I guess I’m only fertile one time a year.

My first kid was born on Thanksgiving five years ago and the second was due on Christmas two years ago. But she came three weeks early. So I have two kids with birthdays two weeks apart.

Last year I held two separate parties so that my oldest, William, who has bright red hair and the personality to go with it, wouldn’t steal his sister’s thunder on her first birthday. That went well, but it meant I had to drag family together on Thanksgiving, then William’s birthday a week later, then Alli’s birthday two weeks after that and Christmas just three weeks after that.

It was too much.

So this year, I combined the parties. One venue, one date in the church fellowship hall with ride-on toys and a small bounce house. Makes sense, right? Yes, but there were a few glitches in the dual birthday party that I would try to fix next time around.

First off, I would put both kids’ names on all the invitations. For the invitations, I picked a generic “It’s a party!” card that would work for both kids. I sent only William's name to William’s classmates and baseball teammates – no mention of Alli - and I put both kids’ names on the invitations going to family and friends. I figured William’s friends’ parents - even those who don't even know that William has a sister - would feel obligated to get her something, which wasn’t necessary. But that didn’t go over well. When a few parents, specifically those from the baseball team who did know Alli, showed up and saw her birthday get-up, they felt bad that they had nothing for her.

Secondly, I would re-evaluate the cake situation. I ordered two cakes with individual themes – a Norfolk Southern electric train cake for William and an Elmo cake for Alli. The decorations went just as planned: black and white balloons around the Norfolk Southern train cake at one table and primary color balloons around the Elmo cake on another table. But it turned out to be way too much cake. We served up all the Norfolk Southern cake and didn’t even touch Elmo. And they were the same flavor. I should’ve ordered chocolate for one and vanilla for the other for variety. And each cake cost nearly $30!

The celebration went well, with “happy birthday” sung to Alli first and then William immediately after, and the kids loved singing it twice. We had William open his gifts first, since Alli didn’t really know the difference, being only two, and then she opened hers.

While the party went well overall, I think next year I’ll separate them again.

The main reason is because, unlike this year, Alli will have friends next year when she’s three, and those girls would rather play pin the tiara on the princess instead of impromptu WWE matches. Another reason is because it was absurd to watch five-year-olds riding hot wheels with their knees hitting the handlebars in our church’s little fellowship hall. That worked for two years, but William has officially outgrown it.

With 11 months to go until the next parties, I’m already scouting locations, and by August I’ll have both themes picked out. After all, who doesn’t love a party, especially a well-planned and executed one?

Cindy F. Crawford is the editor of a news publication in Birmingham, Ala., and the proud parent of two spirited young children.

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