A Kid’s Guide to Throwing a Birthday Party

My daughter, D, is turning 1 on May 24. The year's gone by so fast! Way too quick for me to even have much time to think about throwing a birthday party to commemorate her first year of life. So I've had to act fast to start our birthday plan of attack-even if she won't remember  any of it. Mama likes to party. :) So we've done what most parents in this day and age do:

• Started a Pinterest board for inspiration.
• Brainstormed about our playlist for the occasion
• Sent out an electronic invitation/notice of some form. I've counted 4 so far: family e-group list, Facebook event, email, text message.

That's as far as we've gotten. Yeah, we have a long way to go. But I did also consult an expert, my 5-year-old niece, Natalia, for advice on how to throw the ultimate birthday party for her cousin. Here's what was on her checklist for D's party, which she shared via telephone, in the order she relayed them to me:

KID's GUIDE TO THROWING A BIRTHDAY PARTY

Here's all you need:

1. "One of those big things that, y'know, hangs from a tree and is filled with stuff!" (translation: piñata) 2. "M&Ms...lots of them." 3. "Um, cake, cookies, cupcakes. CHEESECAKE...yeah, one of those, too!" 4. "Maybe a little pasta." 5. "Decorations...like those things you throw into the air." (translation: confetti) 6. "Oh, yeah, and it has to be a surprise!" That last tip kills me: a surprise party for a 1-year-old. I asked her, "How do we surprise her?" She said, "Just have her papa roll her over!" Anyone care to translate? No party is complete without a little music! When things need to wind down, turn up our lullaby renditions.