Its July, which makes it that time of year again. Time to start really planning Jonathan’s birthday. Yes, his birthday is four months away, but that doesn’t change anything. If you start the birthday planning early, it give you plenty of time to make sure you have everything in order. It also gives you time to get everything that you need. The first step in this process for me is to ask him what theme he wants for his birthday party this year. This not only changes from year to year, but from month to month, week to week, and sometimes day to day. In the past he has had dinosaur, Pokemon, Thomas the Tank Engine, Sesame Street, and I don’t even remember what else. When I ask him this time, I will make sure that’s what he really wants, and make sure he knows he can’t change it now.
Once I know what theme he wants, I will search the web for websites that sell things involving his theme. I will also go around to all the local stores to see what they have that will fit the theme. Ebay is another important tool when planning and buying for his birthday, especially when he picks something that isn’t as popular or sold many places anymore, like Pokemon. Then, I’ll make a list of everything we need (plates, cups, favor bags and favors, etc.) as well as everything I want to get him for his birthday. Every two weeks or so I will buy a few things from the list. If I find a great deal on something, and it’ll be gone fast, I’ll splurge that time and get one less the next time.
Jonathan usually has two birthday celebrations. One for friends, and one for family. The one for friends is at our house, and includes his cousins as he considers them friends. The other is usually me, him, Uncle Larry, and Uncle Jim. It is held someplace like Chucky Cheese where we just order a couple of Pizzas, and buy a bunch of tokens, and he spends the night playing games with his uncles. He usually gets quite a few presents from me at each one. He likes having the party with the friends and having fun with them, but he also likes having the special family get together where he is the focus. The family one usually costs less, but I couldn’t bring myself to cut out either one.