Are You a Plates-and-Cups Parent?

When I was in elementary school, I knew the drill. If there was a party — at Halloween, the holidays or any other time — I had one important duty: Sign up to bring paper plates or cups. My mum was very clear on this point. She didn't want me coming home and surprising her with a last-minute order for three dozen peanut butter cookies. Napkins, plates, cups, plastic cutlery or even the occasional beverage. These were things she could handle.

Now, my mom was not lazy by any means. She threw birthday parties that would have made Martha Stewart look like a horribly uncreative, special-occasion slacker. But with two kids, she had all the demands for pastries and potato chips she could handle. 

I mention this because last week I realised something significant: I have become a plates-and-cups mother, too.

My son's daycare is throwing a Halloween party. Last week, the staff posted a sign-up sheet on his classroom door asking parents to contribute refreshments. I quickly scanned the list to see what was requested. Brownies … veggies … spoons and cups! Ding! Ding! Ding!

I scrambled so quickly to scrawl my name next to those two items that I nearly dropped my son on the ground and threw out my back. I wanted to be the mum who would walk through the daycare center's brightly painted doors on Oct. 31 holding tupperware containers filled with orange-and-black frosted cupcakes, each one topped with an appropriately spooky Gummi worm. But I knew the truth. I hang daily by a pretty thin thread, and if I add mandatory baking to my list of things to do, I might find myself checking into a mental facility for overstressed mothers.

So I did the easy thing and opted for cups and cutlery. And honestly, I didn't feel that guilty about it. Plus, I finally understood my mother's position on this issue. In a world that spins way too fast for most parents to keep up with their kids or their jobs, let alone both, sometimes the smartest, most reassuring thing you can do is go with the cups.

Is anyone feeling me on this one? Do you routinely volunteer for fruit punch or plastic fork-and-knife duty when your child's class throws a party? And if so, do you feel any guilt? 

Image: www.birthday-supplies.com