Alien Party

The day of Troy’s 6th birthday party finally arrived. I’d like to say it went off without a hitch, but that would be both a lie and unreasonably optimistic. We decided to hold the event at Kid’s Empire, because as Troy stated when I asked if he’d like to go mini golfing or the play land, “I think kids would enjoy the play land more. I’m not sure that everyone knows how to golf.” It was for the best anyway, because even though the day started off nicely, we ended up having a storm blow through in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I think the fact that we had the party across town might have deterred some parents from bringing their kids, even though it was only a half-hour drive. We only had five kids from his class accept the invitation, and then three of those got sick the day before the party.

The theme of his party was aliens. Since Troy’s favorite part of our vacation over Christmas was Roswell, we decided to ride that into his birthday. I made a custom alien-themed invitation, and my wife ordered alien-themed plates, cups, napkins, table cloths, and blow-up figures to decorate the venue. We decided to go back to The London Baker to get our cake, since it turned out pretty well last year. I had found a cool design on the internet that featured a base decorated to look like an alien planet with a prominent alien head affixed to the top. With some minor alterations, the bakery initially agreed to our design, but then three days before the party, they called to say that they had taken on too many orders and couldn’t make the cake topper. Needless to say, we were livid. It seemed unprofessional to sign a contract with someone and then back out at the last minute because you couldn’t manage your business. Especially since we had put in our order a month ago! It also meant that my wife and I had to suddenly find a new cake topper. We ended up with a small ufo and some little green aliens for the top with some other monster-like creatures around the base. In the end, Troy loved his cake, and none of the kids was the wiser about the faux pas.

We ultimately had ten kids at the party, because we offered those who had accepted the invitation to bring their siblings too. And Troy got to see Misha, Sasha, and Charlotte again, which made him happier than anything. The kids seemed to have a great time running around and playing together, and my wife and I got to meet a few new parents, so I suppose we’ll count it as a success in the end. My “long lost” uncle and aunt, who I haven’t seen in seven years, even made a surprise appearance. I would have preferred a day with less drama and stress, but my little boy was happy, so that’s all that matters to me.