Caution Mamas
Anything you say on my facebook page can and very possibly will inspire a blog post. Oh sure, I have things to say, but there’s a poop streak on the bedsheet calling my name and let’s face it – the best stuff always comes from you, anyway. So, without further hullabalo, here are five brilliant birthday ideas too good to keep buried in an obscure status update:
Breakfast In Bed? Nah, This Is Better!!
“We always wake him up singing (and video taping). We usually have some special breakfast waiting. Of course he gets to pick all of the foods for the day.”
~Alison
Tell Their Story
A rousing performance (with re-enactments from older siblings if possible!), slideshows, a journal entry, or even by making a dish you prepared while in labor. There are tons of fun ways to relive the day. Try them all!
Create A Time Capsule (Sort Of)
I write everything about what they are like at that point in time. Everything I love about them, what I am praying over them & God’s plan for them. Then I seal it and put in a box specific for each of them to have later in life. I also sit with them and tell them the same things..knowing they may not fully understand it all at this age.
~Rena
Oh Mom, THAT Thing Again?!?!? {Hides Grin}
I bought a sparkly decorated “birthday girl” party hat for my daughter. She will be three this year, so this will be the third year we use it while we sing Happy Birthday to her. Hope she doesn’t hate me when she’s 16, because she’s still gonna have to get at least one picture taken with it on her head.:)
~Peyton
The Smorgasbord Approach
We all cuddle up in the morning first thing and sing happy birthday, open their couple of family presents and hear their birth story. I also make whatever that child wants for breakfast and dinner. At breakfast we go around and tell the birthday boy how much we love him and all the things that make him special to us. We usually have a little party with family and/or friends as well, but the other things are our traditions.
~Jennifer
And of course, there’s ALWAYS food. Usually we whip up this gluten-free carrot cake.
Did you have a birthday tradition growing up? Have you created any special traditions (birthday or anyday) with your kids? Tell us about it!
Rena Arnold
Hankie alert!!
Harmony Andkids
I stole mine from a book- the kids get a morning “cake” in bed, and I tell them ( with much more pomp and ceremony than every other day I tell them ) how happy I had them. Happy morning snuggles guarantee a great day 🙂
Heather G
My birthday is a few days before Christmas. Growing up my mother always would stay up the night before to take down the holiday decorations in the dining room and cover every inch in birthday decor. She would also stand outside on the freezing porch, birthday wrapping paper and tape in hand, in case anyone came with a present wrapped in Christmas paper. The entire day was about my birthday without a mention of the upcoming holiday. She’d then stay up that night and return the Christmas decor after I was in bed. I never realized how special it was until I was an adult and only my husband makes a point to separate my birthday and Christmas.
Heather
Wow, thanks for this idea! My daughter was born three days before Christmas and so far we haven’t figured out a celebration style that works for us. Early? Late? Right on time with just a few partygoers? I think I will have to give this a try one year and see what she thinks!
Rebekkah Smith
We always got to make our own cake on our birthday. Might sound lame to some people (like my husband), but I LOVED getting to pick out the flavor and bake it and decorate it myself. My toddler will be 3 on his next bday, so I’ll probably let him start helping or picking out the flavor he wants. I already know what he’d request – cheesecake!
Mommypotamus
@Rena – That was one of my favorite threads ever:) THANK YOU so much for sharing your tradition – I’m going to make it mine in a few months when Katie turns four
Mommypotamus
Love it, Harmony! Maybe we’ll do a stack of birthday pan”cakes”!
Christi
What great ideas you shared here –thanks!
In addition to the birthday boy/girl getting to choose their favorite dinner and dessert for their special day, the other tradition we have is that the birthday boy/girl wakes up in the morning to find a big birthday balloon waiting for them at the foot of their bed, often with a little note written on it (in Sharpie) from us parents. Now that my oldest children are no longer living with us, they still talk about how much they loved the birthday balloon and how they miss it. 😉
Heather
So simple and sweet! Can’t wait to do this for my daughter. Thank you, Christi!
Peyton Lauderdale
I had as much fun reading this post as I did reading all the comments on facebook. My daughter was thrilled to wear her birthday girl hat at her party last Sunday. Now we have three pictures of her with Mama and Daddy, wearing that silly sparkly hat!
karli
We buy 2 packages of multicolored balloons from the dollar store, blow them all up and put them in our daughters room while she is sleeping. Then when she wakes up in the morning she doesn’t see her floor-only balloons! She loves it! Plus it only costs $2 plus a little free hot air:-)
As an added bonus, they double as decorations if you do a party later-you can even send some home with guests as party favors and you end up with less clean up, too. Its a win win:-)
Heather
Love this idea, Karli! Thanks for sharing!
Anita
The birthday cake is usually done by me, but I always bake little cupcakes for the boys to decorate by themselves. My son recently had his 5th birthday at home, and he got to do the icing on the actual birthday cake. Last year we got a go-kart company to come to our house and set up the track (it’s inflatable) in the garden, and since they all got to race around, they had little awards ceremony at the end. So this year there won’t be any birthday crowns or hats, but rather a little trophy instead to remind him of last year. Here’s the address for anyone who wants it. http://go-kartparty.co.uk/.