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Birthdays come but once a year and doesn’t everyone deserve to feel special on their birthday? Birthdays are far more than a big flashy party, favors, or games, but more about the small moments you will always look back on. This is why starting birthday traditions is a great way to help make every birthday extra special with something your children will remember FOREVER! Kids love getting all the attention on their big day and now they can relive that feeling for each and every birthday they had as each year passed.
It’s never too early to start birthday traditions for your kids. Let’s be real for a second – having kids are expensive but birthdays don’t have to be. These simple birthday traditions will help make their day the best it can be in an inexpensive yet magical way.
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Here are some birthday traditions kids will remember forever
1 – A Special Book The Night Before
One way to get your kids excited about their birthday is by reading a birthday-themed book the night before the big day!
Some favorites include:
2 – Birthday Wake Up Call – Decorate Their Doorway
One easy birthday tradition kids will remember forever is waking up, opening up their door and seeing it fully decorated. While your little one {or big one since I still do this} is sleeping, decorate their door with crepe paper, balloons, and/or a happy birthday sign. No one knows your child better than you, so get creative!
Remember decorations don’t need to be expensive or fancy for kids to love them.
- Something to consider when decorating their door is to include a balloon avalanche. You use a clear plastic cover, fill it with balloons and tape it to their doorway. Sadly, this idea doesn’t work for my family because both of my children get up frequently to use the bathroom.
- Instead, we try to wake up before them and quickly decorate with streamers and simple decor like I mentioned above.
3 – Balloon Walkway
The next birthday tradition you may want to try is a balloon walkway. Basically, you get a bag of balloons, blow them up and scatter them around the house. Start in their bedroom so the first thing they see is balloons all over their floor. Once the birthday boy/girl wakes up they are immediately walking through a sea of balloons throughout the house. Balloons might seem simple but kids L-O-V-E them for some reason.
4 – Decorate the House
Each year kids find a new character or thing to love – why not incorporate their love for dinosaurs, princesses or science and decorate the house. One fun idea is to use the balloon walkway as a guide leading up to a room that’s decorated specifically for their birthday! If you don’t want to spend the money on themed party supplies, which can get pricey, there are tons of fun reusable birthday supplies you can use to decorate.
One of my favorite ways to decorate is by writing love notes for them around the house with special memories of their lives. Both of my kids love reading or having these notes read to them – they both keep their notes from each year in their memory boxes.
5 – Birthday Breakfast
Let them eat cake!
What’s a birthday without cake? It’s ok to spoil them one day out of the year by breaking the breakfast rules.
If you are a rule follower, like me, then you can make a traditional breakfast filled with a birthday twist. Some birthday breakfast ideas include:
- Sprinkle or Funfetti Pancakes
- Waffle Sundaes
- Bacon and Egg Smiley Faces
- Doughnut tower
Whatever you decide to make, center it around the birthday kid, and you’ll be set!
You can take their birthday breakfast up a notch by serving it on a special plate or by decorating their chairs. These small touches go a long way and do not go unnoticed. Something as small as a special birthday breakfast is a birthday tradition kids will remember forever.
Don’t forget to add candles!
6 – Birthday Gift Hunt
The night before their birthday you can go around the house and hide their present/s. The next morning you can play a fun birthday themed rendition of hot/cold to help your kids find their presents. It makes gift-giving all that more exciting and you can’t help but smile while watching them joyfully go hunting through the rooms for a present.
7 – Say Yes!
All year long kids have to obey rules and follow routines, but once a year it’s ok to say YES! {Within reason – of course} In simple terms, make their birthday all about them! Where do they want to go? What do they want to do? Where do they want to eat? What do they want to eat? All very simple things that make a HUGE difference. Remember birthday traditions do not need to be expensive, they are all about making memories.
Last year my daughter wanted to go to the park and make English muffin pizzas! My two favorite things – easy and inexpensive!
8 – Give Them a Day Off
In our home, chores and responsibilities are a big part of our routine. Each child knows what he or she is responsible for in our home and they are expected to do it – except on their birthday! Birthdays are free from household responsibilities (unless they happen to already have done them, hehe).
9 – Write a Letter
Each year I write my children a letter in anticipation of their birthday highlighting their year. I put it in an envelope with the year and save them in a special box for them to receive when they are older. If you are a family that doesn’t like a lot of clutter or stuff stored for a later time, then you can also create an email address for your child and write them an email each year. Just be sure to save it somewhere so it doesn’t accidentally erase. This is something they will have to look back on for years to come and makes for a very meaningful gift.
10. Birthday Plate
Create or purchase a special birthday plate that you can use throughout the day of your child’s birthday. You can use it for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner or the best part – CAKE!
11. Early Pick Up
If your child’s birthday lands on a school day, why not surprise them with an early pick-up? First, I would make sure this is allowed in your school district. Once you pick them up from school let them pick out where they would like to have lunch. These special birthday dates are something my children still talk about, all these years later.
How you make your child’s birthday special is up to you. All of the above are merely suggestions. Birthdays are such a fun time in a child’s life, but they don’t need to be fancy and expensive. The best and most meaningful birthdays we as a family have experienced are filled with love and amazing memories. Whatever you decide to do for your child surely will be a birthday tradition that they will never forget. Most of all remember to have fun celebrating!
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