What to do for Brian’s fifth birthday party? I didn’t want to spend a dime on it because the neighborhood kids cared nothing for bowling or swimming. They wanted to run around and have a good time. I decided to make an old-fashioned birthday party, a la the 1960’s.

First, I enthusiastically suggested to Brian that we put together some fun, surprise activities, and he got excited about the word, “surprise.” I told him he could invite as many people as he wanted that were his new age, so he invited one little boy from preschool, and four close friends from our neighborhood.

When the day came, I’d prepared a schedule to last no more than two hours, because I knew I’d be ready for them all to go home by that point.

The fiveboys arrived around the same time and went immediately to the backyard to play on the swing set, slide down the rickety slide, and climb the eucalyptus tree with the bent trunk.

The established rope with a large knot already set the tone for adventure, because the boys could line up behind ‘the leader,’ swing off the rope onto the bank and scramble back up for another turn. This activity prepared them for the GAMES!

After they played around about fifteen minutes, I could sense the need for something new, so I pulled out a high-backed dining room chair and turned it backward, so a boy could lean over the top of it -- the name of the game being “Drop the Clothespin into the Glass Milk Bottle.”

Each boy tried to precisely drop the clothespin into the bottle, which made a satisfying clunk when they hit the target. They liked this game so much they went around twice. Winners received immediate “cash prizes” which were fake hundred dollar bills I’d picked up at the toy store.

Soon we were ready for cake and presents, and each child loved watching Brian open and interact with his gifts. Brian felt like the star because of the attention, and he loved having his friends participate in the opening ceremony. The candlelit cake appeared as we sang “Happy Birthday,” and I scooped copious amounts of ice cream onto their plates, which the boys ate while sitting in the living room looking out into the yard.

Onto the main event!

I’d moved the garden hose into an obstacle course arrangement of figure eights, straight lines, looped over plastic buckets, with the broom straight across the finish line. Like a gun, I yelled, “Ready, set, go!” and each boy ran the gauntlet as fast as their five-year-old feet would carry them. Both hands raised high in the air as each one crossed the broom, heroes for an instant, as they received their "cash."

The money meant nothing to them. The adventure was everything. All six boys rose to the cheap challenges and the only thing it cost me was a trip to the toy store for some very cool ‘party bag’ prizes and some very large faux cash.

Brian tells me that was his coolest birthday party ever. Better than the fancy expensive ones we did from time to time. He and his friends still laugh about the obstacle course, and love their memories of that simple, but fun day.

By Pru Starr

Labels: Pru Starr

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