Nathan's 8th Birthday Party

Nathan turns eight in just a few days. I can't believe it! He's planning a VERY special day for his actual birthday, but we celebrated with his friends a few days early. This year he wanted a smaller "big kid" party. Actually he really wanted a sleepover, but I just wasn't quite ready for that birthday milestone, so we compromised and invited his friends over for an evening of pizza, ice cream and boy time. This was our first "friend" party. We didn't invite family or even little siblings. And the parents just dropped off their boys and then picked them up at the end of the party. So weird! But the boys all had a blast- and it was so easy for me, well except for trying to supervise so no one broke a bone, ha!

I did very little decorating or prep, but I did make some Lego gummies that are always a hit at birthday parties. I had to hid them from the boys during the party, ha!

We'll be out of town on Nathan's actual birthday, so we let him open his present from us right before his party. He was a very happy boy! I love how much he loves Legos.

The boys arrived and immediately went after the gummies.

I didn't plan any activities for the evening- just the food. Nathan wanted to play outside, play legos, watch a show and eat pizza and ice cream, and that's mostly what they did.

They were playing tag, but somehow everyone was also throwing toys around too. Boys :)

They also went upstairs and looked at Nathan's Legos for awhile.

A couple of the boys were late because of soccer practice, so once they arrived they sat down to eat pizza. I made them take a group picture first. Nathan invited four friends from church, three boys from his class, and one family friend. They are all such a GREAT group of boys. I'm so, so grateful he has made good friends and especially that he has such a good group of friends at church. I hope they always stay close friends as they grow up.

Eating, laughing, and burping. Boys!

After dinner they all ran back outside for awhile and then came in to watch a show. They watched an episode of Ninjago and then were ready for ice cream sundaes.

Nathan's not a huge fan of cake. He'd much prefer ice cream, so that's what we had to celebrate.

After ice cream Nathan opened his presents. He got some great new Lego sets, nerf guns, a Harry Potter blanket and gift cards. His friends know him well.

After presents, the boys mainly hung out upstairs. A group of them played Mario Kart and some played Legos in Nathan's room. They were all so easy going and found things they enjoyed playing. Much less drama than I'm anticipating at my girls' eight year old parties.

Near the end of the party, Nathan opened one of his new sets and his friends helped him work on it.

We asked the parents to pick up their boys at 9:00. They were all sad to go. Nathan said he had so much fun at his party. I'm so glad. He's so big but also just the sweetest kid I know. It's such a joy to celebrate him!