Life Is Better When You Lean Into the Theme

My daughters are four years apart in age, but their birthdays are only two weeks apart. So every summer, we find ourselves trying to plan one birthday party for two very different kids. This year, they wanted a sleepover. We just needed a theme.

Then one of us realized the girls were turning 7 and 11.

My husband, as serious as a heart attack, looked at me and said, “What about a 7-Eleven-themed birthday party?”

I’ll admit that at first I was skeptical. How could we possibly turn a convenience store into a birthday party? But then I asked ChatGPT for ideas, and within minutes I had a list of decorations, games, menu suggestions, and party favors. Then we started looking at dates and realized one of the options was July 11.

Well...at that point it just felt meant to be.

You might think a 7-Eleven is an odd choice for a birthday party.

My friends and family, on the other hand, just nodded and waited to see where we were going with it.

See, we have a bit of a reputation.

We don’t just pick a theme.

We commit to it.

Three years ago, we threw a Harry Potter-themed birthday party for our girls, their friends, and their friends' parents. I found a copycat butterbeer recipe, my husband built a Quidditch pitch in the backyard, and I somehow devised a "find your Patronus" game involving silver spray-painted animal figurines tied to black balloons to simulate Dementors. Three years later, we still have boxes of Harry Potter decorations in our closet. Turns out going all in takes up a surprising amount of storage space.

Or when the girls were little, we threw a Mermaids and Pirates party complete with a temporary tattoo station, pirate flags, and enough mermaid decorations that some of them are still hanging in our daughters' bathroom.

And don't even get me started on Halloween.

So getting into a theme is kind of our thing.

Which meant there was only one way to throw a 7-Eleven birthday party.

First, we obviously needed a way to make Slurpees, so we bought a Ninja Slushi machine when it went on sale during Prime Day.

Friends of ours loaned us a commercial-grade hot dog roller, so naturally we had hot dogs and taquitos slowly turning all evening.

We rounded out the menu with nachos and soft pretzels. We found a convenience store backdrop for photos. The kids decorated orange and green trucker hats with fabric markers and gems.

But the best part?

My husband bought a genuine 7-Eleven uniform shirt and hat on eBay.

Here’s my relationship advice: find someone who matches your enthusiasm.

The kids had a blast. The parents dropping them off got a good laugh. And the parents who stayed got all the convenience store food they could want—without having to stop for gas.

Was it a little over the top? Without question.

But afterward, I realized something. Nobody was trying to look cool. They were just participating.

And I’ve started to think that’s where most of the fun in life lives.

It’s the outrageous Derby hats. It’s the people dancing at the concert instead of standing in the back with their arms crossed. It’s the Halloween costume that’s held together with enthusiasm more than craftsmanship. It’s the matching family vacation T-shirts that everyone secretly makes fun of.

None of it is particularly cool.

But it’s almost always where the fun is.

My daughters loved the party, but I’m sure they would have loved another idea just as much. We could have skipped the theme altogether. The theme could have just been “Happy Birthday!” which is exactly what I threaten every year when the planning starts getting a little out of hand.

But it’s an empty threat, because I’m never going to turn down a theme.

Turns out it was never really about the decorations.

Or the Slurpees.

Or even the theme itself.

The best memories rarely come from playing it cool.

They come from the moments when everyone decides to lean in.