Birthday parties when I was growing up were always the same - who the celebrant was seemed to be the only thing that distinguished one party from another. Yet, there was always an air of excitement every time I attended one.
We inevitably played the same games. Small prizes were awarded to the winner.
Musical chairs....
Musical chairs....
Pin the tail on the donkey....
Girls wore their best dresses and the boys had their slicked back. The table would be set with a paper tablecloth, napkins, plates and cups. There were hats to be worn, each with that painful elastic which always seemed to cut into one's skin. Tiny paper baskets, usually yellow in color and with striped handles, would sit at each place, filled with candies. That was our version of a "goody bag." And there would be balloons. Lots of balloons, which had been blown up by someones parents or older brothers, not the elaborate helium ones of today.
Over the years, birthday parties have grown and evolved into rather large productions. I hosted an assortment of parties when my girls were growing up - ranging from roller skating to gymnastics to a storyteller, who encouraged all the attendees to dress up and act out a fairy tale.
There started to be almost a competitive atmosphere among the parents concerning where parties were held, how many were invited and the size of the goody bags to be provided. I started to look back fondly at the parties of my youth. Perhaps our parents had the right idea with keeping things simpler.
The other day, my oldest granddaughter M was thrilled to be going to her best friend's birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese entertainment center. Just before she left, her mother posted a photo of her. M looked adorable! And like the young girls way back when, she was all dressed up, sporting a bow in her hair and wearing a new "tutu" skirt.
The best part? The look of pure joy on her face.
How wonderful to see that the excitement of going to a birthday party is one thing that hasn't changed, even if the type of celebration has.
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