Seen and Heard

Birthdays Easy as Cake

Children's fetes without the frets

-Julie Ryan Evans

So far I've thrown four birthday parties for my son, and so far I've almost had four mental breakdowns from planning all of the festivities... planning a theme, finding and sending out invitations, getting decorations, party favors, games, etc.

But as my son approaches his fifth birthday in August, I have not an ounce of stress concerning his party that he's been talking about nonstop since his last birthday. Birthday in a Box recently sent me a trial sample of its product, and after opening it, I'll never look at planning children's birthday parties the same way - you know, with dread and horror.

It comes complete with pretty much everything you need for a child's birthday party, except the cake (that might be a little gross). There's a personalized banner (complete with the stuff you need to stick it to your wall), streamers and balloon for decorating, a tablecloth, ribbon and candles for the cake. Plates, napkins and utensils - check, check, check. There are even invitations, and my most dreaded of all searches - the all-important goody bag.

They have a slew of themes to choose from (hooray, there's a space theme!), and everything comes coordinated to that theme. And the prices aren't bad at all. The standard package for eight children is just $24.95. Of course, you can add on and on and on ... but it still isn't as outrageous as I thought it might be.

So, if there's some party planning in your future, forget about thinking outside the box, and get what's in this box.