Punishable by fun

My new favorite participatory party planning pastime: Telling a guest of honor to reserve the day, but not giving the slightest of hints as to what will be happening on that day. ‘tis best to give the heads up several days in advance, to allow for maximum speculation and a tangible amount of anxiety.

We had one try to get away without us knowing it was his birthday, so he was punished appropriately with a blindfold, an unceremonious shove into the way back of Meredith’s Rav4, a lengthy, round-about filled drive to an undisclosed destination, followed by trying physical challenges and a hefty amount of over-eating.

Dubbed "The Ultimate Tri-Lance-A-Thon" in honor of the offender’s name and history of subjecting himself to such grueling endeavors, events were held in the taxing categories of plastic skating, creative bowling, and pool tomfoolery. Plastic skating contestants were challenged to a backwards race, a partner ball toss, the limbo, and blob tag. Granny bowls, backwards rolls, and blindfolded throws were encouraged in ten-pin, and no one got away without eating cake and brownies and chocolate balls at the pool, on top of all the grilled edibles and accompanying side dishes.

A word to the wise: Never, ever try to get away without the collective “us” knowing it’s your birthday.