We don't host a party for our kids every year on their birthday, so on the "off" years we just invite family over to celebrate. But because we live so far away from family, Lucy decided to adopt four of our favourite South African families and invite them over for her "family" party.The way birthdays seem to work over here is that you just invite people over on a particular day to share some coffee and cake. Throughout the day, people trickle in and out, visit for a while, and then go on with their day. We ended up hosting people for over five hours, much longer than an "official" birthday party would have been, but it was relaxed and nice to visit with people one-on-one.
I am slowly getting it into my thick skull that South Africans are a relational people. It's not so much about schedules or official time tables... it's about slowing down and enjoying some good coffee with friends (and the good coffee is at our house, so we are guaranteed lots of opportunities to host our friends and adopted family).
Lucy's party wasn't really a party at all, but it was one of the best birthday celebrations ever. We got to connect - really connect - with some of our favourite people. I think I like birthday celebrations in South Africa better.
2 comments:
That sounds really good. On Hawaii we call it, "Talking story," just taking time to share.
I think it depends on different people. When my kids were little - [under 9's]we used to have about 10-15 little ones running around the party table and it was nice for the mums to sit and watch the kids playing, but to come together and have some nice chats and that was sometimes the "catch-up" time too. Some prefer to take the bunch of kids to McDonalds and places like that and the mums can sit peacefully and enjoy themselves while kids enjoy the "outdoor" of McDonalds [jungle-gym - as we used to call the climbing frames etc], but as you say, you have it on and off...
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