He Wanted a Police Party

For months, Elliot has been asking for a police birthday party.  My gut reaction was that there are only two kinds of parties I know about that involve police… one involves strippers dressed as police and the other involves police at your door telling you to keep the noise to a minimum and inquiring if underage drinkers were present – neither of which are entirely appropriate for a 6 year old.

I employed every parental tactic short of saying NO in trying to dissuade him from this choice.  He held firm (read: he’s as stubborn as a mule (read: me)), insisting it would be good.

The party was on Saturday and it was FUN.

We sent out police report invites a few weeks ago.  Elliot was decked out in navy pants and shirt and cinched with a belt.  A name tag reading “E. Seckman” was affixed next to a sticker LPD badge and the entire ensemble was topped off with a police hat.  Police tape was strung through the house and the orange cones from last year’s construction party were used again (best Menards purchase ever).  We made brown lunch sacks into evidence bags and filled them with badges, notebooks (for writing tickets), LPD K-9 trading cards, a length of police tape and, of course, a pair of handcuffs for when they finally apprehend their suspect.  The cake had vehicles from Lego City pulling over a robber and while the homemade ice cream never did completely freeze, it tasted delicious.

Presents were opened, playtime ensued, Happy Birthday was sung and candles were blown out.

And then the cops showed up.

BLOOP! BLEEP! came from our driveway along with a flash of red and white lights.*  The kids nearly lost their shit as they realized that actual police officers drove an actual police car to Elliot’s party.  It was a mad dash to get on shoes and run outside to climb in the vehicle and push buttons making the sirens go off yet again.  They hung around for a solid 15 minutes while the kids climbed in and out repeatedly.

Too many presents, a lot of laughs and a nice time with a small group of family and close friends.  The best part was at the end of it all when Elliot looked at me, cocked his head to one side and snarked, “you guys didn’t think this would be fun, huh, but it was.”  That’s my boy.

 

More pictures here.

 

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*A big thank you to our friends and LPD for the hookup!  It certainly pays to know someone on the force sometimes.