I first learned about the “Yes Day” here on Lafayette Mom. And, if I’m honest, my one child self at the time stowed that away in the back of my brain and thought “well that’s nice, but how do you not have a birthday party???”
Quick Recap
A “Yes Day” is exactly what it sounds like. Whoever’s “Yes Day” it is gets to make all the choices with whatever parameters the parent puts in place.
So, you want ice cream for breakfast? Make it a triple scoop.
Pizza as big as your head? Go for it!
You want to ride go-karts for 2 hours straight?? Bless it …… go-karting we a-go.
Flash forward to a second wild child and a pandemic.
Birthdays looked very different.
My 5-year-old, Kael, turned 6 in June of 2020, prime Covid time. A party was not an option. Instead, I sent him, my husband, and my father-in-law to Galveston for a guy’s birthday trip. (Galveston is our favorite underrated vacation spot.)
Now that I have a taste of a life where we didn’t throw a big birthday party, I was troubled by the idea of having to throw a birthday party in June of 2021 when that same 6-year-old turned 7.
Enter the “Yes Day!”
It took a little convincing, but in the end, he went with the option that didn’t require me to clean our house or drop a house payment on a birthday venue.
Check out Kael’s choices to inspire your kiddo’s next “Yes Day”
Breakfast
I was confident that he was going to ask to get donuts. This kid is forever asking for those fried balls of sugary goodness. But surprisingly, he requested to go to breakfast at one of our favorite Christmas breakfast choices, The Coffee Depot in Scott.
This jewel has beautiful Christmas decorations and a giant table during Christmas time that you can sit around family-style. The table has a Christmas village with a train that rounds the table and thrills little kids and big kids/adults alike.
Since this was June, there were no Christmas decorations, but there were pancakes bigger than your head and life-giving coffee. And, the service is always top-notch. My newly minted 7-year old says that you better not forget the beignets! They are delicious!
Activity #1
The parameters that we set forth for Kael’s “Yes Day” were that he could pick 3 meals, 3 activities, and 1 person to come with us (His baby brother can only entertain so much). He chose to bring his cousin. So, off we went to his 1st activity – a swamp tour at McGees’s Louisiana Swamp & Airboat Tours!
Truthfully, I was excited about this activity too. We arrived a little before 10 am, put on our sunscreen, and boarded the boat for the hour and a half tour. We chose the swamp boat due to the noise level of the airboat, but I bet the airboat would be fun too. The boat is covered and moves at a speed fast enough to catch a little breeze so we didn’t melt.
The captain told stories about the history and pointed out animals we don’t normally see up close. And …. we saw alligators. Big ones. And the captain fed them marshmallows which they love. #girlsame
After the boat brought us back to shore, we were ready for lunch!
Lunch
His dad and I parted ways here so I could bring my 1-year-old home for a nap. But, the remaining “Yes Day” participants marched along.
Initially, Kael chose Pizza Artista as his lunch choice. He swears we’ve never been there …I know we have, but whatevs. However, when he realized how long it would take to get from Henderson back to Lafayette, he changed his tune.
The next best thing, according to Kael, was the fried shrimp from Angelle’s in Breaux Bridge. As you could expect from any restaurant in Breaux Bridge, the flavor was amazing and everyone needed a nap after.
Activity #2
Post lunch nap, everyone was recharged and ready to head to Cajun Fast Track! Cajun Fast Track has it all-arcade games, go-karts, mini-golf, XD theater, and Laser Tag. Truthfully, the whole “Yes Day” could have occurred here as they have food, drinks, and a toddler area. This was a big hit and exhausted the birthday boy so much that he next chose to have a sleepover at his grandparents’ house instead of going to his chosen place for dinner and 3rd activity. (I anticipated this, so we did his 3rd activity on his actual birthday).
Dinner
If Kael had been able to hang, he would have chosen to have dinner at Fat Pat’s in Broussard. This is a new family favorite. We are obsessed with their windowed-in patio that has lawn games set up and a place for the kids to run wild. And always ice cold draft beer …. because #kids. Such a fun family hangout.
Activity #3
Kael’s final activity choice was bowling! Since he was dog-tired by this point, we went bowling on his actual birthday instead. Since I didn’t have to clean my house for a party, I was feeling all social and invited all the fam for VIP birthday bowling at Surge.
I was super impressed with the VIP option. It was $50 for the lane (we went during off-peak hours), which includes everyone’s shoes. There is a 2 lane minimum. The VIP lanes have comfy leather sofas and separate bowling lanes for the regular lanes which helped when corralling the toddlers. And, the servers from the restaurant were able to bring us snacks and drinks right to the bowling lanes! Everyone gave it 2 thumbs up!
I have a feeling that “Yes Days” are going to be our go-to for birthday celebrations as a family. It encouraged us to have quality family time, and it gave my shiny new 7-year-old a birthday he won’t soon forget!
