Tag: birthday

One of my favorite traditions that my husband and I have for our kids is a birthday date in place of a big birthday present. We do like to give them something to unwrap on their birthday, so I also always get them a book. I love this combination!

When my oldest was turning two, we had a four month old as well. I had the idea to take her to the local dinosaur museum (she was very into dinos as a toddler), with just Mom and Dad. She hadn’t had a lot of time with just her parents since the baby had come. We did this in place of a big present and got her a book to unwrap and she loved it! We also loved it, as it meant making memories with her for her birthday and reducing how much stuff we were bringing into the house.

Now that we’ve had our final birthday of the year (for the kids anyway), I wanted to share what we did for each child’s birthday date and what book/s we ended up getting them!

Parker

Birthday date: Cereal Party watching a favorite TV Show

Book: Game Over by Benjamin Bird

The book we gave Parker is a short little one (I think it has three chapters in it) called Game Over. She found this book on her Kindle when we had the free trial of Kids Kindle Unlimited and loved it. She would read it over and over again until the free trial ended and then she missed it, so I thought it would be the perfect book to buy her.

All of our kids ended up choosing lower-key dates this year, which ended up being perfect as we are juggling older kid traditions with our new baby (I tried giving them each a different option, but this is what they wanted and we weren’t going to complain).

There is a little bit of back story with Parker’s desire for this date–when her older sister turned 10, we started doing a late night movie night with her each week after her siblings are in bed. Parker has been very jealous of that and can hardly wait until she’s ten to join. This date was a way for her to do a movie night like that a year early and she loved it.

For the show, we let her watch Leverage with us. Leverage is one of our favorite shows where we got Parker’s name. We’ve talked about the show and shown her some different clips of the character she was name after, so she has wanted to watch it for many years now. She was super excited to watch some episodes with us before she officially turned ten (and before her older sister watched any as well). It made the night even more special to get out cereal (something we usually only eat on Saturday mornings after chores) as the treat.

Rylee

Birthday Date: Cereal Party with special cereal and a movie

Book: Barb the Last Berzerker by Dan Abdo

Barb the Last Berserker is a graphic novel that my kids have checked out from the library many times and loved. Rylee recently got very into them and kept renewing them and rechecking them out (until I decided to buy them for her, then I made her return them). It’s a fun series and I wanted to own them. We got her the first three in a box set.

Rylee wanted to do a cereal party for her birthday date as well, after seeing Parker do hers. I was open to the idea, but we didn’t have a show that would make it special for her the way we did for Parker, so I was worried it would be a bit of a letdown. To make it more special for her, we added a little twist–I took her earlier in the day to the store and let her pick out a new kind of cereal to have that evening. She loved picking it out! It was a hard choice, with so many to pick from, but she eventually picked … Fruit Loops with Marshmallows! For her movie, we watched The Karate Kid, which she loved. It ended up being a very special night together and she was glad she picked it as her date.

Oliver

Birthday Date: Coldstone Cereal and Playing Video Games

Book: Magic Treehouse Graphic Novel and The Princess in Pink: Cat Catastrophe

Each night after scriptures and before I read a novel outloud, Ben reads out a book to Oliver in bed. At the time, they’d been reading through the Magic Treehouse Graphic Novel and the Princess in Black books and loving both. We owned most of both series, but not the newest ones of either, so that’s what I decided to get Oliver for his birthday. He was so excited and loved having Ben read them to him!

For his date, he really wanted to go get ice cream at Coldstone, so he could get blue ice cream with candy in it (one of his sisters brought some home from an activity they went to earlier in the year). We took him to Coldstone while my sister-in-law watched the kids and he got his blue cotton candy ice cream and picked putting gummy bears in it. He also took some home, just like his sister, and couldn’t be happier. Then during Leah’s nap, we took him into the office for the second part of his date–playing video games with Mom and Dad. He loves to play video games, especially on Ben’s Steamdeck, but he is still young enough that he needs a lot of help, so this was the perfect date for him.

Ashtyn

Birthday Date: Play Harry Potter Legacy with Treats

Book: Just Add Magic by Cindy Callaghan + Fun and Easy Crafting with Recycled Material

I bought these same books for her cousin just a month earlier for her birthday, so Ashtyn was excited to match! Just Add Magic is a book I’ve never read, but I’ve heard it’s really cute and it combines cooking with magic–a perfect combination for Ashtyn. She and her cousin are really into crafting, so this crafting book is practical and fun for them.

