My 18th Birthday Cake The Xavierite
When we were young the possibilities of birthday party themes were endless. Party City was and is still filled with decorations for any occasion. They even include character sections with their faces plastered on plates and cups.
Today, it’s rare to find an adult in that section buying for themselves. I believe they should turn their cart into those aisles and make every one of their birthdays lively.
When I was four, I sat and fluffed up my baby blue dress. I had adjusted my tiara and tried holding back my excitement while waiting for my aunt to finish my makeup. I believe I made a pretty good princess. I even had the curtsy down.
My mom tried her best to make me feel like a princess. She decked the house in beautiful streamers, Disney princess cutouts, and plastic tiaras.
Even though I was small, I still remember the smallest details. I walked across the red carpet my mom laid out, posing with my hands on my hips. I had no care in the world, I was the belle of the ball.
I remember wanting everyone else to dress up as princesses, so they could feel special too.
For a good couple of years, princess-themed birthday parties had a grip on me. At some point I probably dressed as all of the Disney princesses.
From then on, every birthday party I had was carefully planned. My mom and I would spend time together figuring out the specifics of each piece of decor, down to the flowers, vases, and the color of the tablecloth.
I would think months beforehand about what to do. The party usually ended up being based around my favorite character or I’d get creative and make something up. Either way, I always enjoyed brainstorming the endless possibilities.
After I turned thirteen, I had stopped putting in as much effort. I chose a color for all my decorations and called it a day, just like all of my siblings and friends.
I never realized that we had stopped putting so much creativity into our birthdays. Until recently, when I asked my friend Citlali about her most vivid birthday.
She said, “My most memorable birthday was when I turned six, because my birthday party theme was Monster High! I was so obsessed with the Monster High movies and I was so excited to dress up as Draculaura.”
Monster High was a franchise of movies about the teenage children of mythical creatures and monsters. The main characters followed the daughters of Frankenstein, Dracula and Cleopatra.
Hearing about this made me realize the knack I lost for making my parties something more than simple streamers and banners.
As I got older, I believed it would make me seem childish. I assumed that since I was getting older I should act like it. I thought being an adult meant I had to be serious and leave behind all the playful bones in my body.
Turns out, I had it all wrong. You should fill your birthday with people you love and things that interest you. You only turn that age once, so you should make it memorable and fun.
These are milestones that should be appreciated in the biggest way possible. Take it as a chance to keep your inner child and let your imagination run loose.
Getting artsy and creative shouldn’t stop when we reach adolescence. It shouldn’t be considered childish to want to make your birthday Spider-Man or dinosaur-themed. It doesn’t even have to be based on a character either.
You can base it on something you love and use it as a chance to show your personality. You shouldn’t feel held back by anything that feels childish, because sometimes we need moments of playfulness.
As we get older, responsibilities and stress only compounds. We can get caught up in everyday life, but we still need moments to center ourselves.