For months now, Lyric has been compiling a meticulous list of everything she envisions for her party. The list includes everything from what she will wear (cupcake t-shirt and pink skirt) to the wrapping paper for gifts to the color of the invites. She has also collected a special box of items she would like to include: a princess tiera, a stuffed animal, a list of people to invite and a special princess cup she wants to use.
She took a photo recently using my iPhone of a princess birthday set she found in a party catalog. For the past several weeks I've had to go searching for my missing phone, only to find her nestled down in her beanbag chair... pouring over every single detail of the photo.
I recently went to a card and party store hoping to find similar items. As I perfused the aisles, I couldn't help but think maybe the Disney Princess theme was a bit too "young" for her. She will be nine this year and for the very first time, wanted to invite students from her class. This was a huge step for her - but it also presented some problems. As perhaps selfish as it was of me, I wanted to be sure the party itself was fun and engaging for all the children who might attend. Lyric afterall, will likely be on her own, singing to an imaginary audience or playing by herself while we did our best to entertain the troops. Having a Disney Princess theme for a group of boys and girls going into 3rd grade just seemed a little "off".
I wrestled with this in my mind and decided to run the conversation by her delicately. She had afterall, included on her "list" thinks like "princess invites, princess tieras, princess plates and napkins". Changing her mind might be very difficult and I didn't want to get her in a "funk". If that happened...by all means...we would hang onto the princess party. I grabbed a few invitations that I thought might appeal to her - including one shaped like a cupcake and had the conversation one day after school.
"So Lyric, I was thinking...maybe the Disney Princess party is a little too "young" for you...you are going to be 9 years old this year! What do think about...." and proceeded to lay out a cupcake themed party where everyone could make their own cupcakes, try to knock down a cupcake pinata, etc. It helped that the cupake invite was very shiny and glittery and that we actually had a cupcake pinata at the house. (Part of her Valentine's Day gift from her stepdad and I this year).
To my surprise, she seemed very interested in the idea and has since embraced the cupcake party theme. So with cupcake invites in hand, we went about establishing the invitation list. Five children from her special ed class are invited along with several cousins, so I'm confident the party will go well. She will be surrounded by children who not only appreciate the invite...but who love her for her - in all her "still-a-princess" glory.
Let there be cupcakes!
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