Annie-Lu's Two-Two Celebration!

To be honest, we weren't sure we would have a party this time. We are not kid-party-production people. We don't really go in for themes and we don't hire entertainment. We prefer to keep the guest list under 20 instead of over 50.

Not that there is anything wrong with all of that - we have plenty of fun at parties that are big productions - but it takes a certain amount of commitment (not to mention $$) to pull off a "production" and we find ourselves lacking on both accounts.

So 10 days before Annie's b-day, the wife and I had a sit-down; "What are we going to do about Annie's b-day?"

The wife voted for no party - just call a few people and have them over for dinner.

I pushed for a simple party: scaled down guest list - crock-pot food and hot dogs - maybe a kiddie pool.

We compromised on a family day Saturday (Annie's actual b-day) finished with dinner out - just the three of us - with a small, simple, party on Sunday.

Then I started working on the e-vite . . . .

The wife wanted to use a different photo - then she wanted a different over-all look to the e-vite. Then she wanted a catchy title involving the word "two". So we ended up with Annie-Lu's Two-Two party.

Just by working up an evite, we managed to go from no party to a themed party . . . here we go . . .

So now there HAD to be a tu-tu-making station for anyone who showed up under-dressed . . . oh, and we need a slide show, and a kiddie pool, and a cake in the shape of a tu-tu, and decorations, and how are we going to get all this done in one week?

I think we mostly managed to keep the whole planning / shopping / set-up process fun instead of stressful. Because of the short notice, there were people who couldn't make it. In the end it was a good weekend capped by a great party.

Even as the wife and I spent most of the next day cleaning up, we both kept saying "That was a great party".

And it was.