Our little boy is eight now. Seven darted by like a flame.
We had his birthday party this week and there is usually quite a build-up preceding it.
Lots of talk. Lots of questions about who is coming and what decorations we should have.
Great consideration is given to the costume he’ll wear. It’s close enough to Halloween that he and his friends can dress up in their costumes for the party.
Finn loves dressing up in costumes in general so he gets super excited when Halloween comes around.
He decides on one costume for his birthday party and chooses something different for Halloween.
This year he said he wanted to be Voldemort, from Harry Potter. But he wasn’t super excited about having a bald cap or a prosthesis on his nose that would make eating or breathing difficult during his birthday party. (He’s very practical about it.)
He hemmed and hawed about the bald cap. Erin and I didn’t push it or spend a lot of time looking for one.
He finally decided to be Tom Riddle. The young Voldemort from Harry Potter.
Tom Riddle is a pretty normal looking guy so there is no need for a lot of make-up or a particularly complicated costume. Erin had found a Voldemort robe online and that seemed to be good enough for Finn.
As for the decorations, we usually make them. This year we cut out silhouettes of bats, jack-o-lanterns and black cats and hung them by invisible threads from the ceiling. They were very simple but effective. And we had a lot of fun making them.
As with most projects we do together, it wasn’t really about the finished product, though the silhouettes did turn out nicely. We just had so much fun doing them. Cutting shapes out of poster paper with scissors. What’s more soothing?
Well maybe there are a few other things… But nothing really brings back the simplicity of childhood more than a craft project. And perhaps for Finn, creating a moment he’ll recall later on.
Last year Finn was intensely focussed on his costume, this year his priority seemed to be just being with his friends and playing.
There was the usual emphasis on what Lego sets he might get. I’m kind of wondering when and if the Lego craze is going to teeter out.
But quality time with friends (and cousins) took center stage this year. And I think the party lived up to that.
The adults had almost as much fun as the kids, which is how Erin and I gauge the success of such events. A huge part of that was the amazing food spread that Erin created single handedly. (My job was leaf raker and decorator)
A costume parade around the grounds, with small musical instruments, has become an annual event to cap off the festivities.
“I don’t think we’re going to do the parade next year.” Finn said, his mind already on next years event.
Whatever he decides to focus on, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
If year eight passes as quickly as seven did, a few blinks of an eye should do it.