Birthdays really are events full of joy.
I love preparing for our family birthdays. And so do the kids. They pour over the birthday cake book choosing which cake they would like their dad to make them. They daydream about what kind of party they will have (if it is a party year) and who they will invite. We tend to follow the guide of inviting as many guests as years they are turning. So my daughter who turned 4 was allowed to choose 4 friends to help her celebrate.
And I love the ritual of a birthday-eve. After the children have gone to bed I hang the birthday bunting, I carefully place their playsilk wrapped gifts (so pretty and saves on wrapping paper!), their birthday crown, and arrange the birthday ring with the number they are turning and some other little decorations.
These are the first things they look for in the morning. And are part of the birthday ritual! They know they need to wait until everyone is awake before the gifts can be unwrapped, and sometimes that wait can take awhile! My big boy is usually the first awake and it actually surprises me how patient he can be.
We love to watch their excitement as they unwrap their gifts. I think that is a gift in itself, to the giver *smile*
We still follow our gift giving philosophy. And it is serving us well.
We try to be careful about what we bring into our home. Books and toys are to be beautiful and loved. We prefer toys made from natural materials that can inspire imaginative play. And we love plants and homemade goodies too! And our lovely friends know us well, the birthday girl happily unwrapped a hand-knitted milo vest, a lavender plant (for her fairy garden) and a beautiful wand made by her friend. Gifts to be treasured!
And this year was my daughter’s first ‘proper’ birthday party. She chose to have a fairy party, so the children made fairy wands, blew bubbles and played in the backyard. We kept it fairly simple (although I always tend to over cater!) and pass the parcel was the only organised game. They jumped on the trampoline, played in the cubby house, dug in the sandpit and otherwise just ran around (fueled by some party food).
My daughter had such a lovely time, it almost makes me reconsider having parties every second year! And I’m not even entirely sure why we do it this way? Perhaps because that is how my mum did it? Parties can be expensive extravaganzas these days, but truly, keeping it simple was lovely!
Do you have birthday parties each year?
Warmly, Kelly