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National Council of Jewish Women

Greater Detroit Section

presents

sundaes or tacos, or frost
their own cookies or cup-
cakes.
Some parents still rely on
the 8mm movies and car-
toons, rented from the li-
brary. Sound projectors can
be rented from camera shops.
Don't overlook free play.
Your backyard swingset and
basement full of toys might
be more exciting for the
birthday child and his friends
than any special activity.
How do you avoid the
human crush of children edg-
ing ever closer as the birth-
day child greedily rips apart
carefully wrapped gifts and
tosses cards aside? Some par-
ents solve this problem by
opening presents after the
guests leave.
One father implemented
birthday grab bags, where
each guest brought a gift to
share and took home one in
return. This egalitarian tech-
nique worked until his
daughter realized that at
other children's birthday par-
ties, they kept all 20 presents
for themselves!
Most parents of more than
one child bemoan the yearly
expense of birthday presents
and secretly wish their
friends would limit gift buy-
ing to something relatively
inexpensive but meaningful.
For those unsure about
birthday menus, most vete-
ran party givers suggest
keeping a meal simple. Stick
to kid pleasers: macaroni and
cheese, peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches or cheese
pizza. Throw in carrot sticks
so you won't feel guilty. The
less choices you offer, the less
problems you'll have.
Home birthday parties are
not for everyone. I realized
this last January, during the
middle of an ice storm.
Minutes before 30 children
were due to arrive for our
five-year-old-twins' birthday
party, our street became im-
passable, our driveway and
sidewalk a slick sheet of ice.
Parents slipped up to our
front door and deposited their
wet and overheated children,
dropping boots, coats, hats
and mittens haphazardly all
over our foyer.
After a late start, nothing
went as planned. The girls
wouldn't sit next to the boys.
Everyone was allergic to
peanut butter and wanted
plain jelly sandwiches. We
ran out of apple juice. The
relay races disintegrated into
a free-for-all and a screaming
game of tag.
Finally, we arranged the
children around a large
movie screen and held our
breath, while waiting for the
movie to begin. The picture
appeared, but no sound. I had
rented only sound cartoons
and movies under the mis-
taken assumption we owned
a sound movie projector. At
this point, I vowed never to
hold another large home
birthday party in mid-
winter. ❑

The Hannah G. Solomon Awa r . d to
Gerald L. Levin
Executive Director of the Orchards
in recognition of exceptional
leadership & service to the community

Guests Welcome — No Charge

Gtiest Speaker
David Lawrence, Jr.
Publisher & Chairman of
The Detroit Free Press

Tuesday, November 18, 1986
7:45 p.m.
Adat Shalom Synagogue
29901 Middlebelt, Farmington Hills

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