Barry Gibbons has decided to celebrate his 36th birthday with all the zest and zeal of a 9-year-old on a Leap Year. Friends and family were left scratching their heads as they received invitations to what was billed as “Barry’s Big Leap-Back Birthday Bonanza.”
Gibbons, who claims to be a ‘leapling’ despite his birth 36 years ago, is determined to embrace his inner child on this auspicious day that only happens once every four years.
The Bendigo Standard got an exclusive interview with the man of the hour, sporting a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles party hat that barely contained his receding hairline.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for 36 years – it’s my leap year, my leap back into the prime of my youth,” exclaimed Gibbons with a twinkle in his eye that may have been more crow’s feet than childlike wonder.
Gibbons’s wife, Sharon, was initially sceptical about the idea but eventually succumbed to her husband’s whims. “I figured, why not? What’s the harm in letting him pretend to be single-digit-aged for a day?” she told us while attempting to wrangle her husband away from the zip line he insisted on having at the party.
Local parents are both amused and bewildered by the unconventional celebration. “I thought it was a typo when I got the invitation. A 36-year-old having a 9-year-old’s birthday party? He’s like Tom Hanks in that movie Big,” said Jane Schmitty, a fellow parent who will attend the event with her children.
Attendees can expect a menu of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, an unlimited supply of pop tops and Zooper Doopers, and a mandatory nap time for all guests after the cake-cutting ceremony.
