We celebrated Elsa’s 9th birthday yesterday with a sleepover/ Halloween party keeping 7 kids busy for 20 hours. As I have spent the last 12 days in 4 countries Jochem helped out with the preparations and Ingrid and Elsa spent two days baking, cooking and preparing all the activities. They even made a timetable for each activity and decorated the house in a real Halloween sphere. Jochem bought the biggest pumpkin they had a the supermarket and together we cut out a scary face and made an inviting entrance for the witches, ghosts, knights, monsters and other scary visitors. I was a really nice party where we had ghost cake, made scary pizzas, did trick or treat, created our own key rings, grilled marshmallows and watched a not so scary movie. At eleven the house was quiet and Jochem and I felt so creative that we then started making a memory/ reading game for Nils (no idea where the creativity came from :)?)
Every time we start planning a birthday party for one of the kids I think that we have done it all but somehow new ideas always pup up. By now we have had treasure hunts, cooking with a real chef, adventures in the forests, crafts parties, masquerade, working with mosaic (my personal favorite), horseback riding etc. Luckily there is Internet and a world full of parents happy to give advice on how to make the ultimate party at different budget scales, at any location and with all types of games for young and old, for individuals or in a group. However, this time Elsa knew very well what she wanted and my sister Hanna helped with lots of Halloween crafts tips and creative Halloween food. All Jochem and I had to do was to facilitate! (which is fun but also quite demanding!)
Today Jochem is off to Italy again and I am looking forward to a month of normal working hours and more time with the kids. Jochem has his birthday on Wednesday but is not home until Friday but then a champagne party is on the agenda. After spending so much time at work the past month (handing in two EU proposals, visiting Scotland looking at how they work with youth in exclusion, visiting the NL, spending 4 days in Brussels with a leadership group from Ulricehamn etc.) I enjoy getting busy at home, filling the house with candles, baking cakes with the kids and making a smart system for all my magazines and books (an ever reoccurring challenge). Winter is around the corner and it is getting colder by the day! Snow is on the wish list!
Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday!
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