My Twice Baked Potato

If you have followed our story for a while, you might remember the birthday from last year (A Real Party?).  When my son was turning 7, he wanted only one friend to attend his Mine Craft party.  The party went well and he was the most comfortable that I had ever seen him at any party.

Three weeks ago, I asked my TBP what he wanted to do this time.  I was surprised when he announced the desired theme to be “Plants VS Zombies.” Honestly, I didn’t want to do another Mine Craft party and this was a theme that I could get excited about!  I found great ideas for foods, decorations, games & party favors.  Anyone that knows me in “real life” knows that this will require a detailed master list.  After some research time, the list was started…and so was the shopping!

I asked my son about his guests and he quickly rattled off the list of “chosen” ones.   This was a good sign because it meant that he really thought about it and wasn’t just answering me while he was mostly focused on his computer game.  I asked him a couple of times just to confirm before I sent out the evite and he listed the same names again without hesitation.

This week, we received several Amazon packages.  The red chili piñata, the brain erasers, glow in the dark bouncy eyes,  zombie suckers, and oversized Plants vs. Zombies poster all arrived and were just what we wanted.  The most exciting arrival was the box that was filled with Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty for the party favors.  These containers of putty were special because they were labeled as “Zombie Blood” putty.  The label was a perfect mixture of appropriateness for kids and just creepy enough for my son’s desires.

Decorations will be sunflowers in vases, sunflower balloons and a “grass” table-cloth for the all important lawn that serves as the setting for the whole game.  Yellow (for the sun and sunflowers) plates and table wear and Green (lawn and some zombie details) will be the colors featured for the big day.

The only thing that I worry about really is…my boy.  Parties are hard.  Actually, any family event or holiday with big expectations, tend to be overwhelming and can be disastrous.  I have to remind myself about this (even I forget about the sensory issues sometimes) while I plan for the day.  We won’t have music and honestly, if a few guests can’t come…that will be okay.

I love my son and I love the person that he is becoming.  I want him to enjoy this day and I will try to help that happen.  If I am being completely honest, I get nervous about having kids and parents that we don’t personally know.  I still wonder sometimes how much to share or what they have witnessed as parent volunteers in his classroom.

The party is in a few weeks and I will let you know the results 🙂