Abigail has had her first invite to a birthday party being held this Sunday at 12pm. Upon receipt of the invitation I saw a perfect opportunity to become Superdad and make sure all goes well for my little treasure.....
Monday evening, 6pm - The invite gives simple instructions of when, where and
how to dress (super hero or Disney Character), making life for me very easy.
Look at map, see diary for potential hazardous double bookings and finally pop
upstairs to check Elsa dress still safely in Abigail's wardrobe. Tasks complete
and one is feeling quite smug with regards to my efficient completion of my
objective, so time for a well deserved cuppa!
Still feeling rather smug and efficient I decide to send a
message to the mother of the daughter in question, to confirm Abigail will be
attending and that she will be dressed as requested. Just to place the icing on
my efficient cake, I also ask if there is anything in particular the birthday
girl would like for a birthday present, as being new to this I thought it smart
(still smug) to ask. Having no experience in the world of present buying for
someone else's child, I thought by asking the question my life would be easy by
the direct and informative reply I was bound to get! Well.... you could have
knocked the smug out of me with a feather! Please see reply below
'Hi Adam, thank you for letting me know that Abigail will be
attending. I forgot to out on the invitation that the birthday girl is obsessed
with the film Frozen and will be dressing as Elsa so please avoid dressing
Abigail this way if you were going to. As for the present anything creative or
Frozen would be fine. Thanks'
In the time it took for me to smile, sit down and take a
generous gulp of my tea, my smug world had been destroyed in one very
informative and ambiguous message! Not only am I now tasked with finding
another outfit, I have to tell Abigail that she cannot wear her beloved Elsa
dress and I have to use the ambiguous present information to source a gift!
Creative or Frozen...to be honest I am thinking a packet of Birdseye's green
pellets would definitely be unexpected?!
Putting aside the dress situation I am thinking gift, gift,
gift.....
•how much do you spend on a gift?
•what if it’s not suitable for her daughter?
•what if her daughter doesn't like it?
•what if her daughter thinks it’s boring?
•what if I duplicate something she has already?
•why are my thoughts in bullet point format...?
When I first became a Dad I thought I had prepared myself
for most situations (first day of school, learning to swim/ride a bike, first
boyfriend(never going to happen) etc) but where was the book/advice/blog about
this! Starting to be overcome with stress and doubt I am glad I am sat down for
this! I decide enough is enough, pull yourself together or just man up!
At this point I do what any self-respecting father would
do.....panicking I go and explain the disaster to Renata (my lovely partner if
you skipped my intro). Renata smiles, shakes her head and utters...
"Alice in Wonderland dress in the wardrobe and Frozen
art set I bought earlier on the kitchen table". Walking away she turns and
smiles with a smugness at my knowledge that she will win most arguments for
the next few months!
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