Mario Party

Last month my Book Club read Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin.  I was sitting by the fire one evening, curled up with my kindle when Z came and sat beside me.  "What are you reading?"  he asked.  I told him the name of the book to which he said, "What's it about?".  I explained that it was about ways to make your home a happier place to be.  I then had a question, so I put my book down and asked Z, "What would make your home happier".  He looked at me thoughtfully and answered, "Having a Party, Living Room Surfing with Daddy and playing Super Mario Galaxy with Daddy."  I smiled and thought about his answers.

The last two items on Z's happier at home list were completed by the end of the weekend.  The first consumed my thoughts for the rest of the weekend.  It was not even close to his birthday, what reason could we pick to celebrate?  I didn't want an expensive or crazy affair, just something simple.  That is when I thought about aligning it with my dad's send off dinner.  My dad does a yearly Rotary Service Project and we usually gather the weekend before to see him before he goes.  The dinner is a low key event (just family) and so I told Z about my idea.  He quickly jumped on board and by the end of lunch had a guest list, menu, decorations and activities planned (he is my son!).  

The theme was Super Mario Galaxy.  He created the decorations (with very little help), goody bags (made from stuff around the house), helped cook, helped clean and planned out a few fun activities.  He put so much thought, time and effort into this party and it ended up being a really fun night.  We invited the family to dress up as their favorite Mario Characters and just about everyone did!  Scott and I were Koopa Troopers, Mom and Z were Mario, Dad was Luigi, my sister Kristen was a mushroom and my niece G and Lil'C were Princess Peach.  

I was so proud of Z, the perfect party host.  At the end of the night Z, Scott and I were sitting on the couch, completely exhausted.  I looked over at Z and asked if he enjoyed the party.  He said that it was GREAT!  I then asked him if it made him Happier at Home....he said it definitely did!  Mission Accomplished :)