I absolutely love celebrating birthdays and spoiling my loved ones on their special day. We keep things pretty simple over here so it's not super overwhelming. There's always balloons, a special family activity, and dinner/birthday treat picked out by the guest of honor! I also do a birthday interview with my kiddos in their Birthday Books! Nothing crazy - just enough to make them feel loved and special on their big day.
in case you're looking for some new birthday traditions, here are a few ideas to start with your own kiddos:
1. Surprise your child with balloons. My husband always goes out the night before our children's birthdays to pick up a bunch of balloons in their favorite colors and featuring their favorite characters. They're always so excited to come downstairs in the morning and see them! You could also create a balloon arch or cover the floor in balloons.
2. Decorate their doorway. Waking up to find streamers and balloons covering the doorway has to make a child feel special.
2. Start a birthday memory book. It's never too late to start! Add photos from the celebrations, have loved ones write birthday messages and complete a birthday interview with your child to see how their answers change year after year. The Birthday Book is the perfect tool for this!
3. Let your child pick dinner, whether it be at their favorite restaurant or their favorite home cooked meal.
4. Bake birthday cupcakes (or cake or brownies or whatever treat you child loves) together. Spending the time to make them together will make it all that much sweeter.
5. Ask loved ones to mail cards or letters to your child to be opened on their birthday.
6. Take your child to their favorite place - the zoo, the children's museum (a big favorite in our house), the movies, the park, whatever they love best! This doesn't have to be done on their birthday, of course. With school and work, we always have to wait for the weekend, which just means we get an extra day to celebrate our little ones!
7. Have a special movie night. Make popcorn, cozy up, and watch your kiddo's favorite movie.
8. Use a special birthday plate. There are some stinking cute ones on Etsy. I love this one and this one!
9. Look back at old photos and videos. Pull out the memory books and photo albums and reminisce with your child about special memories and how they've changed.
10. Measure their height on a growth chart. I always wish we had done one of these! There are cute plain ones and also ones that can be personalized.
11. Create a birthday countdown - on a calendar, with a paper chain, or with balloons. Ideas for inspiration can be found here and here.
I hope this gives you some simple ideas to create your own birthday memories!