Hi there -
Without getting into great detail, my very good girlfriend and I had the incredible experience of having our children 3 hours apart, 2 doors down (my water broke in her labor and delivery room - again, long story!).
Anyhow, Groundhog's Day will be their 3rd birthday. I am looking for advice from anyone who may have participated in having a double, non-related, boy/girl birthday party? They are such cool kids, and we are such good friends - I feel it will be a very easy and fun time. But I'm also worried that things may get over-looked. My dear friend is very laid back whereas I'm accused of hyper-parenting and being an uber-planner (not by my friend though, if you ask her, I'm always late to everything, thanks to hubby - but I have a menu for my kids weekly...go figure).
How can we make this work cohesively? She's such a good friend - I'm sure we'll have a great time. But is there anyone out there who has experienced something similar who can give suggestions? Thanks oodles!
I would sit down and plan put who's going to do what. And then at a designated time(a week maybe before the party)you again sit down together and review what still needs to be accomplished and again assign tasks.
My daughter shared her 10th birthday party w/her friend that has a birthday a few days later. It was SO much fun! I would recommend that you make a list to organize your party and then divide it up between you and your friend, or ask your friend if she wants you to plan it and then split the cost or what she'd like to be in charge of doing. I'm always making lists to be more organized and it helps to make sure nothing is overlooked.
My daughter is a day older than one friend and a week older than the other. When they were 3, 4 and 5 we shared parties. One year we had it at one of the houses. Since we were all part of the same playgroup, there were only a couple of unknown kids. The other 2 years we had it at a park. We didn't even have a theme. We just had cake and ice cream. At the park we just played. We didn't even do goody bags at the parties. It was just fun to play. Kids these days expect too much when they go to birthday parties. Good luck in your planning.
If you are the uber-planner then take over the tasks that need uber-planning. I threw a party with a friend and I'm the uber-planner and she's more laid back. I found myself getting frustrated with her lack of foresight and she was upset with my pushing to get things done (I'm sure that's what you're afraid of).
In the end it worked best with me booking the things that needed to be done ahead of time...the room, the food etc. (we didn't get our first choice of place because I told her to call and book it and she didn't do it in time). I let her go nuts with the party favors and when she was up late the night before doing them I already had my stuff laid out ready to go :)
In the end the kids won't know if something didn't get done and I had to learn that it's OK if everything doesn't go according to plan. The important thing is the kids have fun!
My kids have tons of cousins so we quite often have joint parties. My advice is to have a plan for opening presents. If you don't, it all goes too quick and people don't know where to look or see them open their gift. Maybe take turns and have each child bring their gift up when it's their turn. Although you also don't want it to take forever...this is why it's good to have a plan.
My son shared a birthday party at 3 years of age with our neighbor- they are 2 days apart and we figured they would invite mostly the same people. My son did have one friend come who didnt know the other child but we just worked together and devided the expenses. We got our 20% off coupon for the factory card outlet and made up the goodie bags. Thank goodness that their birthday is in the summer where we could be outside and shared the expense of the moonwalk. Otherwise I would reommend keep the party short as possible. 2 hours is plenty of time and goes by very slow when you run out of things to do. Good luck!
Hi K.,
I had a double boy/girl party with my good girlfriend last year and it went great. Our kids are a little younger than yours, but still in the baby/toddler range. We just picked a neutral theme (sweet peas) and place (Center of Elgin - basically a hyped-up park district indoor playplace). It was fabulous. We had an excellent time, so did the kids and I'd recommend it to anyone. It halves the cost too, which is great.
Let me know if you'd like any more specifics,
MC
I have 1 boy and 2 girls (triplets) and we have had parties for all at the same time. It is easier since it is the same family, but since they are only 3, it should be very easy to do something that is not gender based. We always got one cake and had it decorated boy on one side and girl on the other since it was big enough--their 4th had Spiederman on one side and Hello Kitty on the other. This year though we promised they would each have their own. I would suggest sitting down together and deciding just how much you want to do. And then stick with that plan. And I second the 2 or 3 hour time frame. Longer may just end up with crabby kids. Good Luck and the main point is to have fun.
Hi K.,
Co-parties are awesome. You spend half of what you would normally spend & you can divide the chores. I've had 2 co-parties at Pump-It-Up & they were great. I also had a swim party at Splash Landings in The Glenns where there were 3 birthday kids. I've heard that My Gym & Gymboree are also good. You just tell the facility that there are 2 birthday kids & they will have 2 carts to separate all the gifts & make sure you have 2 of any special birthday kid things. At 2 of the parties we had 2 different cakes; at the last one we just did cupcakes.
I have a cousin and friend who have their sons' birthday parties together. They split the costs but usually have a seperate birthday cake with each child's name on it. Most of their parties have been at an outside venue like the park district, etc. The kids don't care if they know each other or not, they all just have fun playing together.
