Birthday Party

Last night, my youngest daughter celebrated her 11th birthday with a party for friends. Sure, when she turned 11 in January we had a family party/dinner/night out but for a myriad of reasons, this is the first weekend when she and her cronies could all get together.

We went to Interskate for a couple of hours and they roller skated around...each one entered the "limbo" contest. There was popcorn and Pepsi for the kids.

We came home and played "bingo" as we have this toy bingo set and gave away prizes.

We made root beer floats, and they fell asleep watching the movie "The Incredibles."

This morning there was a breakfast of donut holes, pigs-in-a-blanket and chocolate donuts with sprinkles on them. They're watching Jimmy Neutron and going over the rules (although you'd think they'd be self-explanatory) for a game they invented called "musical sleeping bags." Superchick will be the music of choice.

And, by the sound of it, they had, and are having, a very good time.

So, I started thinking about my most memorable "kid" birthday party. It was when me and my friends Rush, Hal, Jimmy and Frankie went to the local Birmingham Bulls minor-league hockey game (my mom drove and picked up), we went next door to the Hyatt House hotel and rode the glass elevator until my Mom got there, and we spent the night at my house. It turns out the 1980 U.S. hockey team played their first game that night and we watched it on tape-delay and they scored a goal against Sweden in the last minute that sent them on their march towards the gold medal.

It seems to me that the best birthday parties are the ones that the emphasis is on fun with friends rather than the "event." So, what was the best "kid" birthday party you remember, and does it prove my "theory?"