Preschoolies. The Festival of Five.

May the record state that I’m not one for doing things in half measures. It’s Saturday night at SSG Manor 2.0 and we have collectively survived Preschoolies aka the last birthday party of the year at preschool aka Preschooler SSG’s Festival of Five. Perhaps I’m being a bit melodramatic because technically, SSG Manor 2.0 didn’t have to survive much because the party wasn’t held within its oldish walls. But I digress.

My recovery has so far involved an ’emergency’ run to Woolies for some Morning Fresh before I followed the herd next door to Dan Murphy’s where the mood was festive and the approach to shopping ‘go hard or go home’. Which is how I came to buy ‘Paris’ and ‘New York’ one of which is definitely a gift while the other (New York, of course) is going to look rather special on my mantelpiece.

I’ve actioned a favourite lemon cheesecake for my work Christmas lunch tomorrow using Santa approved biscuit crumbs for the base. As well as a cheeky quarter cup of brown sugar to give those crumbs a golden lustre and swoon worthy scent.

I’ve also been living the dream in a contradictory way after a dinner of leftover (but excellent) catering sandwiches from the party and birthday cake which I ate while sipping peppermint tea and contemplating my next Lulu Lemon order. They I say that party food is a kind of truth serum that helps the mind see its true self more clearly (through the haze of refined sugars and bad fats). Readers, my true self has been revealed to me tonight. I really am an activewear loving mummy. The focus of my entire summer break wardrobe will be my exponentially growing Lulu collection. No longer will I be in a position to silently roll my eyes or pass judgment on the women around me who are in their activewear at the shops without any evidence of their recently being at the gym or on their way to one because I’m afraid these women are my sisters and we need to lean in.

Moving right along and back to the Festival of Five. The first rule of F of F is that one should never knowingly under-lolly the homemade birthday cake. Not just because my homemade birthday cakes tend to bake to a high dome and thus do not stack perfectly on the cake board but also because lollies and rich chocolate butter frosting are life and the only parts of the cake preschoolers eat.

One should also go nuts with candles, sparklers and an eclectic cohort of Ooshies as cake toppers. Those things that look like neon brains along the borders of the cake are actually fruit flavoured clouds.

Due to some superior scheduling, we found ourselves with an hour to spare before we were due to drive to the play centre. You’re obviously thinking what I’m thinking. What better way to while away the time than with a few paper plan races in the lounge room using planes you’ve folded together from this excellent boxed sets of pre-printed and patterned plane papers.

It was a slightly tense drive as I tried my best not to ruin the cake. The traffic moved so slowly that perhaps I didn’t really need that bendy Ikea laundry basket to protect the cake after all but it was handly to carry the cake into the venue.

I barely had time to celebrate successfully getting to Alexandria while bypassing the Eastern Distributor before it was party time.

With orange wrist bands on, Preschooler SSG and his fellow Preschoolies jumped, bounced, climbed, ran and shrieked non stop for a good hour before having to be called unwillingly to lunch which required them to do none of these things.

I took note of the advice of our staff member who suggested cutting the cake a mere 20 minutes into lunch because she could sense the restless feet. She was right.

We barely had time to light the candles and sing before they were out the door and back onto the play equipment.

And now we are home. Preschooler SSG fell asleep the moment his head hit his pillow. The loungeroom floor is a maze of gifts. The recycling bin is comfortably full. I’m heading to bed myself armed with happy memories of today as well as a phone full of photos and lovely messages from the other parents at the party who were so kind in helping where they could and being such great company for the afternoon.

Until next year and its Festival of Six…

Sydney Shop Girl

Preschoolies. The Festival of Five.

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