Children's Parties

This month, Juliette attended at least three birthday parties. All of her friends who had just turned three.

Back then, parents probably started organising birthday parties, maybe, seven years old. And even then, they specified "NO GIFTS PLEASE" on the invitation, thinking that surely fifteen gifts at once for a child barely conscious of the concept of a year gone by, let alone the idea of celebrating it, was absurd.

Nowadays, you are robbing your little one of her childhood if you don't go all out on the festivities when she turns three.

The problem is that, whenever I attend one of these functions, it reminds me all over again of all the things that I do differently from other parents -

Take something simple, like the beverages on offer. There is Coca-Cola (which I am supposed to give to my one and three-year old, mind you). There is gassy water. Uh, maybe for me but not for the kids . They hate that stuff. There there is diet Fanta. You want me to give my one and three-year old a diet beverage. Filled with Aspartame? Eewww! And there is that disgusting fake orange drink filled with sugar and E129 red artificial colour. I don't think so.

So I end up having to look for tap water or 100% juice for the girls, while trying not to offend the parents, who happen to think that I am a loony mamma for not offering girls a glass of Coke to drink "just this once".
The food at French parties is normally somewhat bad. In fact, the selection is much worse selection than at the Anglo-Saxon doos, I find. There are , sweets and candies, candies, can I say lots of candies. They're not just jellies, mind you. Large, colored, rock-hard candies. For one and three-year olds. Can you say "choking hazard"? And apart from the significant choking risk for children that age, why on earth would I encourage my daughters to eat that? It has refined sugar, artificial colour and artificial flavour and absolutely nothing good in it. And it rots teeth. It is junk. Other parents think that candies are a necessary part of parties. I don't. But its their party and we are stuck here. See what I mean?

Finally, when we leave the party, after reciting the requisite farewell and thank you to the parents, the birthday child, the birthday child's grandparents from both sides, etc., the girls get this little present, which is generally many pieces of plastic junk that I do not need my house littered with. I put the last one in recycling a few days ago.
How would I do things differently, were I to throw a similar party for the girls (which I have already, yay!)?

Beer and wine, coffee and mineral water available for the adults;

Toys or magician (but you can't find a good one here) to entertain the little ones away from the grown-ups;

For children's beverages, water and real 100% juice and maybe some sugary drink but without aspartame or artificial colour;

No candies;

Water pistols or a sprinkler in the hot summer sun (I would, of course, tell the parents to bring a change of clothes for their child). Of course, this is rare as both girls birthdays are in April and September when it is cool outside.

Each child gets a small book when he or she says goodbye. This was given when Juliette had her 2nd birthday.