We celebrated Juliana’s birthday today by having 22 girls over for two hours. Luckily there wasn’t any drama and I think they all had fun. We asked every girl to bring a gift for under 10 euros. Then we did a white elephant style gift exchange where they all brought gifts and could steal from each other or pick a new gift, until all the gifts were unwrapped. A gift could only be transferred three times and then it had a permanent owner. Some of the popular gifts include OPI nail polish, a disco lamp, glass jars with candy and a polka dotted wallet. At first the girls were very hesitant to steal, not wanting to make each other mad. But once they got into it, the laughter and screaming and stealing got very exciting.

We had a photo booth set up with props to change into, and took pictures of all the guests with Juliana. We then projected the pictures onto Apple TV so everyone could see themselves during the party. At one point, our little rascal Charlie decided to high jack the Apple TV and projected his iPod music and Shut Up app onto the tv. I thought this was hilarious, but Juliana didn’t find it very funny.

We made and served April’s chocolate cake ad frosting and it was so deliciously moist and yummy!

We sang happy birthday in three languages – English, Dutch and Chinese. One party guest is moving to Japan in a couple weeks. Two others are moving back to the states at the end of school. Everyone has a unique story and it was so fun to see all these girls together.

Before everyone left, the girls all did the Haarlem Shake and we took a group photo. And after they went home, we cleaned up again and I made the kids one of their favorite dinners – a chicken and veggie noodle stir fry dish. Jeff and I then headed out for some adult conversation with two other couples to celebrate a birthday. I love birthdays and celebrating loved ones. Tonight we went around the table and did a roast to the party guest! He said it was like having a live obituary. I think everyone should know how they are loved and admired while they are alive, even if it does feel a bit weird. Why should we be afraid of compliments? When its your turn, soak in all the acknowledgements and praise and celebrate wonderful you!