Birthday Traditions?

We have two. The first is each year we make a garden stone. I do handprints, footprints the next year, etc. Now I have a garden of garen stones and I can take them with me each place I move..It's fun to see the little hands and feet grow. You can buy these easy garden stone kits at any craft store, Target or Walmart.
The other is that for each of my children's first birthday I took many of the photos from the day they were born on and made a collage. I took the collage to Kinkos had it shrunk down and used the college for the birthday invite cover. I then framed the big collage and I can remember that first year everytime I walk by it. My son is five and he loves looking at his "One Year Photos". It makes me a little weepy but I love remembering that very first year!

A freind of mine has been having "Birthday Breakfast" for her kids since their 1st birthdays. They have close friends and family arrive at 9 a.m....all in pajamas (at least the kids) and they do coffee, juice or milk, and make waffles with a really great waffle maker. Everyone just hangs around and chats while they are made and the kids play in the yard. The party doesn't disrupt their day and they love it!!!

i think it sounds very cute!!!

I read in a magazine about this idea and loved it! Instead of parents and grandparents buying birthday cards, they write a special note about the past year and put it in a shoebox or whatever and save these until the child turns 18 or whatever and give it to them then-a special note for each year of their life.

On the other question-I would just address it to the family. That includes everyone in their household...no need to write out every name. Or if you wanted, I know I have written the invitations to the kids before like "Little Jane Doe and family"...since it's a kids party. Makes them feel special....

I don't know if you have a little girl, but my husband brings home a rose for each year on our daughters' birthdays. (1 rose the first year, 2 roses the 2nd year, 3 roses the 3rd year, etc.)

Also, we video tape our daughters in their bedtime routines as they go to bed the night before their birthday, and then video them waking up in the morning. We video their rooms a bit, too.

We also take a photo with our daughter next to the same stuffed animal every year to show the changes. (Actually we did every month the 1st year, every other the 2nd, 4 times a year there out...)
Have fun!
A.

I do a few things...I decorate my son's door for his birthday and take a picture of him next to it. It is complete with balloons, but I leave some space for him to add to it. He is only 2 so I just started it at 2 since at one he really wouln't understand. I also make him a cake and have him help me decorate it but he usually only licks the frosting. It is great.

On my daughters first birthday I decorated her cake all by myself and did Hello Kitty. It was such a hit b/c I don't decorate cakes at all and it came out perfect. From then on I decided that it would be a tradition. This year I made her a Dora cake. This way I hope when she gets older she will always be able to look back on them and remember the love I put into them instead of material things she won't remember.
They are a lot of work but worth it.

First, I would address the invitations to "The Taylor family".

I was watching Oprah one day, and she did a show about traditions. One was on each birthday, they took a picture of their child (boy-in one of dad's shirts, girl-in a dress of mom's), using the same shirt or dress every year to see how much they grew. I thought it was a cool idea and wish I thought of it.

Enjoy

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. Every year I wake them up with the birthday song by the Beatles. I blast it as loud as I can! :) My one year old didn't really get a kick out of it yet, but my four year old son loved it. I also write birthday messages and draw pictures like cakes, candles, presents, etc. all over the bathroom mirror. I also get a great big number balloon...for example, a 4 for the four year old and a 1 for my one year old this year and I always make sure to get a picture of them with it.

Have fun and happy birthday to your little one!

In our family, on the child's actual birthday, their grandparents come over for dinner, cake, and presents. Just the family.

Then on their party day (which is usually the weekend) we have a party where we invite families also. On the invitation we write "Bring the family" so they know Mom, Dad and siblings are also welcome.

Our tradition for parties is no presents. We grew uncomfortable w/ it about 2 years ago, their friends would argue over who brought the best present and it seemed so competitive. Or one child would have more guests than the other so they'd "get" more. Plus, I didnt' want the parents to feel like they had to spend money on a "good" gift, and if they didn't have the money to do it, I didn't want them to think they couldn't come.

Plus, we've all been or had the parties where the birthday kid opened a present and everyone wanted to play with it, but the birthday kid wasn't ready to share it yet b/c it was new. We've been to more than one party where a gift was given and the birthday kid said, "I already have this" or "This is stupid" -- I didn't like seeing such an ungrateful attitude in those kids, so I didn't want to repeat that w/ our kids.

For our childrens birthdays we wanted them to do something special for others. So now on our childrens birthdays, we ask their guests to bring nothing at all OR a donation for Operation Kindness (a no-kill animal shelter in Carrollton). So the guests bring cat and dog food or cat litter (sometimes monetary donations). That way our children learn to give back.

My dd collected almost $100 worth of dog and cat food last year that we donated, and 2 weeks ago during my ds's party he collected $52, 30 lbs of cat litter, and a case of cat food for the shelter.

It has started to become a great tradition for our family and they all really look forward to their birthday parties now. Now that we've taken the focus off of presents and time to open them, they really enjoy having the time to just play with their friends and have fun.

--S.
Homeschooling Mom to 4 Little Texans

Since they take the footprints in the hospital I purchased a large 12x12 scrapbook like book and every year on her birthday I put her foot prints and handprints on a page along with a picture of her on her birthday. I am planning on giving it to her when she is 18. Its neat to see how much bigger they are every year and am planning on doing it with the one I have on the way as well. :)I also like to (I did this at my baby shower too) request that people give a book with their bday message inside instead of a card. They cost the same or usually less and give you and your child more time together. :)

I think it is neat to put something on the invitation like another person said like "bring the family" but i would address the invitaion to the child being invited. Its always exciting when you are young to get mail. I have a one year old and when he got his first invitaion and it was addressed to him i wanted to cry...haha i loved it!

Hi, we wake up the birthday girl by singing 'Happy Birthday' to her and we video tape the whole thing! She's loved it since her first!! I don't know how she'll feel about it when she's 16, but OH WELL! It's tradition!! :)

We have a special plate in our house that is only used for birthdays. Each meal the person eats they get to use the plate. I have also heard of a cute idea, but have never done it cuz I never actually remember! Take their picture with the same object every year. Maybe it is a big stuffed animal, or anything you want really, but it helps to see how much they have grown. And as for invitations, address it to the family, as long as you want the whole family there, and you should be fine! Have fun, my youngest turns 1 in a month and a half..we are sad and excited at the same time!!! ~A.~

It's tradition in our family to call the birthday person really early in the morning and sing happy birthday. At 21, I still get calls from all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I know my son will only be one, but they will all still call and sing to him. I'm sure he'll just enjoy the noise. You could tell your family you'd like to start this and ask them to call when they get up and sing to your baby.

We also have a family only dinner on the persons real birthday. They get to pick the place and we all go out and they get the family's gifts.

As for invitations...I would use the "taylor family"...you could use either, but that one takes up less room and they will definitely know the entire family is invited.

No special birthday traditions here, but I always make a big deal out of birthdays.

I always address it to the kids who are invited.

In our house, I wake up the birthday kiddo with a breakfast muffin that has a candle in it & I sing Happy Birthday to wake them up. They also get a special present on their birthday morning because their birthday party doesn't usually fall on their actual birthday. Yours is probably too young for that, but that's what we do.