Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. -Charles R. Swindoll
Birthday celebrations take on special meanings. A baby’s first birthday, sweet 16…and then you get to the place where you only celebrate the ones that end in 5 or 0. I enjoy each of my birthdays and celebrate life! Birthdays were special growing up, but not because they were elaborate or involved lots of presents and attention. They were special for another reason.
Parents have lots of really special options for birthday parties these days, but the most important thing is to create an experience that your child will enjoy. My mother worked outside of the home so if your birthday landed on a week day, you looked forward to receiving a Hostess® cupcake with a candle. There are not many things I remember about birthday celebrations growing up, but we could always depend on this. Then my dad would follow-up on the weekend with a Carvel ®ice cream cake. It was always as hard as a brick, but delicious to eat. Those cupcakes and ice cream cakes (or logs) hold a special place in my heart to this day.
Be creative when you celebrate. My oldest has an early January birthday. The weeks after Christmas can be tight budget wise, plus everyone is concentrating on getting back to school. One year, instead of having a party in January, we had a 100th month celebration. It was April in Atlanta. Still too cold to swim outside, but we were able to reserve an indoor pool and my winter son had an unusual birthday party. He probably doesn’t remember this…but that’s not the point. He was thrilled at the time and I have the pictures to prove it! They may not remember these things as adults, but they do remember after the event which helps with the foundation you need to build with them.
Do you have special celebrations your children or family look forward to? No matter how quirky, are there things your family does that are unique? We bake a birthday cake with homemade icing for Christmas and call it a Jesus cake. That’s a unique "birthday" tradition that we enjoy. Of course, sometimes I am so worn out from cooking dinner, that Jesus doesn’t get his cake until the day after Christmas but that is beside the point. We sing happy birthday, blow out the candles and dig in on
Jesus' behalf!
Create a special birthday tradition - it will give your child a pleasant memory and tradition to pass on.
