Simple things to make a special day
No sooner has Happy Birthday been sung, candles blown out, and presents unwrapped, than another birthday is over. Parties are fun and a great way to celebrate an anniversary but sometimes the message can get lost between the bouncy castle and the bunting. If you’re keen to take the flashiness down a notch and make more meaning out of a yearly milestone for your children, try some of these ideas.
Birthday Interview
Every year on the same day ask your little one the same set of questions and record their responses. The results, year on year, make for some hilarious reading and one very sentimental keepsake. You can record questions and answers in written form and stick the results in a scrap book that you add to as time goes on. Or you can get all ‘60 Minutes’ and make a video. Some sample questions: favourite thing you did this year, what are you really good at, who is your hero, what do you wish for, what do you think of mum and dad, what’s your favourite book? Asking them what they want to be when they grow up at age 3, 6, 9, 12 will elicit some very different and imaginative answers.
Your Wish Is My Command
Make their birthday the one day of the year that is truly all about them. Let them choose the activities, meals and plans all day.
Birthday Hat
Crafting a special hat that has to be worn by each person in the family on their birthday sets up an acceptably goofy tradition. In fact, the birthday hat came into being way back when to signify the start of frivolity during a celebration. Both the making and wearing of a kid-decorated, elaborate and colourful hat can be made into an occasion. Crack out the cardboard, felt, glue and glitter then ready the camera. If you prefer to exercise some purchasing power, there are loads of options online like, Bellas Bunting or Chicly Hook.
Give Back
Birthdays are a good time for children to appreciate how lucky they are and perhaps give back a little to those less fortunate. If your child receives lots of lovely pressies each year, encourage them to select 5 or 10 older items to give away to charity. You can take them to Sanctuary House where they will get redistributed to some children in need.
Special Wake Up
Plan a magic way for your little one to wake up, like breakfast in bed or decorations outside their room. A sweet idea is for everyone in the family to write a nice notes about the birthday person, slip them inside balloons and blow them up to cover their room. They have to pop them to get the message.
Free Time
If we have the means, we tend to give our kids so much and they want for nothing. Except perhaps more of our time. Outside of whatever regular time you have with your child, present them with 12 Free Time Access Cards that they can use to claim time with you throughout the year. Whenever they’re feeling they need a bit of one on one love, they can cash in their entitlement to hang out with you: go on a walk, go sailing, bake a cake, go to the beach.
Initiation Rites
With each new age, concoct a challenge, allowance, activity or event that introduces them to being another year older and makes them feel more grown up. It could be a 30 minute increase to their bedtime, having their first sleepover at a friends house, walking to the shops alone, going to their first international sports event, getting their ears pierced or having a surf lesson.
Photo Collage
It’s a bit of work, but collating a bunch of photos taken throughout the year makes a great memento to pour over together. Pick out moments of your little one from your digital collection and get them printed and pop them in an album. Alternatively, you make the process super simple and create a photo book or memento with our handy list of suppliers.