[Saving in So Cal]

My daughter turned 2 a few months ago. We took in some bright colored cupcakes for her daycare class. They loved them. The pictures of all the kids with icing on their faces were adorable and none of the parents minded. For her gift, my husband and I took her to a local aquarium because she loves fish. She had a great time.

Before her birthday, I was repeatedly asked what I was going to do and, when I told people, they all gave me strange looks. My interpretation of those looks was that they thought I didn't care enough about her to throw a party. The truth is I gave a lot of thought about what would make the day special for her in her mind and I think I hit the mark pretty well.

That being said, we went to a 2-year old party around the same time, which I thought was done really well. The parents invited a manageable number of kids and set up several "stations" in their house: a playdough station, a coloring station, a bubbles station, a Legos station, and a music station. The kids came and played at whatever station they wanted. The menu consisted of crackers, fruit, apple juice and a home made birthday cake. The decorations were balloons. It was simple, relatively inexpensive, and the kids had a blast. If I do a 3-year old party for my daughter, this is the model I am going to follow.