The things we do for our kids’ birthdays.
Brian Tietz
Pamela Hayford
Editor of Southwest Florida Parent & Child magazine
Big cakes with scenes of dinosaurs.Obstacle courses set up in the park. Water balloon fights. A weekend at Disney. Once, my husband even rented a very realistic Batman costume and made a “character appearance” at our son’s birthday party. The things we do for love of our children. I remember my husband nearly passing out from the heat. But he survived. And my now 17-year-old “kinda, sorta” remembers.
The birthdays that stand out to him more are the simpler ones. The water balloon fights. The time we went kayaking just us and a friend of his. And last year when we gave him money to go have fun with a friend at Mike Greenwell’s Family Fun Park, now Gator Mike’s.
Birthdays don’t have to be elaborate parties that cost hundreds of dollars. Although those can be fun, too, don’t discount the simple things. As my kids get older, I’m learning that the moments that stand out in their minds aren’t what I thought would be the big memories. After all, who wouldn’t vividly recall in great detail Batman showing up at their birthday party?
In the February issue of SW FL Parent & Child, which is now online and appearing at locations throughout Southwest Florida, we share some tips for capitalizing on the fun in ways that just might eventually be one of your child’s fondest memories. Even if you do plan a big party, you might still want to enlist some of these ideas to add more fun to your child’s big day.
Also in this month’s issue, learn how Lee County Public Schools plans to change VPK and who’s running for the school board. See what December 2015 cover child and opera star Abigail Fletcher is up to now. Plus, we have numerous fun family events in our calendar, in the magazine calendar and the online calendar.
Most of all, relax. Your kids will likely only “kinda, sorta” remember the grand gestures you make for them. Instead, it just may be the smaller moments that stand out.
