Japanese Birthday

The flu's got me in its grip now, so this will do....

Left work early, and was able to catch some of the Japanese birthday party at the school. Both my children had been invited - L is very good friends with Nobu's brother, and Im enjoys a reading rivalry with the supersmart superfunny Ryotaro - and I was intrigued to see how the party would play.

We'd been told by Mike's brother about all sorts of Japanese party customs, involving watermelons, messy games (and possibly a bit of drinking), but this party was perfectly acculturated to Australian conditions. Pass the parcel with gifts for every child (but such cute Japanese ones, origami paper, erasers, stickers, bandanas, pokemon everywhere), obligatory pinata (rubber banded to tree and broken with samurai sword), cheezels, sausage rolls and fruit platter (but Japanese treats for the adults, in cute little origami boxes). All topped off with a birthday cake from costco and party bags overflowing with lollies.

A good time was had by all, with traditional schoolyard games of handball, soccer, monkey bars and kicking the broken pinata around the blacktop.

And now today, which is actually tomorrow, when I finally get to upload this blip, is my father's birthday, and a chance to wish him all the best too!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y D A V R O S !