I don’t know how kids Birthday Parties work these days but back in the 80’s you used to get dropped at a kids party, eat your body weight in cocktail frankfurts, fairy bread, lollies and chips, play pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel & musical chairs and go home with a little loot bag full of rubbish when your Mum returned to collect you. I mean it really didn’t get any better than this! Those little red frankfurts were my absolute fave dipped in tomato sauce.
So keeping with tradition I decided to throw caution to the wind and put on a little birthday party for Clancy.
He turned 8 on Monday and there are a gazillion and one kids in the area on surrounding stations so we decided to invite the lot. We had 19 kids here (of which only 2 were girls!). For someone who lives in the middle of nowhere I reckon that was a pretty good turn out.
There is no such thing as a dump and run out here on a remote cattle station, it is a full on commitment. Pack the kids in the car, drive for 1, 2 or 3 hours and stay the night! Our closest neighbours are only a 1 hour drive away so they went home (which reduced the kid numbers to 13) but everyone else stayed.
And guess what – the kids had so much fun. Gosh they played well together. There was a spot of pass the parcel, a piñata (how do you even spell that word?) and 2 birthday cakes – one made by me and one made by Clancy’s big brother Harry. There were nuggets, cocktail franks (of course there were), mini pies, sasuo rolls, chips and lollies.
It was way too windy to light those candles so in the end I just stuck the bloody wind/waterproof match into cake and we all sang – of course he couldn’t actually blow it out because: windproof, ha ha ha.
You know those parties you see on Instagram – the perfect parties with fancy bags lined up and everything matching (cause the kids would really care about that shit) well this was definitely not one of those parties. #didn’tnailthepinterestparty
There was one hint of something quite possibly insta worthy and that was the fancy loot bags – #nailedit (well hashtag would have nailed it if I had have actually taken a photo of them all lined up).
It all felt a bit like a speed dating party – pass the parcel, tick done – ok next – piñata, whack whack lollies everyone ok done, next – birthday cake, candles, sing tick done – more food, lollies and we are done. Then the kids all just ran around the yard making up their own games, it was so fantastic. I think they had fun.
Oh and guess what – I was such a mean Mum because I didn’t let them have any softdrink – I just didn’t think that many kids needed all those lollies AND softdrink on my watch, no siree. But us Mum’s definitely needed a wine and a gin.
Everyone came over for a sausage sizzle that night – a mass feeding of all the troops. Then the kids sat with their loot bags and watched Home Alone 2 because we have run out of internet and they couldn’t watch a movie on iTunes or Netflix. Yep, they had to do it the old fashioned way – a DVD in the Xbox. Ha ha ha.
All the kids then slept in their swags on the verandah.
Thanks so much to everyone who came….
Katie – 2.5 hours, 3 gates and some pretty shit dirt road, 2 boys – neighbour to the west
Sarah – 1.5 hours, 7 gates, not too bad dirt road, 3 boys – neighbour to the south east
Kate and Alissa joined forces and also bought some extra kids from another family on the station – only 1 hour, 5 gates, road not too bad, 5 boys and 1 girl – neighbours to the south
Tina – 2 hours, 3 gates, 50km of bitumen and the rest really shitty dirt road, 2 boys and 1 girl – not a neighbour but is a southern neighbour to Kate & Alissa
Shelly – 1 hour 40, 6 gates, different state, good dirt road – we call it the Wine Road or Eastern Freeway, 2 boys – neighbour to the east.
There you have it – the full run down on Clancy’s 8thBirthday. I really can’t believe he is 8.
So tell me, how does the good old fashioned kids birthday party work where you live? Is it a dump and run situation or is it an all in stay the night kind of affair? Sorry for the crappy photos – definitely not an instaMum and it was definitely not a Pinterest worthy party but they had fun.
Oh and can we please discuss the fact that I didn’t allow them to have soft drink – how mean was that!!! What a monster!!!
What fabulous commitment those Mums showed. It would have been really easy to declare it all too hard and stay home, but I’m sure Clancy will remember that party (with or without soft drink) forever!
We’re preparing to throw an eight and eleven year old party this week. Have gone the easy option and booked a spot at the Rollerdome!
Heading up your way next month on the Great Endeavour Rally. Think we’ll wind up driving through Camooweal so will wave as we drive past!
A x
Hello there Cooker!!! So great to hear from you. Now all I can say is well done for booking a location party – so much easier!!! If only we could. You had me at roller dome! What fun!!! Be sure to send me a message when you think you will be through Camooweal!!!
Super Mums! I think the kids will appreciate the distances their Mums had to drive not matching themed parties. A good reminder for me that kids don’t need all the bells and whistles they just want to play with other kids. Really enjoyed reading this post!
They really don’t need all the things – they had such fun just running around the garden using their imagination – it was so great.
I think you nailed it, on point! I’m sure Clancy really appreciates the effort your “not so close neighbours” went to just to help celebrate his birthday, just look at his happy face plus he gets the bonus, mega sleepover. I haven’t yet done the dump and run, it’s a good chance to catch up with mums. Yes, we still have those games. They are the go to party games. We have an 8th birthday party coming up in September and I wish we could do the sleep overs on the verandah. I also don’t offer soft drink, it’s iced water and fresh lemonade.
I think it will definitely be a party that he remembers forever! Glad to hear I am not the only one depriving them of soft drink. ha ha ha.
Sounds like the perfect party and one that my kids (now 24, 21 & 17) reminisce about from their childhoods as being epic where while still special it’s more about the gathering of the people than the things (ie lined up and matched) and don’t you love that all that ‘old fashioned’ party food is still the bomb. You definitely don’t need all the bells and whistles and there is not enough of the letting kids make their own fun around these days (particularly in the cities).
That is so great to know that your grown kids now reminisce about such parties. Creating memories – that is what it is all about isn’t it.
Ahhh, I love that all the kids were outside in their swags on the verandah. My city slicker kids would love that!! The last big party we had for the lad my friend described it as the deconstructed party! The kids iced cupcakes, put together their fruit salad and at the end picked some tat for their party bags from a selection of little bits and pieces on the sideboard. The lad is due another party so will do it again soon. We have our parties at home, sometimes some parents stay and the wine flows!
Oh I do love the sound of a deconstructed party and have been known to let the kids ice their own cake! Nothing better than friends staying and wine flowing! It is like therapy.