|
My beautiful and exuberant daughter turned seven a few weeks ago. After the agonizing over what sort of party, what theme, what activities, what colors that my daughter spent days on - we finally settled on merging her best ideas into a birthday all-night extravaganza. It truly was an awesome experience. She invited eleven girls to her slumber party. It was the first time we have a allowed an all-nighter. The pressure was on to live up to the glossy images of girls in cute pajamas and giggling that danced in her head. We decided on a "spa night" theme with American girls (or any other doll) brought along for doll-sized fun. We made brochures inviting the girls over and outlining the highlights of the evening. We began with a cake decorating class. Every girl had their own individual two-layer cake and decorated it to her taste. We pretended we were on a cooking show and gave tips on different styles. Then we looked in a full-length mirror and each girl painted a self-portrait. These were beautiful and very insightful on each girls personality. After that we played some games. We had everything from Twister to checkers. Then, out came some borrowed "foot soakers". Nana, my cousin, Great Grandma, and myself took turns painting toes and fingernails, applying our homemade "banana mask" and doling out cucumbers for eyes. We topped off the night with our "midnight buffet" of fresh fruit and popcorn and a movie. Lots of people said that I was insane to have so many girls over at once, but this was just as much fun to chaperone as it was to attend. All but two of the girls were homeschooled. Our youngest attendee was four, the oldest was thirteen. Everyone else fell somewhere inbetween. They were polite, involved and so much fun to interact with! Everyone was proud of their creativity and individuality. As my daughter moves forward towards those years that get so much bad press, I am delighted to report that there are girls who are strong and who have a voice. I have read "Reviving Ophelia" and "Queen Bees and Wannabees". I hope to give my daughter a balanced foundation to figure out who she is and what God has for her life. I think it is never too early to instill self-respect and an appreciation of the unique ways that God has gifted you. I was pleased to take the opportunity to get to know her friends and to offer them an accepting place to create and be pampered. I hope that my daughter will continue to have such vibrant friends. Smart, opinionated girls that know how to be a good confidant - it was a pleasure to have them in my home. |
Comments