I called in on my friend Joanna the other day. I discovered her in an excited mood because she was in the midst of preparations for her son’s fourth birthday party. Joanna loves organizing things, and little Simon is the apple of her eye, so arranging his birthday party is just up her street. He’s at that age where he’s old enough to enjoy a party and has just started school, so has made lots of new friends, all of whom had been invited of course!
Joanna certainly had her work cut out for her. Apparently it’s all changed since I was a kid. Nowadays it seems kids birthday parties have become hugely important to modern parents and are seen as a great chance to impress the other parents. It’s got quite competitive, with parents spending a small fortune on things like party bags – a must-have accessory at any kids party. In my day, we were content with a slice of cake and a party hat to take home with us. Now it seems parents like to try and out do each other by putting on the biggest and best event for their child’s circle of friends.
Anyway, Jo seemed to have everything under control. She’d even drawn up a spreadsheet! She’d made lists of everything – the food, the games, the music. And although she hoped the weather would be fine so the kids could play outside, she also had a contingency plan in case of rain. She was going to have the party in her living room. That is, her beautifully decorated, huge living room with designer furniture, which is always immaculately presented. In fact, I don’t think even Simon is normally allowed to play in there, let alone with twenty over-excited friends!
I told Joanna I thought she was very brave. I mean, I’d seen the weather forecast for Saturday, the day of the party, and in all likelihood it was going to be awful. Which meant the kids would have to spend all afternoon running riot in the living room and jumping all over the furniture. Did Joanna really think her gorgeous sofa and chairs were going to survive unscathed, with no coke spills or chocolatey stains? And inevitably with all those party snacks and fizzy drinks inside them, at least one of the kids was bound to get sick… Jo is ever the optimist and told me that she had faith in the weather remaining dry, and even if the worse came to the worse, Simon’s dear little friends are usually so well-behaved…
I couldn’t believe she didn’t even have a sofa slipcover to protect that expensive couch. When I broached the subject that covering her furniture with slipcovers would be a very wise idea, she confessed she’d never used furniture covers before as she thought they would wrinkle and slip and make her posh seats look shabby. Instead, she took the chance and if a dirty mark appeared on the upholstery, she simply spent hours scrubbing it out by hand.
Of course, I told her she was mad! Did she really want to spend the day after the party trying to remove puke from her sofa? Furniture covers don’t have to be loose and ill-fitting. I told her all about my child-friendly stretch slipcovers and how they have a tight, tailored fit and it’s hard to tell they aren’t upholstery, they look so good. But, seeing Joanna still wasn’t convinced, I jumped in my car and dashed home. I rummaged in my linen cupboard and found a spare set of matching sofa and chair slipcovers, which I took back to Joanna’s house and proceeded to fit over her furniture. I had to prove my point!
Within half an hour I’d transformed her best couch and armchairs. Jo had to admit they still looked stunning and was impressed at how the fabric clung to the contours of her seats without creasing or sagging. Sheepishly, she asked if she could possibly borrow my slipcovers for the party, as I’d hoped she would!
Anyway, the Sunday afternoon after Simon’s birthday, Jo rang me. She was really pleased. As predicted, it had rained, but the indoor party had been a great success. Admittedly the kids did get hyperactive and there were several little accidents on the furniture. But my slipcovers had done their job. Jo couldn’t believe how easy it was to remove them and clean them in the washing machine. She wanted to thank me and find out where she could buy her own slipcovers!