What I remember most about the birthday parties that I went to when I was young is that someone always ended up in tears. Even those of us who managed to stay dry-eyed never had as much fun as we'd imagined we would when the invitation arrived in the mail. We left cranky, tired and full, with our faces smeared with chocolate and our pockets crammed with favors that we would lose, break or swallow within hours of getting home. It's no wonder things didn't always go very well. Crowding too many little girls into one small room, pumping them full of sugar and leaving them to "play" for hours was a recipe for disaster.
The news isn't all grim, though. My six-year-old friend Emma recalls an "absolutely perfect" birthday party she went to last year. Birthday girl Alyssa loves butterflies, so her parents planned a party at which guests decorated posterboard butterfly wings and then wore them as they flitted around a "garden" (the living room rug) to classical music. There was also a short videotape about butterflies, a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a butterfly-themed cupcake decorating contest in which everyone won a prize. Finally, rather than leaving with "a bunch of plastic junk" in their goody bags (as straight-talking Emma puts it1x), the girls each went home with a miniature edition of the Eric Carle book and a single butterfly hair clip. Emma still wears hers.
With a little planning you too can create a birthday party that truly is a celebration. Here are some tips from the experts, along with links to other useful resources:
1. Keep the party short and, as the saying goes, let them leave while they're still having fun. Depending on the children's ages, parties should last between one and three hours, never longer. Also, keep the
