Twenty years ago, after my grown children went out into the world to spread their wings I found myself blessed with a fourth child to raise along and not a clue as to how to do this. Muddling through in the beginning, I quickly learned that “fun” was the way to go and before long, I realized that I was having a tremendously good time with this child as we bonded.
We did so many of the normal things together, reading books, learning to ride a bicycle, swimming and sharing, but I was always looking for something different special original and exceptional. For her it was always birthday parties she always wanted something out of the ordinary and better than the year before and as she got older and her friends list grew my imagination also had to grow.
Each party had to be different, better and more “fun” than the year before. Well, one year I remember very well. That year after doing my research for something exclusive, I decided to have a little girl’s dress-up party. In my closet of art supplies, I found a box I had put aside for special occasions and this seemed to be the occasion. From the box, I pulled out lace, trim, buttons, beads, and bows and we made hats. Yep! The fancy fun hats that queens and princesses wear, the kind that only a child’s imagination can create the kind that will make a lasting memory for each child and take her to a fancy land filled with individual ideas.
Taking several sheets of newspaper, and placing them on each girl’s head I made a well over their scalp. Rolling the edges up and curling them, made the brim. At this point the girls started to get excited and were having fun deciding how far the brim should go, sometimes girls just can’t make a decision. All the brims were very different as we had different personalities; some brims were tight and close to the head while others flopped as the girls walked.
The decorating of the hats was the best part for me as I watch each girl create a unique and special hat that expressed their individuality. What a joy it was to see them laugh, share, and create a hat for themselves always complimenting each other with encouragement. Sharing became a fun project for all the girls and watching them have fun became a memory for me that I will never forget.
After collecting all the leftovers and cleaning the glue off the table and their hands, we had a parade with the hats and than the girls decided, it was time to played dress-up and they marching around the house as if they were in a real parade. I took pictures for their mothers to see what fun the girls had and the party was a success for my daughter. She thought it the best birthday party ever and I was stuck with coming up with a better idea for the next year … making our own home made pizza.
