web page (Alannah)

The menu required some planning. I did not want to be stuck in the kitchen. My husband got his sister and a cousin to do chicken mole with some mole paste that he had his mom send up from their hometown, which turned out incredible — and it’s something that can simmer on the stove all afternoon/evening until whenever people show up. People who were from there enjoyed a taste of home and people who weren’t, I think enjoyed tasting some unique, very regional food (it’s not like mole you would get in a restaurant). Bonus: I was off the hook for preparing this since I know NOTHING about it! I did the side dishes, all things that could be prepared ahead to sit in the fridge and just assemble them at serving, and you know what, home-made traditional-USA cole slaw went great with mole. I made beans, rice and a couple of other side dishes in such a way so the vegans & vegetarians on “my” side could have something good to eat too.
I decided a “theme” birthday party with matching table cloth, plates, banners etc. was just not happening. Mostly due to expense but also for my sanity. I did buy a 99-cent plastic tablecloth with Thomas the Train which he likes. Everything else was home-made (but not by me!) We recruited a few older kids to be there early and decorate with streamers & balloons — I got big packages of several hundred balloons and a few dozen streamers, and only gave them a few, putting the rest in a closet to save for future years– this is lots cheaper. Also they cut out the letters of the birthday boy’s name from pieces of construction paper and put up on the walls. One sister-in-law took charge of filling up the party-favor bags. My other sister-in-law took over setting up tables, chairs, etc. That was great. They did come early (not at a specific time, but early enough) when they were told they were helping with a certain task and knew we were counting on them. My husband did a pretty good job of keeping himself clear so that he could be dispatched on all the last-minute things.
After all the preparation beforehand… it’s just surfing the wave. Piñatas were done at some point, barely before dark but it got done, and this year, I had put candy in there ahead of time!
Our best inspiration was buying some cheap blow-up pools & water toys, turning on the sprinkler and telling the kids to bring a change of clothes. It was literally 102 degrees in our yard that day, so playing in water was ABSOLUTELY wonderful!!! I also think it made everything a bit more relaxed– no fussy party dress. We also bought a few cheap fans to set up near the tables where the adults would be sitting (in the shade!). This was a little bit of investment out of our budget but this stuff will be brought out again year after year since his birthday will always be in Houston in June!
It was a great turnout and I think everyone had fun, most especially the birthday boy. You really can’t beat the party spirit with these folks!
Just one thing: next time I’m definitely taking off from work the day after. Everybody was really nice and left early just because I had to work in the morning… early as in around 11:30pm