I am a birthday obsessed kinda gal. I love the cake, presents, people, traditions, and excitement that goes along with celebrating birthdays. That being said, I knew when I became a parent, I wanted to start some fun birthday traditions with my kiddos. Below are five traditions I started with my boys. Some of the traditions may need to be tweaked as they grow older, but during the toddler and young kid stages, these traditions have been fun to create!
Balloon and Streamer Surprise
On birthday eve, after the birthday boy falls asleep, my husband and I (okay, mostly my husband) grab the bags of balloons and began blowing them up to be scattered around the birthday boy’s bedroom floor. This year for our son’s 3rd birthday, we blew up close to fifty balloons of varying colors. We also hung bright blue streamers from his doorway. When he awoke the morning of his birthday, he was elated to find his floor covered with balloons. Bonus:: The balloons also double as party decor as well.
Birthday Bucket
On birthday morning, the birthday boy can open his birthday bucket. I fill it with a few small (inexpensive) items that he loves. For Jake this year, I filled with play-doh (much to my husband’s dismay, he hates play doh), bubbles, mini M&M’s, and a coloring book. It’s a fun way to begin the day and gives them some fun smaller items to enjoy.
Birthday Pancakes
My favorite birthday tradition! I use Funfetti pancake mix (yep, store bought. pre-packaged. easy peasy), a powdered sugar drizzle on top, complete with a birthday candle. We then sing happy birthday. My kids LOVE this tradition. Mostly due in part because of the attention, but also because they know after breakfast they can open their presents.
Birthday Dinner
My boys are now old enough to pick out restaurants and food they like. When they were one and two years old we would always go out for Mexican food on their birthdays because I love, love, love Mexican food. Now that they are old enough to talk and have opinions, they get to choose their restaurant. Luke chose Red Robin for his birthday dinner and was so excited to be serenaded AND receive an ice cream Sunday. The boys both love to choose their restaurant and know that dessert is always involved.
Dr. Seuss Birthday Book
There’s nothing like reading a book to your child to make him or her feel special. This is why I LOVE Dr. Seuss’s book “Happy Birthday to You!” It’s a fun book to wind down from a day of birthday mayhem and reiterate how truly special your little is. {There is also a baby version from Dr. Suess’s nursery collection, entitled Happy Birthday, Baby! It’s an adorable interactive book sure to grab your baby’s attention.}
One thing I want my kiddos to know is that birthdays do not have to be centered around gifts to be memorable. The important thing to focus on is making your child’s day special and fill it with activities and people that your child enjoys. We often spend birthdays going on bike rides, the zoo or to the park. Nothing extravagant, but definitely memorable. They probably will not remember all the gifts they receive, BUT they will remember the fun ways in which we celebrated their special day!
[…] 5 Fun Birthday Traditions for Kids […]