For her date, she wanted to play video games with treats–it’s her favorite birthday date. Because she did a Hogwarts themed birthday this year, she leaned into the theme and played Hogwarts Legacy. For the treats, I made them “Harry Potter” themed as well (we did things like cream soda for butterbear and pretzels for wands). I even made little notecards for each food to label what it was. We had a lot of fun eating treats and playing through the game together.

That’s what we did for our kids for their birthdays this year! We had a lot of fun helping our kids feel special on their day and making new memories with them. What birthday traditions do you have? I’d love to hear from you the comments below!

Every year, we do a countdown to each child’s birthday 12 days before their special day, as a sort of twist on the 12 days of Christmas. With Parker’s birthday coming up (hers has always been the first of the year until we had Leah this year), it’s time to put the 12 days of Parker together!

I will do the same gifts for both Rylee and Ashtyn’s birthday later in the year. Oliver, being younger and a boy, will get a different item for some of the days. Leah won’t get a countdown until she’s turning three.

Day 1: Cake Mix with sprinkles and frosting

The kids love cooking and helping me in the kitchen, so this is a fun way to let them make something more on their own. We did it last year and it was their favorite thing (especially Oliver)! For Ashtyn, I get her cake flour and she makes an angel food cake because she loves to follow recipes and doesn’t like eating cake mix cake very much.

Day 2: Foldology Book

This is a fun activity book that I heard about from Everyday Reading and I knew when I saw her talking about it that my girls would love it! Oliver is probably not quite old enough for it yet, so I was planning to get a couple matchbox cars for him this day instead.

Day 3: Candy

I always like to throw in a few days of candy because it’s cheap and fun! I also like to have at least one candy day where all the kids can have some and have some days where the candy is just for the birthday kid.

Day 4: Shower bombs and lip gloss

I bought a pack of shower bombs and a pack of lip gloss that I could divide up between all the girls through the year. I think they’re going to especially love the shower bombs. Oliver will get some bath stuff this day instead.

Day 5: Paint Sticks

My kids love all things crafting and these paint sticks seemed like a pretty lowkey item that they can use without my help, but also something a little out of the ordinary of what we have around for them to craft with.

Day 6: Candy

Another candy day!

Day 7: Pokemon Stained Glass Art Book

In addition to loving crafting, my kids are very into Pokemon. I think all four of them (including Oliver) will love this little art book.

Day 8: Kindle Page Turner

Both Ashtyn and Parker have Kindles and love them. I think they will think these page turners are fun and use them a lot, especially when they’re reading in bed at night. Since Rylee and Oliver don’t have Kindles yet, I’m going to do something different for them. I was thinking of trying to find a less expensive telescope for Rylee, because she’s been really wanting one, and doing rock crayons with a notebook for Oliver.

Day 9: Candy

Another candy day! The kids love getting the candy and I always try to find candy that I know they really love but don’t get very often.

Day 10: Modeling Clay

This is another crafting thing that I think the kids are really going to have a lot of fun with.

Day 11: Twinkies

Our kids all love Twinkies, but we basically never buy them (pretty much only for their birthday countdown), so they are always very excited for this day.

Day 12: Special Necklace

The girls (Parker especially) have been really into jewelry lately and I found these cute necklaces that are customizable with the letter of their first name. I think the girls will love it! Oliver obviously won’t be getting a necklace. The thing he is really into is super heroes, so I was planning on getting him some simple super hero masks for this day. I know he’ll love them.

That is what we are doing for our birthday 12 day countdown! This is one of our favorite birthday traditions, even when we keep it simple and get dollar store gifts. What is one of your family’s favorite traditions?

One of our new favorite birthday traditions is giving the birthday kid a small gift each day for 12 days leading up to their birthday. It is inspired by the 12 days of Christmas and we all love it!

I did a post a few months ago about what gifts I got for Parker for her birthday. Each of her sisters are getting basically the same gifts for their 12 days, but Oliver (being a lot younger and a boy) is getting quite a different set of gifts.

Today I am sharing what we’re doing for Oliver’s 12 Days this year!

Day 1: Cake Mix with Frosting and Sprinkles

This one is actually the same as his sisters. We did a cake mix that they get to make (obviously I will be helping Oliver since he’s so small). We don’t buy cake mixes basically ever and the kids love making treats in the kitchen, so it’s a fun and simple gift!

Day 2: Baby Garage Truck

Oliver has a big garbage truck that he got with his birthday money last year. He loves to push it around, ride on it, and put things in it. He also loves having one small and one big thing (of anything), he calls them the Mommy and the baby. I know he is going to love having a “baby” garbage truck to play with.

