When I look back at my birthday’s through the years I remember lots and lots of restaurants. Though they’ve been fun and filled with laughter (a requirement to be my friend is to be a good laugh er) it hasn’t always been the best environment for someone like me who has struggled with weight.
While most parties are expected to have food, cake, sweets and all things “indulgent” I want to recommend a potentially new option for the adult party. You see them all the time for children but for some reason and somewhere in between childhood and adulthood most of us make a switch. What am I talking about? The activity parties. While it might be funny to imagine yourself at a Chuck E. Cheese for your 40th birthday I am not actually suggesting that. I am however saying that activity parties are my new “thing”. For the last couple of years for my birthday I have planned parties around an activity. (Full disclosure there has always still been a cake) I have done bowling, ice skating etc. I love the idea of getting up and moving instead of being glued to a table and chair. This is a celebration and it sure is fun to invite maybe a little healthy competition or just a generally fun activity to the festivities, and why not?
What this type of event does is give you an option to have movement, exercise and changes the dynamic of what a party is. One thing that I noticed when I’ve had these type of shin digs is the people who love you the most and the people who most support your new lifestyle are the ones who make an effort to come. So before you going making excuses for your best friend no longer coming to your parties (or whomever) just remember there is nothing that will stop the people who want to be in your life and want to support you from doing just that. Sure we all get busy and we all have our own lives but this has been a tremendous way to support my new lifestyle while not having to neglect one of my favorite things, which is birthdays.
Here is just a short list of some activity parties you can do (will depend on what is available in your area):
Ice skating
bowling
hiking / trail walk
putt putt golf
regular golf / disc golf (if you haven’t heard of this you should really check it out)
yard games (horseshoe, bags, rings, yard jenga, Frisbee)
scavenger hunts
kick ball (could you imagine? sounds so fun!!)
indoor rock climbing
water gun / water balloon fight
biking
swimming
Whatever sparks excitement in you, go for it. I just want to get the word out that just because your older doesn’t mean you can’t have as much fun as those kiddos do in the slides and ball pits.
Until next time & All my love
Stephanie