What To Do at a 5-Year-Old's Birthday Party

Yesterday, one of Caesar's Great-Nieces turned the Big 5, but today, the family celebrated the milestone event. Lots of kids running and screaming all over the place, a Dora the Explorer Bounce House, tons of food, Paul Frank's Julius on every plate and napkin as far as the eye could see, and one large birthday cake in the shape of a cupcake surrounded by dozens of smaller cupcakes. Perfect for the kids, and believe me they enjoyed every bit of it.

The adults in the group did, too, but with most of being too big to fit inside the bounce house, we entertained ourselves with balloon fights -- throwing and hitting balloons at each other without allowing them to touch the ground. Caesar's sister even stuffed two balloons inside her sweatshirt -- albeit it with the help of their Mother -- to give Dolly Parton a run for her money. We also experimented with static electricity, and I had a balloon or two stuck to my hair or shirt during portions of the festivities. I have never seen adults having so much fun with party balloon, especially ones not filled with helium.

Also while the kids were running themselves ragged, high on sugar and emotions, the adults sat around the big screen watching movies on Turner Classic Movies. First, we caught the last 30 minutes of The Thin Man, then followed that with 1948's The Snake Pit starring Olivia de Havilland as a Virginia Cunningham, a woman who wakes up in a mental institution without any knowledge of how she got there or why. Fantastic film, by the way.

At some point during the viewing, the birthday girl's little sister stomped about with blue frosting smeared around her lips from one of the six or so cupcakes she commandeered. And ice cream was spilled on the hardwood floors. And both a dog and a child ran into the closed screen door leading into the backyard. And at any given time, one or more children cried over not getting what he/she wanted. And many cans of Fanta Strawberry Soda were consumed.

All in all, a successful birthday party.