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We had to postpone ARR's birthday - he was also out of school for a solid week and a half with the Flu from Hell. But fortunately, all the kids were able to make our rescheduled party today.
Airspaniel had sent us a giant box of Pokemon swag a month or so back, so we had a Pokeparty. Which was a wild success. As I told her, we did a Pokemon tournament - every kid got their own starter deck from the box o'wonders, we taught everyone to play, and then they got to play each other. Plus, they all got booster packs as their goody bags. So now ARR has five friends who both know how to play the game and also have a playable deck. (Several other parents expressed gratitude - at this point, half the kids already have cards, but they're totally random cards. None of them or their parents knew how to play and none of them had a deck that actually works, so everyone has been facing a nightmare of Pokemon-Calvinball as the kids make up incomprehensible games and force parents to play them.) So we can now have Pokemon playdates involving actual games where no one argues over the rules and then cries.
Chuckro and I had also come up with some additional party games. We had a bunch of Pokemon coloring sheets when people came in and when they finished their game. We had a scavenger hunt - Chuckro took more of the booster packs and hid the cards all over the basement and gave them a checklist to collaborate on. (Stuff like "find a full evolution sequence" and "find a grass type" and "find someone with X move".) We also had a "Trainer Says" game, which was "Simon Says" only all the motions were Pokemon moves. And Pokemon bingo. I made a Pikachu cake that wasn't perfect but was recognizable and ARR was thrilled.
So that went smashingly well. A total triumph. I've basically barely interacted with my kid for like a month, given the lead up to the conference, and the conference, and then two weeks of illness. So it was really really nice to have something go well, and to actually hang out with him being fun Mommy again, and for everyone to be happy. Success.
Airspaniel had sent us a giant box of Pokemon swag a month or so back, so we had a Pokeparty. Which was a wild success. As I told her, we did a Pokemon tournament - every kid got their own starter deck from the box o'wonders, we taught everyone to play, and then they got to play each other. Plus, they all got booster packs as their goody bags. So now ARR has five friends who both know how to play the game and also have a playable deck. (Several other parents expressed gratitude - at this point, half the kids already have cards, but they're totally random cards. None of them or their parents knew how to play and none of them had a deck that actually works, so everyone has been facing a nightmare of Pokemon-Calvinball as the kids make up incomprehensible games and force parents to play them.) So we can now have Pokemon playdates involving actual games where no one argues over the rules and then cries.
Chuckro and I had also come up with some additional party games. We had a bunch of Pokemon coloring sheets when people came in and when they finished their game. We had a scavenger hunt - Chuckro took more of the booster packs and hid the cards all over the basement and gave them a checklist to collaborate on. (Stuff like "find a full evolution sequence" and "find a grass type" and "find someone with X move".) We also had a "Trainer Says" game, which was "Simon Says" only all the motions were Pokemon moves. And Pokemon bingo. I made a Pikachu cake that wasn't perfect but was recognizable and ARR was thrilled.
So that went smashingly well. A total triumph. I've basically barely interacted with my kid for like a month, given the lead up to the conference, and the conference, and then two weeks of illness. So it was really really nice to have something go well, and to actually hang out with him being fun Mommy again, and for everyone to be happy. Success.
