And so it begins...

Still hard to believe, but my little one turns three in less than a month. She also received her first school birthday invitation last month, and that got me thinking, I guess it's time for a kids party.

I am not brave enough to allow a bunch of toddlers into the house so, after much investigation, we chose one of our favorite places, Rolly Pollies.  Kidlet takes classes there and I know that the facility is clean and they will be well supervised. 

When it came to gifts, though, my husband and I decided against it.  Because her birthday is between Chanukah and Christmas (both celebrated in our house), she gets plenty of gifts. Quite frankly, my daughter doesn't need tons more toys. Besides, it's a hard time of year for some families to come up with an extra gift...

So we are asking instead that donations be made to our local pet rescue, Black Dog, Second Chance.  (We considered perinatal hospice, in honor of my friend's daughter, but thought that might be a little too much for a three year old's party.)  We have a rescued black lab, so it's a cause that's near to our hearts.  It can be something as small as a can of dog food or a dog toy. 

My father thinks I'm taking away from the excitement of birthdays.  But at this age, I think most of the fun is playing with all your friends.  Anyway, she still has a family party with gifts...  and I think it's importat that she knows that there are more important things in life than presents.