Why is it I end up feeding the 5,000 when I plan just a small tea party?

So how come I was shattered by the end of it and ended up with more cake than when I started?

I ducked out of doing the big party thing because of a) expense and b) lack of time because my son’s third birthday came just two days after I returned to work from my maternity leave.

To keep things simple my husband and I planned a little gathering of grandparents, aunties and uncles and the like at our home for a small gathering.

But I’m turning into my nan because somehow I still found myself on my feet all day, pulling together a feast to be proud of.

The day started with a bang when my newly-three-year-old munchkin was massively excited by his present – a garage – which luckily my husband 
and I spent three-quarters of an hour putting together days before.

Sandwich-making, quiche, cooking and cucumber-cutting were among the many ‘highlights’ of the morning which was punctuated by visits by other friends and families to see the birthday boy.

Juggling party-planning, tea-making and, oh yes, parental duties while a bunch of small children play in my house is not the easiest act to pull off.

On top of this I got sucked into the marketing ploy of one of the big supermarkets and bought far too many cakes – as well as the birthday cake – in a just-in-case moment of madness.

How stupid of me because of course our guests came with generous donations of cupcakes, scones, brownies, cheesecakes, carrot cakes and more to add to the ever-growing banquet.

So the result? I ate far too much and was exhausted, we had cold pizza three days in a row and I still have cakes which I have not been able to offload.

And that is after my little man’s nursery friends finished off his Lightening McQueen birthday cake!

It may be a mothering instinct, it may just be madness, but whenever I think to myself I will do just a small amount of food for a gathering I just can’t do it. I also worry we won’t have enough – which I know is never going to happen – so instead of feeding the family I feed the 5,000.

Obviously I will learn from my mistake. That is until next time, of course!