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It was the Mister’s birthday last week. 5 golden years, how quickly they’ve gone. I can still remember the day he was born. I’d snuggled him close to my chest and that evening asked the nurse if all seemed OK. He hadn’t made a peep. Just slept and ate, slept and ate. In hindsight I should have recognized a little personality in the making: easygoing, not one to make a fuss.

It was with this no-nonsense attitude that he tagged along to Lauren’s doctor’s visit the day before his birthday. The older kids were off school that day, and it was a perfect opportunity to spend a few hours in Central Park…

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central_park_oreo_sam_birthday_FeedMeDearly

Eating Oreos. While wearing a Mustache sweater. It is Movember after all.

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Maybe one day his grill will look like that. For now we’ll chalk it up to a good case of Oreo teeth.

Central Park is so pretty at this time of year…..

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Did you know that wild cats live in the Park? Sam found a leopard and stalked it…

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I’ll be the first to admit that throwing a Movember party for a kids’ birthday party isn’t the most conventional idea. But in a bind, you go for the path of least resistance. This year, it was mustaches.

Let’s back up and talk for a minute about birthday parties. I don’t throw them often, generally speaking. We do celebrate our kids’ birthdays every year with close family, a homemade cake, a few thoughtful gifts, but I have a policy of not throwing over-the-top birthday bashes for my kids every year. Raising three kids is a marathon event, and if I’m sprinting every year, I don’t know if I’ll make it to the finish line. I should say that I will make it, but it won’t look pretty. 

But once the kids turn 4 and are able to appreciate a birthday party of their own, we celebrate with friends. And they can do a more involved party like this every other year. It keeps me sane and it keeps it special for them.

They’re still smallish get-togethers, nothing lavish, no banquet halls, no DJ, no bouncy castles or ride-on-ponies. But they should be something memorable. 

This year it was Sam’s turn. He turned 4 last week, and in anticipation of the event, I asked him what kind of party he wanted to throw.

“A Halloween birthday.”

“Hm, Halloween was last week, are you sure?”

“Yes.”

He seemed pretty excited about the dress up element. That, I could keep. The orange and black, maybe not.

Which is how we ended up with this: a Movember birthday party. Dress up, funny mustaches, treats, it checked all the major boxes. And the best part was that Sam loved the idea. I mean what’s not to love with mustaches?

So here you go, in 8 easy steps, how to throw a festive Movember birthday party:

1. Shop

Getting ready to party

2. Frost, glaze, dip

Frosted everything

3. Dress to impress

sam hair

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