who comes?we live in holland one month before tally's second birthday, england one month before joe's fifth birthday. not exactly enough time to develop relationships. fortunately grammy and gramps make the trek to holland for both tally's second and third birthdays and joe's fourth.
differences in the ways birthdays are celebrated in cultures also make a difference in how we choose to celebrate them.
in the uk, birthday parties are enormous affairs. the children's guidebooks have pages of listings for entertainers. there are fairy-for-a-dy parties. magician parties. construction parties. the mind reels. entire school classes are invited. a party joe attends later this week has no less than sixty invitees. we decide that taking the family to eurodisneyland for a weekend for his fifth probably involves less effort and expense!
in holland, birthday parties are intimate affairs. the celebrants wear paper crowns created by hand, announcing their age, no matter what that may be, and their dining chair is decorated with paper slingertjes, mini-flags and balloons. the taart is served and the songs are sung as soon as all guests arrive. adult guests then eat, drink and mingle, the children play, and everyone goes home when they please.
even though i take an hour-long train ride to utrecht to pick up tally's third birthday cake from a baker that makes north american style buttercream frosting, the children prefer dutch taart --essentially layers and layers of slagroom (freshly whipped cream) over another creamed filling or fruit, all loaded in a pie shell.
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