Party planners

Having hosted a party for twenty or so up at Fairmilehead Church last year we were keen that this year's party for Sean would be a lower key affair. To that end, he was asked to invite seven friends to the house for a Halloween birthday party. Blair, Ross, Alex, Phoebe, Callum, Sarah and Lewis came in a variety of fancy dresses, with Sean making up a quartet of skeletons. Finn dressed to impress as a bespectacled vampire (an outfit bought for, but rejected by, Rowan) while Rowan was dressed as Woody from Toy Story - an "evil cowboy" was the only Halloween slant we could put on that.

Thankfully the weather was good, so we were able to start proceedings in the garden with some dodge the ball and a treasure hunt with me, as Grim Reaper, directing operations. Some indoor milling and running about followed. with musical statues and the like and Finn getting increasingly fraught because people weren't doing what he wanted to do. I took him outside for a sneaky snack and a Grim Reaper-Dracula kickabout.

A mountain of food was demolished as pizzas, sausage rolls, carrot sticks and corn on the cob disppeared, with the cakes not lasting much longer. The it was outside for dodge the ball in the dark which seemed to go down well and without major mishap despite me smacking into branches of the trees and tripping over the stump-cum-bed by the trampoline. Finally we ushered everyone inside to watch the Scooby-Doo movie and consume popcorn. I'd hate to have to tidy a cinema judging by the state of the carpet afterwards.

Seven seven-year olds for four and a half hours may have been a tall order but we survived. Thanks have to go to Alison for providing the Halloween decorations and garb.

Sean's actual birthday, two days later on the Monday, was a quieter affair, not least because I was in Cannes. I was back in time for Rowan's third birthday, which he mostly spent at nursery. only opening one present and not showing much enthusiasm for opening more. He had a small party on the Saturday, with Duncan and Sandy his only peers, but Rory and Ross made up the numbers along with his brothers. We didn't make much of an effort, all told, settling for musical statues, a run-about and dance and a birthday tea.

Finn was at Zoe's birthday party at Gorgie City Farm the day after Sean's party but it poured with rain. Finn predictably kept his distance from the animals and fell in a puddle, but still claimed to enjoy himself.

Sean was pleased with his big City Lego set we got him and doubled up by buying another at Toys'R'Us with some of his birthday and "wedding" money. It may be time to dust off my Lego from the attic. I took him on his shopping trip after a nice wee lunch with him in Victor Hugo's, which was to compensate for being away on his birthday.

Rowan's main presents were Playmobil which I bought in France and jigsaws. Rowan doesn't quite have the same materialistic streak as Sean. Yet. Neither does Finn, who regularly says things like, "if Santa brings me blah, then I'll give it to you Sean," assuming Sean has just stated a desire to have blah (or more likely blah and blah and blah) as gifts. He's got a very generous nature, Finn, but can then turn round and snatch stuff off Rowan. Sometimes it's not worth trying to figure them all out.