass-the-parcel’ were de rigour. A themed party or a fancy pants cake were about as exciting and unique as they got. And there’s nothing wrong with that – we all loved them! But, in the words of Bob Dylan, The times they are a-changin’! And I think it might be time for me to change party tactics.