I went to a party last night, and I had such a good time that I think I may try to make it a trend among singles.
The party was nothing out of the ordinary. Just seven women sitting out on a deck on a lovely evening, drinking champagne and eating catered BBQ.
What made it extra special was that hostess didn’t tell us until after we arrived that it was her birthday.
I know, we think of that as the ultimate no-no: throwing your own birthday party. And I know why. I’ve seen it done in done a few times in tacky ways. “Hey, look at me! It’s my birthday, and I’m throwing a big, all-out bash for MEEEEE!”
But this was different. It was low key. Just friends enjoying each other’s company. No gifts. (How could we have? We didn’t even know it was her birthday until we arrived.) As we were laughing and talking, she paused and said “This is the best birthday I ever had.”
Compare that with what our single-person birthdays frequently look like. We start to get anxious weeks ahead of time. We hope that maybe somebody is making plans. We fear that they’re not and that we’ll spend the evening at home watching a That Girl marathon on TVLand.
The host with the most
I sort of accidentally threw my own birthday party once. I have CAbi parties a couple of times a year. They’re home-clothing parties – kind of the Tupperware parties of wardrobe. My friends always look forward to them because the clothes are great and it’s a lot more fun to shop in somebody’s home while sipping wine. Anyway, one year the day that worked best to throw the party happened to be my birthday. I thought “I can’t do that. It’d be tacky.”
But there were no other options, so I sent out invites that clearly stated it was a CAbi party, not a birthday party, there were to be no gifts, but I’d love to spend the day shopping for clothes with my friends. We did, and we had a great time.
So the next year – my birthday still being on a weekend – I invited those same friends over. Again told them no gifts were allowed and that it wasn’t a birthday party, just time with friends. And again, we had a great evening. In fact, it was so much fun that the following year one of my friends called me and asked “Are you going to have a party on your birthday again? I’ve been looking forward to it!”
I’m starting to think I may make it a tradition.
Of course, those alert friends among us can always do this for each other. But hoping that will happen, or relying on it, adds an extra layer of stress. Will she remember? Who will she invite? Where will it be? What will she serve?
It may sound strange, but there’s something kind of nice about taking control of our birthdays and spending them surrounded by these great reminders of God’s love for us, our family members and good friends.
What do you think? Ready to throw your own birthday party?
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