I always breathe a sigh of relief when April's over. As a kid, it was the month I looked forward to the most because my birthday falls in April, and when you're a kid, there are few things as important as officially becoming a new age and collecting the presents that go along with that momentous event. Also, April's beautiful. Spring is in the air, the weather is warmer, the Easter bunny usually visits during this month, and for most Canadians, we officially close the door on winter when April comes around.
However, as an adult, I'm really not enjoying April that much anymore. Not because I'm another year older and have a few fresh new wrinkles to show for it either. Okay, now that I stop and think about it, my birthday is another reason I don't enjoy April anymore. No, it's not my birthday that's the problem. It's everybody else's birthday that's the problem! It seems to me that half of everyone I know is born in April, including two of my kids. And as it turns out, it seems like most of their friends were born in April as well! Two weekends ago, I think we spent our entire weekend buying birthday gifts and driving our kids around to parties all over town. Very few people seem to have parties for their kids at home anymore. Nowadays, birthday parties are held at community centres, climbing gyms, pottery studios, petting zoos, you name it. Have a few dollars to spend, and someone will throw a birthday party for your child. Whatever happened to homemade cakes, “pin the tail on the donkey” and “spin the bottle”?
I can't help but feel parents today are quick to over-indulge their kids. Really, a group of 5 year olds doesn't know the difference between a birthday party that costs $250 and one that costs $50. Kids are happy to have a few games to play, some cake, presents and then they're good to go home to their parents. Granted there's generally a mess to clean up afterwards if you have a birthday party at home, but it seems more special nonetheless. Instead of having a party just like everyone else at the local recreation centre, you end up having a party that's a little more original, a little more “down-to-earth”, and a little less-indulgent.