It actually ended up being a bit bigger than I thought it would be (I’m terrible at telling things like that when shopping online) but I still think he’ll love it.

Day 3: Candy

I always love to devote at least a few days to treats and candy. I like to go to the dollar store and pick out some of the child’s favorite candy.

Day 4: Cement Truck

Oliver is all things trucks and tractors right now and I love it! He loves seeing cement trucks and has wanted a toy one for a while. It also has the added benefit of being a decoration for his birthday party!

Day 5: Customized Tractor T-shirt

I might be more excited about this one than Oliver will be, but I know he’ll love it. I think this shirt is adorable and I love that it is customizable. I think Oliver will like the tractor on it, but I also think that he’ll be excited that it has his name on it when we show him that.

Day 6: Candy

Another candy day! I know Oliver will be excited for more treats.

Day 7: Toy Car Carrier

Oliver got a toy car carrier for Christmas last year and played with it until it broke. This one seems pretty sturdy, and I know it will get a lot of use!

Day 8: Tractor Book

I did a drawing book for all of his sisters and had one picked out for Oliver, but it never came. I know he’ll love a book about tractors though.

Day 9: Candy

Another candy day!

Day 10: Star Pillow

I did a star pillow for all the girls, and I think Oliver will like having one that matches his sisters.

Day 11: Twinkies

Twinkies are another thing we pretty much never buy that the kids all love. I did Twinkies in all the girls’ 12 days as well and I know Oliver will love it.

Day 12: Toy Forklift

I saved this for the last day because I think this is the one he will be most excited for! There is a house being built next door to us and Oliver saw them using a forklift a few months ago. Ever since then, he has loved forklifts and has wanted his own toy one. This one is cute because it comes with a couple toys that the forklift can actually lift. I know Oliver will love it!

What are some of your favorite birthday traditions? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

I have always love birthdays! My mom did a lot when I was growing up to make my birthday special each year and it’s a joy as a mother to do the same for my children.

Today I’m sharing some of our birthday traditions with our kids.

Decorations

Each year, I let my kids pick a theme for their birthday decorations. We’ve had themes like dinosaurs and bugs to princesses and mermaids. I get balloons, streamers, and a birthday banner. Then I print off coloring pages in that theme that the kids color and cut out before we hang them up. I try to get these all up the night before after the kids are in bed, so they wake up on their birthday to a decorated house.

I also decorate the table, but we don’t do that until it’s time for cake and ice cream with family. I always get a plastic tablecloth and then try to find some toys or decorations that match their theme.

Donuts

We love to start the morning off with donuts. I will often make fry donuts but we also have a local donut shop that we love to order donuts from. Donuts are not something we do often, so they really make the birthday special!

Measure the birthday child

We use the inside doorframe of our pantry to keep track of each child’s height on each birthday. They always love seeing how much they’ve grown each year.

Birthday Date

When my oldest turned 2, we had just had another baby. We were both feeling the lack of alone time with our new addition, so my husband and I decided to take her on a date instead of getting her a big present. We took her to our local dinosaur museum because she was really into dinosaurs at the time. With that birthday, our new tradition was born. Starting with their second birthday, we take our kids on a date to do an activity of their choice.

Because we live in a smaller city, our options are more limited. We’ve always been able to come up with really fun dates with them though! We have done four wheeler rides at a nearby creek, hikes, bike rides swimming at the rec center, and visiting the pet store. We’ve also done more creative ones. One year, our daughter was really into fairies, so we built a fairy house together for her date and she loved it. Another year, we bought some treats and played video games; our daughter earned points to spend on the treats we’d picked out together.

Starting at 8, we take them out to the city (about 3 hours away) for a bigger date. Our oldest is the only one who has turned 8 so far and she picked going to a butterfly biosphere. I would love to let them pick somewhere in the U.S. to visit when they turn 12 and somewhere internationally when they turn 18, but we have yet to reach that stage with our kids yet.

Opening a Book

Because the birthday date replaced a present, I worried about our kids having the experience of opening a present from us on their birthday. The solution I came up with was to gift them a book–it’s inexpensive and something we value. I always pick a book or two and wrap them up. I have loved finding books that I know they will be so excited for!

Photo Book of their Art

This is a tradition I started just last year, but so far, I’ve loved it. I make a photo book of my kid’s art and print the book for their birthday.

