The twins put the fun back into my birthday but remove any element of surprise
It comes as no surprise to anyone, who’s crossed the halfway point of their predicted existence, that birthdays aren’t what they used to be.
It became apparent the twins’ interest in mine far outweighed my own when Emma proudly announced, ‘we got a cake for your birthday daddy’, a full week before I’d even realised the date was coming up.
‘It’s a secret’, Victoria informed her, prompting Emma to clarify the situation by saying, ‘we got a secret cake for your birthday, daddy’.
Encouraged by this, I decided to make it more of an event. So the twins could partake, I pretended the big day was Sunday rather than the actual Monday, when I’d be working.
The day arrived and it was agreed I’d go out for a solo bike ride in the morning, during which I realised the best way to appreciate my family, is by spending time apart from them.
When I arrived back from glorious solitude, I spotted two wrapped presents.
Emma immediately shouted, ‘open that one first, it’s a frog’, followed swiftly by ‘when you open the chocolates, can I have one?’.
At least I didn’t have to unwrap them to find out what they were. As it turned out, I didn’t have to unwrap them at all. The twins grabbed them and tore the paper away, revealing a frog money box, hand-picked by Thomas, along with the chocolates, which Emma was already opening. After unwrapping all two of my gifts, which seemed to have
been bought from a supermarket close to our house, it was time for the cake. This was never a consideration prior to the twins arrival, but now I was the beneficiary of a large chocolate gateaux covered in candles.
The next event to celebrate the years slipping through my hands was lunch in a restaurant best described as Moroccan tapas, which, given that we were taking three-year-olds could be considered a brave choice. Luckily hummus and chips were also on the menu. Partly because we were using a gift voucher, I ordered a few more dishes for the twins to try. As luck would have it, Emma refused them all, while Thomas mostly stuck to the chips. I say luck because, with an eye on this possibility, I’d ordered food I wanted but couldn’t justify without appearing gluttonous.
The day had been transformed from a previously muted occasion into something resembling fun. I’d received two gifts, a birthday cake and three extra tapas thanks to the children.
They may come with a hefty price tag, but could kids be the gift that keeps on giving?