This kids Uno-themed birthday party was a wild one.

Our son looks forward to his birthday celebration every year. While I don’t entertain at our house very often, I enjoy planning a fun, themed party for kids and family to celebrate our little one, who is growing increasingly closer to his teenage years. Who knows how many more years he’ll let me plan his party?! 

Our family dynamic values quality time together playing games. Recently, we’ve become invested in playing the card game version of Monopoly, called Monopoly Deal. It’s quick, strategic and fun. But there’s a high risk of tears if Leigh loses (we’re working on losing with humility) and not many kids know how to play Monopoly Deal. But everyone knows how to play the ultimate card game: Uno. And if you don’t, it’s easy to catch on quick.

 

The decision was made: we’d host an Uno-themed birthday party for our nine-year-old. While most of my Pinterest research rendered (unsurprisingly) first birthday parties, I was determined to make an age-appropriate gathering fun, focused on the four basic colors and some family-friendly competition. What one-year-old knows how to play Uno anyway? It’s just not a realistic party theme for a baby. 😉 

Since the kids are getting older, I thought we’d be “cool” parents and have everyone over from 6 to 10 p.m. That way, parents could enjoy a quiet night to themselves while our house contained so much noise. My watch kept alerting me that I was exposed to 90+ decibels of sound, and if it was sustained for more than 10 minutes, I risked hearing loss. No joke.

Once everyone enjoyed eating their Antioch Pizza, I subjected them to some lame but historically accurate Uno trivia. Did you know Uno was invented in 1971 by a barber named Merle? I knew I set up trivia wrong when the kids tried making trivia teams (how did they know more about this than I did?), and I simply suggested, “Just shout out your answer!” That was the wrong approach to preventing hearing loss. 

Everyone played a few rounds of Uno and quickly veered off in whatever direction they fancied. They colored their own Uno cards, made Uno card bookmarks and decorated birthday hats with cards. Leigh made this supersized hand of cards he claimed was the “worst hand ever.” We hunted for Uno decks at thrift stores in the months leading up to the party so we didn’t have to sacrifice any of our real cards for the crafty activities.

A serious game of high-stakes Uno gathered at the round table in the kitchen. My husband played dealer and facilitated the best 3 out of 5 using the giant Uno deck. These kids were serious. And while the March Madness-style bracket I was envisioning didn’t come to fruition, they had so much fun. 

Everyone left with a goody bag stuffed with our favorite portable Uno Go! deck and a custom +4 wild card made by our favorite local ladies at The Stubborn Sunflower. They are the best to work with! Leigh requested a custom crocheted Uno octopus for his birthday and they came through (thanks, Maria!).

 

Our family party the next day was more talk and less Uno, but all guests loved on our son just the same. And that’s the purpose of the parties, after all: to make Leigh feel special. 

Happy 9th birthday, Wild One.