My Diva turned eight recently, so I took the lazy route and had her party at a favourite spot - the intersection of playground and beach, ordered some pizzas and got distracted and forgot to make party bags. (Thus our car is still full of little packs of bubbles, to the toddlers delight.)
While the temperature is hitting a balmy 26c on average - it is the middle of our winter and the kids haven't been swimming for a few months. However, with so many kids to show off in front off the first thing my Wild-Child did was dive in. (The water was amazingly clear, as was the sky.) Most of the kids followed his lead. Luckily, living close to the sea most mums' had towels and spare clothes.
And... they all looked so grown up. My toddler gazed up in adoration at the Big Kids who paid her so much attention. Already the teen years seem so so close. At eight they are already practicing. My Diva has a diary 'you're not allowed to read it mum, it's private, it might be about the boy I like.' Cheeky grin.