During the year, when I clean out the kids’ art, I take pictures of it with my phone. When I clean off my phone on Saturday, I move the pictures to the corresponding folder and when their birthday is approaching, I simply download the pictures of all the art they made throughout the year and make a Shutterfly book with them. They turn out really cute.

Cake and Ice Cream and Family

One tradition we don’t do is friend parties every year. We live close to a lot of family, so we always invite them over for cake and ice cream. I decorate the table. They open a couple presents (from some aunts/uncles and grandparents and, of course, the books from us) and we sing happy birthday to them. Then the kids play and the adults visit while everyone enjoys the treat. It’s simple and our kids love it!

I love to bake, so I let the kids pick which treat they want. I have one daughter who always requests a cookies and cream cake and another who requests angel food cake each year. My oldest daughter loves ice cream cakes from Coldstone, so if it fits in the budget, she likes to do that. I’ve also done cookies or even one year, pancakes. Whatever treat they want, I try to make it happen. Unless we buy an ice cream cake, I also make ice cream (we have a fantastic and super easy ice cream recipe).

*So far, the year they get a friend party is when they turn 8. I’m sure there are other years we’ll do friend parties, but we have yet to get there.

Birthday Interview

On my personal blog, I interview my kids each year, asking them questions about the age they were the year before. This tradition is very much for me, it’s just another way for me to remember these fleeting moments.

Tell their Birth Story

Our final birthday tradition is at bedtime. After we get all the kids tucked into bed and before I read to them, I tell them all the story of when the birthday child was born. They love hearing the story and I love remembering that sweet time.

What birthday traditions, big or small, does your family have? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

Last year, we started a new birthday tradition that both the kids and I love! Leading up to their birthdays, we do the “12 days of the birthday kid” and each day, they get a little present.

Today I wanted to share what I’m giving Parker for her “12 days of Parker” this year!

Day 1: Cake Mix with Frosting and Sprinkles

This will be a fun one because I’m going to let her make the cake herself (which she’ll love) and her sisters will be excited because everyone can help eat the cake! I’m just getting a confetti white cake mix, cream cheese frosting, and rainbow sprinkles from Walmart.

Day 2: A Scratch Art Kit

I love the Scratch Art Kits! It’s actually what I usually give for friend birthday parties as well. I know Parker will be excited to get it, because we don’t usually have these around.

Day 3: Candy

I always devote a couple of the days to treats and candy. I like to go to the dollar store and find some candy that I know they’d like. It’s cheap and easy and the kids love it!

Day 4: Lip Gloss and a CTR Ring

My girls love getting “makeup” items like lip gloss and nail polish. I’m getting a couple different colors of nail polish from Walmart for a couple dollars. For lip gloss, I’m getting this pack of six and then I can give two to Parker now and save the others for her sisters’ 12 days of birthday. For the CTR ring (CTR stands for Choose the Right), I got this pack with purple ones and am saving the others for her sisters’ as well.

Day 5: Drawing Pads and Pens

My kids all love to draw, so special drawing pads and pens will be a big hit. I am going to get this set of drawing pads and give Parker one (I’ll save the other one for another sibling later). I like these ones because of the spiral top. I’m pairing this with a set of sparkly gel pens from Walmart.

Day 6: Candy

Another candy day! I know Parker will be excited for treats.

Day 7: Sticker Book

My kids love sticker books! I’ve been wanting to get the girls this sticker book for a while now and I thought their birthday countdowns would be the perfect time to do so. It’s a book that has different letter stickers that you can make different words out of. Not only will the girls think it’s super fun, but it’s also perfect as Parker and Rylee are learning to read right now.

Day 8: Drawing Book

This is another item I’ve had my eye on for a while. These drawing books are really cute and have some different options, so I can get a different one for her sisters’ birthdays.

Day 9: Candy

Another candy day! My kids would be really disappointed if I didn’t do at least a few of these.

Day 10: Nail Polish

My girls love nail polish and I know as soon as she opens this, she’ll want me to paint her nails, so we get to spend that time together too!

Day 11: Twinkies

My kids love Twinkies, but we rarely get them (I mean, I think the last time we got them was two Christmases ago). I thought this year they would love to get a two-set of Twinkies to enjoy.

Day 12: Star Pillow

When Parker was younger, she had a pillow shaped like a star. She really wants one again, and so does her younger sister. I thought I could buy this three-pack of star pillows and give one to Parker and save the other two for Oliver and Rylee’s birthday (I’ll have to think of something else for Ashtyn).

I am excited to continue this tradition for my kids this year, starting with Parker! What are some of your favorite birthday traditions? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!