What kind of party mum are you?

When I talk to other mums about kids’ birthday parties, I find you have 3 kinds of people.

1. The OTT (Over the top),
2. YLP (Yep lets party) or
3. the NNM (No not me).

The OTT mum is out to throw a party that all the attendees will talk about for the ages and all other kids’ birthday parties from that day forth will be compared to. They have everything colour coded and tagged, the house is immaculate, all the food is on matching platters, all the bows are hand tied and everything really does look amazing. I am genuinely jealous and in awe when I see these parties.

The YLP mum, wants to throw a great party with colour and games and food and heaps of cool fun things to do, but doesn’t have the time to invest in it. YLP mum still throws a great party and everyone has a great time, but inside she feels like she only pulled together half the awesome she wants to offer (Just between us; I’m a YLP mum).

Lastly, we have the NNM mum. Now I’m still adding to the scope of the NNM mum. There are so many reasons for their NNM stance. Parties cost money they don’t think they have. They take time to organise that they can’t spare. They would have to talk to people they don’t know. They don’t know what to do to entertain other people’s children. Where would we put them our house is too small? The thought of it all is just too overwhelming.
 

The tips I could offer from the outside looking in:

To the OTT mum: You rock lady! I love your work. It looks beautiful, but it must be exhausting? Do it because you love it not because you feel there is a standard to meet. If you didn’t get a real unicorn for the party, your kid is still going to love you… and so will the rest of us 

To the YLP mum: Don’t stress yourself. We all have good intentions and great expectations of our ability’s verses reality. But no one is going to know that you had cute labels printed out and laminated and forgot to put them on the table. We are all busy, don’t be afraid to delegate some of the work so you can enjoy the party and your beautiful kiddo’s smiles too. 

To the NNM mum: You don’t have to do this on your own. A kid’s party is ultimately a cake with a candle and kids singing happy birthday. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Don’t over think it. Do as much or as little as you feel you can do. Again, don’t be afraid to delegate. “What’s that Suz? Do I want you to bring anything to the party? Ok, yeah some cocktail frankfurts would be great!”. See that was easy