It’s my daughters 7th birthday on Thursday and on Saturday I’ve organised a 2 hour play session at a local soft play area followed by a party at our home, sounds nice but I am really stressed out, all of this has been done by me to keep the cost down instead of having a full party for all of her class mates like I did last year but its beginning to be alot more stressful, I’m having my 2 neices there and allowed my daughter to pick 3 school friends…there will be 6 kids and 5 adults…the soft play part doesn’t bother me its fact that people are coming to my house…im putting on a small buffet, birthday cake and im going to attempt to turn my back room into a party room with music, lights …ive bought craft activities for the kids, pass the parcel etc but still I’m worried sick if the kids will get bored…wether il be a decent host…If my house is up to standard…i can feel my self confidence about it getting lower, ive a million and one things to do before then and I feel like my head is gonna explode!
Thanks Dan, i really am the master at piling pressure on myself, im hoping its going to be one of those situations where afterward i literally say to myself …Kelly what were you even worried about??
I am pretty certain that your daughter is gonna have a day to remember. Try not to stress, you got this. What a lovely gift and treat you have planned for your daughter
Thank you, i do have anxiety issues but i try to push through it to do nice things for her and because i dont want it to affect her but boy its hard sometimes
That sounds like a fun time for the kids! Your daughter will love it. I get myself tangled up as well, so I understand, and I know you got this…nerves and all!
When in doubt…I resort to bubble blowers, sweets and dance parties!
Thank you Sassy, ive done a ton of work on my self esteem and think im getting somewhere then something as simple as this tells me i really do still doubt myself grrr, its that on the spot feeling…
Sounds like fun Kelly.
First thing that comes to my mind is FEAR
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
Those are some lies your brain is telling you and they are not real. Deep breathe. Count to ten a few times. Pause. I bet it’s going to be great. Probably stressful too. And if I know you, you’re going to do your best. It’s what you do.
Happy 7th to you little girl.
That sounds like an amazing birthday celebration!
I also hate organizing children birthday parties, and never organise anything for myself either, due to a deep paranoia of people not liking me and thinking I am boring (and by extension, my children).
So I tell myself that my job is to provide the cake and snacks, and it is the kids job to entertain themselves. The crafts and party room sound amazing and far more than I ever do. You really are preparing a wonderful experience.
As far as I can tell, you’re putting together one hell of a fun party. I understand getting inside your own head, but I just wanted to re-assure you that you’re doing great.
Every single year I go thru the same thing, thinking my daughter won’t have a good party, and every single year it turns out just fine. The kids will be happy bc there’s other kids. Simple as that. Having it at your house is nice bc you won’t have to scramble getting everyone and everything together when your ‘time is up’. Ngl, you will probably be stressing til the day, but when it comes you can take a breath and enjoy it. Remember, there’s kids out there that don’t even get parties. You’re doing an amazing mom job
I think the whole plan sounds delightful. It’s obvious you’re putting your heart into it, and in the end, that’s all that matters. The kids will all be jumping around. Please don’t be hard on yourself, you sound wonderful!
Get a bunch of kids together and by the end of it you’ll be hoping they stop having such a good time and just calm down for a bit and give you some peace and quiet😅
Thanks so much to all of you especially for the reassurance…i think thats what i really needed…
I have this thing in me where whatever im doing i dont know where and when to stop…its a theme in my personality that keeps coming back…i think its possibly linked to addictive tendancies…to give an example in this situation…ive bought (on a budget) aside from the presents ive got for my daughter umpteen sets of balloons…streamers…party bags for the kids with all these lovely things to go inside but im obssessing about it and i struggle to know where to draw the line …when enough is enough…it reminds me of my addiction to booze which is unnerving and stressful in itself…why cant i draw the line like normal people…
I sent my friend a photo the other day of the activities id got for the kids…she said “are you obssessing Kelly?” …well it hit me like a ton of bricks
Hiya Kelly. Very late to this thread, sorry
The party sounds amazing. Your daughter will be delighted.
I hear what you ‘re saying about the obsessing and I think you’re right that it’s a component of our personalities as addicts. It’s as though that compulsion just gets displaced.
I think you’ve had wonderful advice and reassurance above so I’ve nothing to add really other than to say - don’t put pressure on yourself. The kids have all the tools there to have a fantastic time. And after play centre and food and a few games I think they’ll be content to chill to some extent.
Let us know how it goes X
Thanks Louise, im feeling a little better after talking with all of you lovely people on here and because ive started getting organised…organising is not my strong point im fully aware of this so i write lists nowadays as it helps to focus my often scattered mind…yesterday i was really tired from working late the night before then being up early to get my daughter to school…i sat and looked at this long arsed list and got stressed out…this morning i thought ok…organise the list into smaller parts of what im going to get done each day from now until the party to help with the overwhelmed feeling …its worked…im half way through my list of today already so im feeling a bit more accomplished today rather than like my head will explode this is why i love this site and everyone on it, thank you all
il pop those on my list!
this is why i love this site and everyone on it, thank you all 