And later on a Sunday.....

I think the party went well.
There is, as always, more prep work than you think there ought to be for things like this. I had hoped for a quieter morning but it wasn't really to be. My Mum and I got to the hall early to do a spot of decoration, some table arrangement and the laying out of food on platters. It took ages and it wasn't helped by the mysterious heating system that needed to be turned on in two separate places to work, one of which involved some significant clambering. When it was working it sounded like someone chainsawing a distant tree, very odd and a little disconcerting as I've never sat in the quiet and listened to it before.
I had my usual panic as the clock reached 2pm, wondering why people weren't arriving yet and terrified that we'd be left standing alone in a big empty hall with a mountain of food uneaten, without friends and alone. I do this every time I host any sort of event, I think it's the OCD. Of course, nobody turns up to a party bang on time and when little children are involved it can be very hard. Still, by 2.30 most were there and we almost had a full house.
Helium balloons - for a small childs party I cannot recommend them enough. The little ones laugh at them and the bigger ones play with them making the little ones laugh even more. The table for colouring in animal faces was a big hit and meant that the bigger ones didn't get bored and cause trouble. Again I recommend the idea, it really helped.
There was some food left over, but not the vast amounts I was expecting. We were just all a bit slow out of the blocks with the savoury food. Once people got into the swing of it, most of it went. We've got a few crisps and sausage rolls left and some spicy chicken wings. That's the one puzzle for me. All the barbecue chicken went even though I didn't think it looked that good and was a bit sticky. I much preferred the spicy stuff, but this is a good thing in my book. We've been left with a plateful of something we really like!
The cake was admired, for all of a few minutes and then it was devoured. For a brief moment I didn't want my masterpiece cut into, but going by the yummy noises people were making I knew I was being silly. Over half of the fruit cake head went which was a bit of a surprise as it's not normally so popular a cake. We covered the left overs up and handed it out later on the Sunday after church. It didn't last long.
And then there was nothing to do but hand out the loot bags to the kids and wave bye-bye. Loot bags - just buy a big pot of Celebrations or something similar and some lollies and share them out. I've heard stories of some very competitive parents putting all sorts in them from Beanie Babies to computer games. I don't see the point, the whole idea of a loot bag is to get it home, find a quiet corner and make yourself sick on sweets (if you're not already after all the cake!).
We tidied up and went home, all uneventful save for my Uncle nearly throwing away some cotton tablecloths by mistake. Well Mum, you did put them in a bin bag!

We had a dedication for him this morning. We don't really agree with infant baptism, not going to go into all the details but we simply wanted to get our church to pray for Joseph. A lot of people prayed and I was quite touched. Joseph hadn't a clue what was going on, he just squiggled about, wouldn't be cuddled and tried to eat the radio mic.
Then we went out for a meal with all the family in a lovely but rather noisy pub. All in all, we have had a good weekend but a very tiring one and something I have no intention of repeating for a very long time. Next year he can have a couple of mates over and a takeaway!