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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask you to please help me with ideas for my dd’s 2nd birthday celebrations

16 replies

Dumptyhumpty101 · 17/12/2019 07:55

I’m a known overthinker so have no doubt that’s what I’m doing here but I just don’t know what to do for my dd’s 2nd birthday which is on 2nd Jan.

Last year I ended up doing a soft play party I didn’t really want to do as I had no other ideas.

Ideally I would just host a little tea party at our house and then take her to peppa pig world for the day but neither of them are possible. Our house is too small, 3 additional adults would fill the house let alone needing space for children running around and peppa pig world isn’t even open in January.

Other ideas which have been suggested are taking her out for the day, but I just don’t know where. Zoos will be too cold, she’s been to the aquarium twice and actually hates it. She does like the local trampoline centre but I’d only want to take her to the parent & toddler session and that means her older cousin wouldn’t be able to come. Is that mean to book something one cousin couldn’t attend?

So please help me with ideas on what I should do.

OP posts:

marchingonwithmother · 17/12/2019 07:57

The cinema often have toddler showings. I'd take her and cousins to that and then lunch, McDonald's? If you really have to, on 2nd January I think I'd just whip down the tree and replace it with party banners etc

Sleepingboy · 17/12/2019 08:03

Give her a new toy and cake and sing happy birthday. She wont care nor remember anything else!

Shoppingwithmother · 17/12/2019 08:03

Why don’t you just do something nice with her that she likes to do. You don’t really need to have parties with loads of additional people and children for a 2 year old.

AudacityOfHope · 17/12/2019 08:07

I would probably do a carpet picnic (my kids loved that!) and cake and leave it at that. No need for any more at 2, they don't have a clue.

bookmum08 · 17/12/2019 08:19

As someone has already suggested something like going to Mcdonalds (or wherever they find exciting to eat in - my girl liked cafe nero or Sainsburys cafe when younger). At 2 they aren't fussed. Cake, a tube of smarties - that's all they need.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 17/12/2019 08:23

Our local park cafe offers to do children’s parties - just food and then they play in the playground but appreciate it’s hard in January.
Just find a child friendly cafe you can use a corner of for a tea party.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 17/12/2019 08:24

how many kids OP?

SlayingDragons · 17/12/2019 08:27

We did Balloons, Bubbles and Birthday Cake for all of our DC’s 2nd birthdays. (We did it for DC1 and it worked so well it kind of became a family tradition.)

It was super low key - we just invited people over between 2pm-5pm and people were welcome to come for as long or short a time as they pleased. Some people came in and stayed for an hour, others just popped in for 15min en route to somewhere else.

We had balloons aplenty, a bubble machine blowing bubbles at the front door (just a cheap thing that I think came from ELC), cupcakes rather than 1 big cake (to save on having to do a big blow out the candle/cut the cake moment - we just did that earlier with just us), and fizz (alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties available) for adults.

Everyone who came was offered a cupcake and a drink and every child who came took a balloon and a tub of bubbles home with them.

Our house was small at the time we had DC1 and we explained to people that was the reason for having almost like an open house rather than 1 big party. People respected it, and understood that we wanted to see them and host them but it wasn’t possible to have everyone at once. TBH I think most people were quite glad that they got to do their friendship duty (we had no family near us) without having to give up an entire afternoon.

Vanillaradio · 17/12/2019 08:28

Honestly at 2 I wouldnt have a party as such or invite people over. Just take her out somewhere- if she likes the trampoline centre just go there, give smaller cousins option if meeting you if they want. You may find there are other things still open winding down their Christmas events - e.g we took ds to a reindeer farm on New Years day a couple of years ago and the children's farm by us is open. Somewhere with outdoor bits which is smallish especially with a cafe/ outdoor play area won't necessarily be too cold.

Rainallnight · 17/12/2019 08:30

I’m with lots of PPs - keep it low key. She won’t really know. At that age, we did cake and presents with our lovely neighbour and maybe one friend. By all means take her somewhere she’d find fun - she probably wouldn’t mind the cold if you did go to the zoo?

Lots of years ahead for crazy parties!

DappledThings · 17/12/2019 08:43

DD is 2 next week. We are going to a NT place that's got a Tiger Who Came to Tea trail and dress up thing on. Just a fairly normal day out really. Cold weather isnt a problem with the right clothes!

It's about halfway between us and PIL somtjey are meeting us there. My parents can't make it. Will make a cake to have later.

Gatehouse77 · 17/12/2019 08:48

At 2 years old I wouldn't get too het up about 'doing' something as she won't remember and won't be aware that the day is any different.

Could you arrange to meet friends at a coffee shop and do cake there?

Original poster

Dumptyhumpty101 · 17/12/2019 09:25

You’re all right about keeping it low key, that’s exactly what I want. I want to just have a little gathering at home with a cake but our house is just too small. Think small Victorian terrace house with a living room with only space for a 2 seater sofa. Dining room with space for a small 4 seater table. I attempted to have 3 friends with their 3 children round once and it was carnage.

Instead of this I want to just say we are doing this if you’d like to join us but I just don’t know what. As rightly or wrongly I’d like it to be exciting for her.

She has 3 friends we play with every week and then 4 cousins, all similar age except one slightly older cousin who I would be expected to invite along.

OP posts:

AudacityOfHope · 17/12/2019 13:43

Honestly, save all that stuff for age 4/5!

Two year olds don't know or care about birthday celebrations!

charm8ed · 17/12/2019 13:51

Are there any small halls or function rooms nearby you could hire for a couple of hours. I’ve been to lots of toddler parties in hired rooms, the birthday parents take along lots of toys for all the DC to play with and have a little picnic or birthday buffet. You could have some music and a birthday cake.

Shoppingwithmother · 17/12/2019 19:25

I honestly think seven children is too many for a 2 yr old’s party. If you’ve got a little group of friends you do things with then just go with them to a place your daughter enjoys, be it a play barn or whatever. You don’t need to invite all the cousins etc. She probably won’t even play with any of the other children or care who’s there but she may actively not like too many people at once.

She won’t really even know what a birthday is properly and I really don’t think many people get offended by not being invited to a 2 year old’s party (more likely relieved!)

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