Thursday, January 12, 2012

Birthday girl


Yep, that's me. About 47 (eeeekkkk!!) years ago today, give or take a few. It was January 1965, and it was my 4th birthday party. Note the cake (confetti angel food, from a mix but made by Mom, decorated with plastic flowers -- in other years, it might be Smarties), the pin the tail on the donkey game on the wall behind me, my stylish '60s bob, Mary Jane shoes, tights & crinoline. : )

All my birthday parties as a kid were more or less the same (& so were those of my friends) -- up to a dozen friends would come to our house (decorated with balloons & streamers), we'd play a few games, have hot dogs or sloppy joes with potato chips & pickles, drink Kool-Aid, have birthday cake & then open the presents. I think we might give or get a chocolate bar to the guests as they left -- loot bags were unheard of.

I stopped having birthday parties around the time I became a teenager, instead having a handful of my closest friends over for dinner, & sometimes a movie. These days, my birthdays tend to be much quieter events. The last several years, I've usually tried to take the day off work, maybe go to the spa or shopping (or both), & then for dinner at a favourite restaurant with dh. That's more or less the plan for today. I'm thinking I might be daring & go for blue nail polish on my manicure, lol. It only took 51 years to try it...!

I look at that little girl in the picture, and it seems so long ago and like yesterday, all at once. (And I wonder if that's anything like Katie would have looked when she was 4.) 51 seems old when you write it out. :p But it's one year closer to retirement ; ) & being done with Aunt Flo's visits for good. (And, as my grandma used to say, & as I wrote last year, "consider the alternative.") All things considered... I'll take it, lol.

20 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday. I love the pic...what a cutie! I so remember pin the tail on the donkey at my birthday parties as well. It seems like we had very similar birthday parties growing up, that just shows you that was the sign of the times back then. We didn't go to places to have birthday parties...we had them at our homes with a bunch of our friends, played games and ate cake (usually baked by my Mom as well). Simple times, but how they warm my heart now looking back. Have a wonderful manicure and take a pic of that blue nail polish...you are alot braver than I.

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  2. Happy Birthday! May you find your inner child through the year, and celebrate her!!

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  3. Happy Birthday!! You were so cute! I am younger than you and my birthday parties were much the same. One has to wonder of all the fuss parents go through nowadays to throw their kids birthday parties...there's tv shows about it now!! Ridiculous...here's to remembering the classic birthday parties and hoping there will be a revival to the classic party soon!! Way more fun!!

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  4. Happy Birthday! I followed you over here from Mel's (Stirrup Queens) blog and wanted to wish you a happy birthday.

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  5. Happy birthday!

    www.brandysheaif.blogspot.com

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  6. You're so cute. I love the haircut. Happy Birthday--definitely go for blue.

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  7. Happy birthday!

    (and I grew up in the 60s too, so your description of childhood birthday parties is almost exactly the way I remember them)

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  8. Happy Birthday, Loribeth! Your birthdays these days sound a lot like mine. I hope you have a lovely, pampering day, and a special evening tonight.

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  9. Your childhood is a mirror of mine. I had the exact kind of bday parties. Good memories.

    Yes, the next best gift will be at this age [I'll be 52] is for Aunt Flo to stop visiting.

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  10. Happy birthday, Loribeth! My birthday parties in the 80s were pretty much the same as yours until age 9 or 10, when we started going to the roller rink. Having a pin the tail on the donkey game was special then. A lot has changed. But all kids really want are the cake and ice cream!

    That's such a sweet picture. I can tell you were a nice girl then, too. : )

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  11. Happy birthday to yoooooooooou
    Happy birthday to yoooooooooou
    Happy birthday, dear Lori
    Happy birthday to yoooooooooou

    Hope you are having a wonderful birthday.

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  12. Happy birthday! What a sweet picture. I can't remember the last time I saw a pin the tail on the donkey game! Birthday parties have gotten out of control. I remember my ex-husbands niece having a birthday party at a spa and the girls rode there in a limo. I think she was 8 at the time? I just remember thinking - I've never even rode in a limo!!

    I hope you got that manicure!

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  13. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Loribeth, happy birthday to you! xoxo

    That old photo of you could not be any cuter! Thanks for sharing! :)

    Here's to another wonderful year in your life! CHEERS!!!

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  14. Happy Birthday! This is a great photo - I love that little smile on your face.

    Hope your day is a great one, and that the manicure is fun and relaxing.

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  15. Happy Birthday LB - what a cute picture! Oh, the days when mum's made cakes, not just picked up some $5K creation at a fancy bakery. Once I told my mum that people would put money in the cake, she started doing it - except it was pennies and nickels, not dimes and quarters. Here's a toast to the little girl you were and always will be.

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  16. I'm a strong advocate for birthday weeks, and as such I'm using it as my excuse to be wishing you Happy Birthday! 5 days after the actual event. *G*

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  17. Happy belated birthday! I am so far behind on my blog reading and commenting - as usual! - that I missed the day. I hope you celebrated as YOU wanted to!

    And thank you for the gift you have given me - us! - in the form of your updated blog list. THANK YOU! (You really are the "inimitable" Loribeth!) :D

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