- 2 hour delivery in Lagos
If you’ve ever planned a kid’s birthday party, you’ll understand when I say: It’s those beautiful, messy moments - when laughter and chaos collide—that remind you why you do this.
Ziya turned four last week, and naturally, she wanted an Elsa-themed party. Great! I sent out invites, ordered icy-blue snowflake everything, and even practiced my best “Let It Go” humming in the shower. And then, two days later: “Mama, I want a Mickey and Minnie Mouse party instead.”
Now, a saner person might say no. But me? I nodded, smiled, and started over. New theme, new invites (with a lot of help from my sister-in-law), new cake ideas. I got messages from other parents praising me for “really listening” to her. What they didn’t see was me at midnight, panic-ordering Minnie & Mickey Mouse headbands & paper napkins and hoping Amazon Prime or Temu would come through.
This year, we hosted the party at Funville - a big shift for us, since we usually do birthdays at home. But after last year’s glitter explosion that took a week to clean up, I decided it was time to reclaim our house and let someone else tackle the post-party mayhem.
There was a never-ending to-do list: Minnie-themed decor, return gifts, coordinating cupcakes, food for kids, food for adults, drinks for everyone—including me (because, priorities). Let’s not forget entertainment for older kids, a safe space for babies like Zayn, and somewhere the grown-ups could sip juice boxes pretending it was wine.
At one point, I looked around to see kids turning my husband into a princess at the make-up/spa station, an ice-cream epidemic at the self-serve freezer, and my little one taking all the cups off the tables—all while we were still setting up for dinner.
Was it exhausting? Yes. Will I do it all again next year? Also yes. Because amidst the madness, Ziya’s smile made it all worth it. She told her dad and I this was her best party yet! (But next year, we’re going with a theme locked two months in advance. Maybe.)
