On Kids, Imagination, and the Civil Service

by Nick Charney

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Last week I was tasked with organizing an event at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC. When I got home I told my (almost) 12 year old daughter about it during our daily "how was everyone's day" family debrief. She immediately thought that planning a party (its not actually a party) sounded like fun and starting throwing creative ideas out there about what the event could look like. We spoke about it for an hour and I encouraged her to continue to run with it. After our conversation she went away with her iPad and wrote up the event description. Kids have this amazing penchant for creativity and openness that many adults lose along the way and it was refreshing to see the world of government through her eyes. I asked her if I could share it her with you today, and am posting her work (lightly edited as her first language is French) with her permission.

Dinner party for Nicholas Charney!

It will be a party for 30 at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC.

How to get there: 

• 15 hot air balloons, (2 people per hot air balloon) each one having its own letter so when they will all be up in the sky it will spell: Nicholas Rocks! 
• Every hot air balloon will have a Starbucks Barista Serving drinks on us!! 😊

The restaurant schedule:

• Dinner will start at 5:00 PM. 
• Appetizers arrive at 5:30 PM.
• Discussion at 6 PM. (When YOU are done eating your appetizer)
• Main course comes at 6:30 PM.
• Finish the discussion at 7 PM. (or when everyone is done eating)
• Discussion at about 7:30 PM
• Everyone goes to get changed into a onesie at 7:45 PM. (We will provide them)
• 8:00 PM will be when the party really gets going there will be a DJ playing some throwback hits of the 90s!
• At 8:30 PM a big unicorn piñata will slowly lower itself to a good height and then you guys can smash it and what's going to be in the unicorn piñata will be a $20 bill for each person that comes and candy of course!

How to get to your hotel: 

• You will be escorted out of the building and to your hotel by a taxicab but please note you will have to pay for the taxi! But we will pay for one of your nights at the hotel.

Extra:

• Onesie: 20$ (if you wish to purchase one)
• You will have to pay for dinner! (Cause let's get real we have a budget)
• Your Starbucks barista will give one drink of your choice on us! If you wish for more than one drink you will have to purchase it yourself.

--- Fin --- 

Hot air balloons with Starbucks baristas, 90s classics, onesies, and a piñata? Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Something this innovative probably needs to go the Deputy...