Twas the night before the Great Big Green Birthday Party, oh what a sight. The house is all set up for squeezing guests tight. The hostess is sleepy and she nods to the right. Will everything be ready? Can she turn off the light? Not yet she mumbles deep into the night. A post must be written, how fast can she type?

Soup cups have been covered with fancy green paper. The craft table is ready with supplies galore. Will it be too much for thirteen young toddlers? Will they eat the pom poms and pour glue on the floor? Tis likely, says the hostess with no sign of distress. Who cares about carpet, it’s already a mess!

The puppet show is ready. The scenes have been painted. What fun did they have, Rapunzel and she. “Should we make the castle orange? Would that be a fright? We ran out of white paint. Oh what a night! We wanted pink but orange is nice too. No matter how much light yellow you add to dark red it does not turn rosy if you mix till you’re dead.” So the hostess and the young artist talked on through the night not rehearsing the show but creating such a sight.

“So elaborate!” said Toby, his face lined with stress. “Do you realize even wealthy people don’t throw parties like this? How much have you spent? Have you drained our accounts?” The hostess shakes her head. “I promise! No checks will bounce.” Budgets have been minded. She skimped and she saved. She may not wear J.Crew but her parties rage.

Favors and prizes have been wrapped up with care. There’s something for everyone and lots left to share. Exploding-frog soap is sure to be a hit. Imagine their eyes when they see this bit. Green glycerine frogs, simple as can be, but when put in water they turn all bubbly! Green melts to pink and pink turns to fizz. This is serious shizz in the soap-making biz. Don’t ask the hostess for the recipe though, she bought them on etsy a whole month ago!

Tap tappity tap tap she wraps up the night. The hostess must sleep now, it’s after midnight.