Birthday parties

When my kids were young, it was fun to have themed birthday parties. But as they got older the parties became more expensive and much more of a headache to plan and execute. So at our house birthday parties have become an option. We allow the kids to decide if they want to have a party or get a big present. Last year, Harrison got to go to Tweetsie Railroad for his birthday because we had moved right before his birthday and he didn't know anyone. And it was sort of a mini vacation for the family after not having taken one while we were selling the house and moving. Holden chose and Ipod and had a friend over to spend the night and go to the amusement park. Haley got to go to New York as a special treat for her 12th birthday.

So the other night I was talking to my mom on the phone about Harrison's birthday, which is coming up in August. I was telling her I thought he might like to have a pirate party with his friends from school. Since Harrison was sitting right next to me (and I thought listening to my conversation), I asked him what he wanted to do for his party (thinking he would go along with the whole pirate party/jump castle idea). He didn't hesitate for a moment when he said "I want to go to Disney World".

So perhaps I need to rethink the whole birthday party/big present idea. It seems to be getting a little out of control. By the time he's 12, he'll think he needs to go on a trip to Australia.