Birthday Party-palooza!

We had back-to-back birthday parties over here in January and early February. Kate wanted a party with her school friends and since her birthday is Christmas Day we waited until school was back in session before we had the party. Jack's birthday fell on the first weekend of half-term so we pushed his back a week.


So, first up on January 23, was Kate's 3rd Birthday Party - the Fairy Party of all fairy parties! We invited twelve of Kate's friends from school and play-groups to join us at Pizza Express for her Fairy Party. Since the party was on a Friday after school we had the sibling factor...thus, 35 children showed up for the party. Which is normal here - and so is drinking (see earlier entry about what we have learned in London) by the parents who now must endure two hours of that many children screaming with delight. Can you think of a better way to spend Happy Hour on a Friday then with 35 children, a grown-up fairy and wine at Pizza Express?! It was a great time and Fairy Sarah managed to keep the attention of all children for the duration of the party.


We also carried on our tradition of "in lieu of gifts, please make a donation" theme and chose The Winchester Project as the charity. Kate raised 300 pounds for the "Winch" as it is called here. In short, The Winchester Project is a voluntary youth organization located in Swiss Cottage (the neighborhood just north of us) that has been operating since 1973. Approximately 2500 children and young people used the activities and services for children and young people in 2007/08, across three project streams; youth, sport and play. Our good friends Kelly and Andre Basile are on the board so we have adopted the Winch as one of our charities while we are in London.

Next up was Jack's 7th Birthday party on February 7. Jack, the expert on all things Star Wars related, naturally wanted a Star Wars party. A friend told me about the Everyman Cinema Club in Hampstead where you can rent a screening room for up to 20 children and show the birthday boy's DVD of choice. PERFECT! The only big decision we had to make was which episode of Star Wars to show for the party. Jack really put a lot of thought into this decision and we discussed it every day for weeks. He finally concluded that Episode 2 is his favorite and should be shared with his friends. We had 14 children made up of Jack's school mates, neighbors and other friends join us for pizza (from Pizza Express...yes, it is THE birthday party provider!), juice and the Star Wars cake.




Jack has been keenly aware of the homelessness problem in London and worries where the homeless people that we see will sleep, eat, take a bath, etc. Thus, Jack's charity of choice is Doorstep Homeless Families Project. Doorstep's aim is to improve the quality of life and to reduce poverty and isolation for homeless families with children. Doorstep provides a range of support services to families in hostels and other forms of temporary accommodation. Services include free use of laundry facilities, adult classes, play opportunities for children, social/cultural events and a program of outings and special activities during the summer.

Our friend Laura Goldstein, an attorney from the US, volunteers her time doing their books so again we adopted this charity due to a friend's relationship with it. Jack's party raised 250 pounds, which Jack delivered to the director, Vicky Fox, during our visit to Doorstep.

Owen has decided these London parties are pretty cool and wants his to be here too. His birthday is in August so we will have to wait until school resumes in September....stay tuned!

Cheers!