You are only 7 once...

Hi all,


Two weeks ago we experienced our first Costa Rican birthday party. A little boy in Corwin’s class from school was turning 7 years old. Now, I’ve never really considered turning 7 a significant milestone in one’s life. You can’t drive yet. You can’t operate heavy machinery. You can’t smoke, drink or gamble. At age 7 you can’t even have a credit card or a job. However, for turning just 7 years of age, this was quite the event as birthday parties go.

First, there was the place. “Tesoro de la Pirata” or “The Pirate’s Treasure” is an indoor playground complete with trampoline, zip line and climbing wall among other things. It was fairly large. Had a secure parking lot. Clean and courteous staff. It was a cool place.

Second, the food. There were catered (yes I said catered) appetizers including a chocolate fountain. There was pizza for the kids. There was the custom decorated Lego topped incredible cake. No worries about leaving this soirée the least bit hungry.

Third, the décor. There were custom balloon sculptures hanging from the ceiling. Nifty center pieces on all the tables for the “Indiana Jones” themed party. Treasure chests to put gifts in when you arrived.

Fourth, face painting and the largest piñata I’ve seen yet. All the kids had faces painted with a broad range of designs. Butterflies were our daughter’s theme of choice. For Corwin, snakes. And the piñata in the shape of a Lego soldier was about the largest piñata I’ve seen. It was also full of premium candy. The imported good stuff. Our kids came home with more candy than they did for Halloween in the States.

Fifth, parting gifts. At an American party, there is almost always the ubiquitous “goodie bag” with some candy and small toys. At this party, the parting gifts were Lego kits, Indiana Jones whips (yes, the ones which are quite realistic) and satchel bags like Indiana Jones carried. Here in Costa Rica, those are not inexpensive toys. The Lego kits especially would be in the range of $20-30 US without much effort. Multiply this by the numbers (see the next paragraph) and you're not talking small change.

And finally, the numbers. In the US, parents are always uber sensitive to staying at the party and/or bringing younger siblings. Unless the invitation specifically says you can, most parents won’t bring younger siblings or stay for the duration of the party unless they think it necessary. No such social quandary here. At this party, when we inquired if it was okay if our daughter came to the party, we were met with “Of course! And there are appetizers for all the adults.” There had to be 30 kids and probably 10-12 adults. Easily a group of 40-50 people. I've been to weddings in the US with fewer people.

All in, the kids had the best time. They played for almost 2 hours, ate pizza, played more, ate cake, played more, beat up the world’s largest piñata and played more. We had to practically drag our children out of the place at 5pm (the party started at 2pm!). The food was really good. The cake was really cool. The party place very nifty, clean and secure. It was a great party. A bit over the top perhaps, but after all, you only turn 7 once. :^)



Next post…BOGOTA!