As our latest move in our quest to obtain the World's Worst Parents title, we've decided not to have a birthday party for Eli when he turns two years old on Sunday. At least, there won't be a big, themed, invite-everyone-we-know affair. We're going to keep it simple and invite his family over on his birthday for pizza and cake. There will be balloons and a few presents, but there won't be themed decor and corresponding invitations and treat bags. We are taking low-key to the max.

There are a few reasons for this. The biggest is that his birthday falls on the Remembrance Day long weekend this year, and a lot of people are going to be out of town on Sunday and just getting back on Monday. The following weekend, the local Christmas parades are happening (does November 16-17 feel obscenely early for Christmas parades to anyone else?) so a lot of families will be running around to those. And doing it two weeks late just seems pointless.

Plus...he's turning two. He's going to see his family and get a few presents and hear everyone sing him Happy Birthday - this is exciting for a two-year-old. It's not as though he's going to suffer PTSD because he didn't have a second birthday party. He knows, like, seven kids total and he hangs out with four of them at the sitter every day. Basically every day is a birthday party for Eli.

So there you have it. Worst, meanest, laziest parents ever. Instead, we're hoping to get together with some of Eli's little friends over the next few weeks so he still gets to hang out with his buddies, just not in a wild birthday bash scenario (but probably one that he'll enjoy just as much.)

One thing I want to establish with Eli from a young age is that holidays are about experiences, not huge 'dos and a million presents. Halloween is about carving a pumpkin, putting together a costume, and watching scary movies, not just about how much candy you can cram into your bag. Christmas is about baking cookies, listening to Kenny and Dolly and going for a drive to get hot chocolate and look at neighbourhood lights, not how many presents Santa brings.

That's not to say we are putting the kibosh on birthday parties - not at all! But right now, while he's so young, and this year in particular, with the long weekend throwing a wrench into things, I think we can make sure Eli still has a happy birthday and tons of fun without stressing too much over a Pinterest-caliber bash.

What do you think? Are we being horrible people?