Picture Pinterest Perfect: Good or bad?

My daughter's second birthday is this Sunday. Last year I did my best to make her first birthday party, a tea party theme, Pinterest-worthy. I spent a ton of time making these votive candle holders that looked like lace had been stenciled on for the favors. We invited at least 30 people; all friends and family and then some people that were obligatory invites because others were invited. I ordered a beautiful ribbon cake that would be the smash cake from the woman who usually makes the cakes for my kids' birthdays. I was excited. I felt this party would be it, maybe it would go viral... could I be the next Martha Stewart of 1st birthday tea parties? If any of my friends are reading this they are probably laughing hysterically. You see, I am anything but crafty; artistic, yes, but only in the written form on paper or a computer screen. I don't know what I was thinking when I came up with this beautifully themed party with a huge guest list. Was it for my little girl? Probably not. Kendall is a lot like her daddy and not a fan of large crowds. I put in hours of party prep and received a ton of help from my sister and mom who both came into town for the event. Everything was going swimmingly and finally it was time for her to dig into her cake. I was so excited to see her eat her first bites of the cake. Would she eat it like a lady or dive in the way her brother did? Then the unexpected happened.

She cried hysterically. Oh my word, I thought, she's afraid of her cake!! After that episode I decided to take a different route with Kendall's birthday. We're keeping it simple this year: family members only. It's more Kendall's style; less prep for me and it's also less work for my husband who inevitably gets really involved since I'm not the detail oriented person of our family. Plus the more and more I reflected on last year's party the more I realized how pressured I felt to be like all of the other super awesome Pinterest party moms. I mean their pictures are beautiful, their parties put some weddings to shame and I cannot even hold a candle to the things they are able to pull off. What do you think? Has Pinterest made our lives a little more pressure-filled to be picture Pinterest perfect? ABC's Good Morning America recently did a piece on the increase in depression among young moms linking one of the pressure points being Pinterest. Are we trying too hard to be perfect Pinterest mommies? I mean if being crafty isn't your thing why should you feel like you have to fake it? Okay I'm mainly talking to myself here but this is why I'm going smaller this year. No fancy decorations, party favors that take me a a few weeks to put together, and no huge beautiful cakes to scare the baby.

Previous post Next post

13 comments

I still haven’t figured out how those pintrest ladies do it. If you have kids, those kinds of parties are completely unrealistic. I don’t have that much time or money to spend on a huge party for my kids. I went over budget on my son’s 4th birthday this year and I still really didn’t feel like I had everything. When I’m looking at these beautiful pictures on a blog of a kid’s birthday, I think that they probably only posted the good pictures. Something unexpected always happens and kids will be happy with almost anything. Pintrest can put pressure on things, but like someone else said, it should be used for ideas and not for comparisons.

Chessie on August 10, 2021
I did a “Pinterest party” for my oldest’s 4th birthday. It was our 2nd year with the raspy zeal theme, and her last year as an only child. I knew I would never be able to devote the time and energy again and I wanted her to feel extra special with her baby sister coming. I went way over the top with activities and decorations, but I am a master at spending very little money ( I think I only spent $50 including the themed food) Pinterest was my favorite resource.

Darlene on August 10, 2021
I always assume those moms hired professional caterers and/or party planners. I go to Pinterest for ideas but I always look for ones that are simple/cleaver but look or taste impressive. I’ve never felt like I needed to stack up to those professional parties. I want to make it memorable but fun and pressure free.

My son’s 1st Bday was in March and I had a blast. It was safari themed and some of the ideas that I got from Pinterest were things like chocolate covered bananas, using Little Debbie Zebra Cakes and turning our party sub into a snake (ordered the sub from the grocery store and added eyes and a tongue) etc. Nothing complicated but still Pin worthy in my book ;)

Laurir on August 10, 2021
My first son’s 1st bithday was pre-pinterest days (7yrs ago)… And it still was faaaaar overboard. I bought a whole kit from one of those bithday magazines, including 3 foot character balloons. It was ridiculous. I learned my lesson…

My third kiddo just celebrated her 1st birthday May 23rd. Although I used pinterest for some frugal ideas, I seriously put her SMALL party together in less than a week. I enjoyed the small group and personal feel FARRR more than I did going “all out”. And really, the party was pretty fabulous. :)

I enjoy pinterest for inspiration, but try not to get hung up on the perfection that is undeniable in so many of those photos. I do see how easy it could be to fall into the trap where you feel pressured to be pinterest perfect, though….

Kristin N. on August 10, 2021
Unless you are remodeling/redecorating your home or you are majorly into some very visual hobby for which you need inspiration for your next project… F*** PINTEREST. It doesn’t really add value to anyone’s life. It doesn’t facilitate connection like a forum or the “big social networking site.” It’s just a big (aspirational) trophy case for adults.

Melissa C. on August 10, 2021