Feeling the birthday panic and having fun days out in West Sussex

It’s also the same day as my sister’s birthday, but that didn’t stop me getting to two days before the ‘big day’ and realising I didn’t really have any presents for either of them.

I’d like to be able to blame somebody else, or some outside factor, because it’s always better if you don’t have to shoulder the responsibility yourself.

But, other than being totally disorganised this year, and having been quite busy with work and going up to Wembley last weekend (because I’m a sports reporter now!), I can’t really play the blame game.

My son was getting a new bike as his main present, but that wasn’t going to be ready until the day after his birthday, so he needed some presents to open. Eeeek!

A quick trip to the shops and a little bit of panic-ordering later, and I was kind of sorted. But that meant I spent the night before frantically wrapping things up, blowing up a pack of balloons and buying a cake (which was somehow forgotten in the previous day’s panic).

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love seeing the joy on my children’s faces when they wake up and pad downstairs to see the table adorned for a birthday celebration. But, without wanting to sound like a bad mum, I really loathe the preparation. Perhaps I really am just a terrible person, but could it be that as a parent, ie a master plate spinner, one extra ‘thing’ in the week just puts the whole delicate juggle of life at risk of collapse?!

Thankfully, I got it all sorted just in time, but it did mean I had to sacrifice watching the very last episode of This is Us while my husband was out (he won’t watch it with me. No idea why, given it’s literally the best thing on TV. Anyone else seen it? I spend every episode in floods of tears – it’s just such a brilliantly beautiful depiction of family life and struggles. I’m bereft now it’s finished. What should I watch now?)

‘Woe is me’ mentality about birthday prep aside, we did lots of really fun things to mark my little boy turning four.

A birthday brunch in Jonny’s in Warwick Street (big shout out to Tina, our waitress, who was so sweet and attentive and gave him a birthday slice of cake as big as his face with a candle in. He was literally beaming when it arrived!).

Fun in the arcade on Worthing Pier (where he beat his previous record of collecting 205 tickets to get 206 this time!).

Time in the sand park by Splashpoint, and a quick visit to Bayside Social for a drink. Lovely to be sat outside facing the sea – I need to try this place out properly.

A barbecue with family, even though the weather was a bit chilly. Do I have to write another column this year, following on from 2021’s about how the summer is taking ages to get started?!

And a day out in Chichester, which started with a 9am session at Flip Out trampoline park where we had the whole place to ourselves. Liked to imagine myself as some kind of Kardashian-style celebrity, where places open out-of-hours to give you special treatment, but the reality is we were the only people nutty enough to be up and out that early on a Sunday!

Then we hit the shops, where my son was allowed to spend some of his birthday money. They spotted Smiggle, and I knew we were doomed. It’s kid heaven in there. Full of stuff they don’t strictly need, but want ‘more than anything in the world’. He spent all his birthday money, and then asked to use his pocket money for other bits, as did my daughter. A particularly cunning trick by my children when they don’t actually have their pocket money on them, and know mum and dad won’t be so mean as to collect it from them when they get home. Well played, kids, well played.

There was also a lovely lunch in Ask, where I was given a lot of ‘help’ in eating my zucchini fritti, and a trip to Priory Park.

Until next week.

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