birthday gifts that give back

Emerson turned 5 in April.  Since this is a boy who has everything a kid could ever dream of having (yay for him) his parents asked that we not bring gifts (a move I admire and have wanted to pull but have feared retribution).

I told Ella we would, instead, give the gift of time and fun in the form of an outing of her choosing.  She literally said, "Huh?  You mean no present?  But presents are the best part of a birthday!"  thus ruining the possibility of me ever requesting this of her party goers.  I explained that Mindy and Charissa had suggested this.  "BUT DOES HE EVEN KNOW?!" was her burning question.

So we wrapped up a coupon for a trip to the park and ice cream. ( I was shocked she turned down a trip to the movies.) We were envisioning shorts and t-shirts, dripping ice cream and running free in the sunshine.  Instead we got rain and cold.  We opted for ice cream sundaes at home and a trip to the bowling alley.

(That is make-up Maya applied to her face for the occasion.)

Melty ice cream called for extreme measures.

Honestly, I have no idea what was so funny.

All sugared up (and in need of major dental work) we went on to bowling.

This shot was taken just before Emerson went crashing to the ground on top of the spiny stool.  He got up, shrugged and said, "I just like to play around."

These kids were just REALLY excited to be bowling.

And why wouldn't they be?  With bumper lanes and launching ramp, they got a strike nearly every turn.

Are you able to fully appreciate Ella's bowling outfit?  She said she thought she would like the bowling shoes this time since last time she stepped foot in a bowling alley (for a birthday party) she didn't bowl because the shoes were too ugly.  True story.

High Ten!!! Another strike people!!

Alas, we had lots of fun although Maya did have some grips about being carded when she sat at the bar and left saying something about a "strongly worded letter."  You can't please them all.

My vote is we consider the non-material gift more.  It's environmentally conscious (no plastic junk), it's about quality rather than quantity and well, it's just plain fun!