Amayzine

The birthday parties of the past

By Wieke Veenboer | #!30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:004730#30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:00-10Europe/Amsterdam3030Europe/Amsterdam202330 27am30am-30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:0010Europe/Amsterdam3030Europe/Amsterdam2023302023Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +02004510454amThursday=9#!30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam4#04-27-2023#!30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:004730#/30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:00-10Europe/Amsterdam3030Europe/Amsterdam202330#!30Thu, 27 Apr 2023 10:45:47 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam4#

If there's one thing I hate, it's celebrating my birthday. It always stresses me out, and often I find it so obligatory: as if you have to do something on or with your birthday. No, it was different back then; I could look forward to my birthday party so much. From swimming to bowling or even a sleepover; it was all so amazing. And when I talk about it with friends, it turns out that everyone had the same birthday parties. Yes, so you will probably recognize this from the past, those good old days.

Side note: how fun would it be to organize such a party now? Complete with invitations and all, mysterious hints about what the activity will be, and of course handing out on your birthday.

1. ‘I'm not saying what we're going to do, but bring your swim gear.’
YES. Swimming it is. Everyone immediately understood this mysterious sentence, but that wasn't a problem: especially not when it turned out you were going to the amazing Tikibad.

2. ‘You'll be picked up and brought back home afterwards.’
And your parents letting out a sigh of relief. How nice were those parties for them too? Your child just being away for a day and probably coming back exhausted: what a relaxation.

3. ‘Will I get the invitation?’
The rumor that someone was throwing a party always spread like wildfire around the schoolyard or classroom. Someone had already received the invitation, of course written with a glitter pen. Will you get it too? You spent the whole day in suspense.

4. The party naturally started with handing out in class.
At my school, the party was traditionally celebrated after your birthday. On your actual birthday, you would hand out and the teacher often asked what you were going to do for your party. This was also the painful moment when you could find out that you wouldn't receive an invitation anymore.

5. And a little about that handing out...
My friends sometimes tell me that in 2023 they weren't allowed to hand out unhealthy things at school anymore. Well, you should have tried that in my class. Did you hand out fruit? Sorry, but then you really wouldn't be cool for the next few weeks. Chips and licorice, that's what we wanted to see, and as much as possible too.

6. Sleepovers
Yesss, those were really awesome. And we stayed up so late, wow. We would brag about it to our parents the next day, ‘because at so-and-so's we were allowed to stay up until eleven o'clock.’ We thought we had a strong negotiating position, but unfortunately: we really couldn't get that bedtime through at home.