名稱：super bowl surprise
內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介：
Dear Arizona,
　 My best friend who moved far away is finally coming back to visit. My parents said I could throw her a welcome-back party, and I want it to be perfect. Do you have any tips on how to throw a great party?
　 — Planning in Pennsylvania

Dear Planning,
　　How many grandmothers do you know who love football? OK, I know that sounds like a totally random question, but trust me, it’ll make sense in a second.

You see, my best friend, Ollie, has the coolest grandmother, who happens to love, love, love football! When Ollie asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said she’d be as happy as a clam if she could sit back, relax, and watch the Super Bowl on TV.

You’re probably wondering how anyone can even tell if a clam is happy or sad in the first place. I know! I was asking myself that very same question! You’re also probably wondering what in the world Ollie’s football-loving grandma has to do with partyplanning problems. Well, here’s the story.

Ollie and I decided to throw a surprise Super Bowl birthday party for Abuela (that’s what Ollie and I call her; abuela means grandmother in Spanish).

Picking the date and time was easy. We just had to match them up with the Super Bowl.

We thought everything else was going to be easy, too. “Planning makes perfect!” I said.

We started with the guest list.

“So, Abuela,” said Ollie. “Who are your best friends?”

“Oh, I have lots of best friends,” she answered.

“Yes, but who do you like to, you know, hang out with?” I asked. She smiled.

“I like hanging out with you and Ollie!”

I laughed. “We like hanging out with you, too.”

Ollie and I realized we’d need a different way to come up with a guest list.

“I know!” said Ollie. “She keeps the names and numbers of a few friends on the wall by the phone.”

“Perfect!” I said.

We called the friends we knew, and it worked out great because those friends called Abuela’s other friends. Soon, we had plenty of people.

Ollie and I did a lot of preparing over at my house so that Abuela wouldn’t figure stuff out. We made a gigantic birthday card with a football in the middle. We made little flags that had the logo of Abuela’s favorite team on them, and we put them in party-favor bags along with some football candy and stickers. My mom even helped us make birthday cupcakes with frosting footballs on top.

On the day of the party, we asked one of Abuela’s friends to take her out to tea. While Abuela was gone, the rest of the guests came. Most brought presents, but some also brought food, favors, . . . and even their own ideas about what to do at our party!

Since Ollie and I had planned every little detail in advance, I started getting stressed. “We made cupcakes, but Mr. Maldonato brought a cake! Which will we eat?”

“Um, how can you have too much cake?” Ollie said.

“We planned to have a funny-cheer contest, but Mrs. Evans wants to have a touchdown-dance contest!”

“Those are both fun things,” Ollie said. “Is it possible to have too much fun?”

“We made flags for people to wave, but Mrs. Rivera brought noisemakers. . . . All of our plans are getting ruined!”

“’Zona, relax,” said Ollie. “You’re missing the point. Everyone is here to celebrate Abuela’s birthday. I know we made plans, but it’s OK if they change. Let’s just have fun!”

I looked around at all of Abuela’s friends, who were talking and laughing and waiting for Abuela to return. “You’re right,” I said. “What am I worried about?”

Five minutes later, when Abuela walked in, we all shouted, “SURPRISE!”

You should have seen Abuela jump!

As Abuela looked around, her eyes teared up. “Muchas gracias,” she said. “Thank you so very much!”

She saw Ollie and me beaming, and gave each of us a bear hug. “This is the first surprise party I’ve ever had in my entire life!”

“Were you really surprised?” asked Ollie.

“I nearly jumped out of my shoes!” said Abuela. “How did you keep this a secret?”

“Good planning, I guess.” Ollie laughed.

We all watched the game, voted on the best commercials, sang “Happy Birthday” to Abuela at halftime, and used everyone’s fun ideas. To sum it up, our surprise Super Bowl birthday party totally rocked!

So, dear Planning, I learned that planning is important, but don’t worry too much about making everything perfect. I’m fairly positive that your friend will have an excellent time—I know I would if someone threw a party just for me!