My son has a January birthday, so when he requested a kickball game at the park for his party, I knew we’d have to seize the first sunny weekend day that we could. Coincidentally, it turned out to be the Saturday before school resumed after winter break.
After a few quiet weeks with family over the holidays, the party turned out to be a beautiful way for the kids to reconnect with each other. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to see his best self: planning, leading, and showing his pride in himself. Also, it reminded me of how positive and supporting our community is.
The Request: A Kickball Birthday Party
My son knows what he wants. He often has very good instincts. This year, he told me he wanted to play kickball at his birthday party. He wanted throw-down bases, red and white wristbands to identify teams, and Gatorade. Beyond that, he was flexible.
Since it was a party in the park and therefore low-cost (relatively), I let him invite as many friends as he wanted. That was 20, plus siblings. It’s a lot, but I figured that pizza is cheap. We’d be able to afford it.
Planning, Purchasing, and Preparing
Since these kids play together at school and after school for hours at a time, I was confident that the party didn’t have to be too structured. They’d have plenty to do, even if they didn’t make it to the kickball game. They could amuse themselves on the playground if needed.
Here’s the run-down of the shopping list.
- Blank white baseball caps and cloth pens for the kids to decorate
- Red and white wristbands, to be numbered and passed out according to when a child was picked (the first player to be picked on the red team got a red #1, etc.)
- Pizza. Lots of pizza. Thanks to Little Caesar’s for their 2 for $10 deal on large pizzas.
- A set of throw-down bases, and an extra kickball
- Cakes. Lots of cakes. 4 round cakes from a supermarket.
- Gatorade, water, Kool-Aid, chips, and peanuts. The Gatorade and peanuts were, of course, in honor of the athletes.
The baseball caps and wristbands were the party favors.
Of course, even when a kid runs a party “himself,” the parent and the rest of the village offer support. I borrowed my parents’ car, loaded it up the evening before, and left it at my parents’ house that night. They met me at the park the next morning so I could unload, and they picked up the pizza and brought it to the park. Thank you!
Meanwhile, my son and our neighbor and friend bought helium balloons and set up at the park. I couldn’t do it without her – thank you!
Moment of Truth: The Party Was a Blast!
As guests arrived, I showed them where they could decorate hats and help themselves to snacks and drinks, and pointed out where my son and other guests were playing on the playground. They played happily for about 30 minutes, and I thought they might be so happy that they wouldn’t play kickball.
Suddenly, due to some unknown trigger, they descended on the pizza and sat at the tables – maybe just like they do at school! Just as suddenly, they got up, went to the grass, put the throw-down plate, bases, and pitcher’s rubber where they wanted, and picked teams.
They ended up with an 8-on-8 game, meaning red and white wristband numbers 1 through 8 were used. There was no arguing, just a process for picking, presumably picking the way they do every day at school.
Kickball started. They played for a solid hour, including a kindergartener and a fifth-grader. Nobody ended up in tears; they seemed very happy! They came to agreements on foul balls, outs, and runs scored.
Selfishly, I enjoyed sitting back, chatting with friendly parents, and watching my son lead and interact with his friends. He enjoyed every second of his event, and it looked like the other children did, too.
An hour later, I told my son it was time for cake. He announced that the game was over, and everyone came to the table. Then kids either stayed to play less formal games, or left. I cleaned up.
Another Birthday Party: A Rare Moment of Success as a Parent
Birthday parties are stressful. They come with a lot of pressure, as you want to please your child as the top priority. There are also struggles with budget, with making sure the other kids are happy, and with having enough to do.
Every time I pull one off, it’s a relief. It’s also a moment of pride because it feels like I did right by my son – everyone deserves the birthday party they want!
Further, I love watching my son succeed, and this party felt like one of his good successes.
- I saw how much his friends respect him.
- He was spot on for the important parts, like knowing that the kids wanted Gatorade and chips.
- He may have said “thank you” to me. Okay, that’s taking it too far.
It turned out to be a great way to transition back to school. His mind went back to thinking about how much he loves playing with his friends, and that probably made it easier to get him out the door on Monday morning.