Everyday Events: Birthday Traditions Kids Will Treasure

When I was growing up, my Mom always made my birthday so special. I remember waking up to the house being decorated, my favorite breakfast in the oven and her singing me Happy Birthday. The day would end with my favorite food for dinner and all my family coming over for cake and ice cream. My cousins and I would run around the house playing and always eat way too much sugar. I looked forward to my birthday all year long, and when it finally came I never wanted it to end because of the way she made me feel. She had a way of making me feel like my birthday was the only one in the world. When I think of my Mom, these are the days I think about. I think about all the love she gave me and how she made her little girls birthday some of the best days of her life. The overflowing amount of love she gave me on those days, is what I carry with me now and what I strive to give my boys.

One. Decorate their bedroom door.

This was the first year I decorated Kona's door and he was so surprised when he woke up. I had streamers left over from his party, that I hung from the door frame and taped a 4 I got from Target. The boys ran through the streamers for days and had the best time! Some other fun ideas would be to fill their bedroom floor with balloons, tape balloons all over their door, or tape streams from side to side on the trim of the door so they have to break through!

Two. Make a special breakfast.
Kona requested dinosaur pancakes for breakfast this year, so dinosaur pancakes it was. Kona got a stegosaurs and Kai got a volcano, because this mama didn't know how to make a T-rex. :)

Three. Do something they have never done before.
Last year we took Kona to his first movie in the theater and had the best time! When I was pregnant with Kona, it was announced that Finding Dory would come out a few weeks before his birthday, and we decided then it would be his first movie. It make the day so special and one I will never forget!

Four. Measure how tall they are.
J.D. make a growth chart before Kona turned one, and we love seeing how much the boys have grown from year to year. Kona also loves looking at it and talking about how little he use to be.

Five. Write down all their favorite things.

I found this free birthday book printable when Kona turned one, and love filling it out every year. It's so fun to go back and look at the answers from past year's. I know we will cherish these little interviews forever!

Six. Let them pick what's for dinner.
This was my favorite when I was little and I would always pick spaghetti. :) Whatever it may be, your kids will love picking dinner, and you won't have to fight with them to eat. A total win-win!

Seven. Sing Happy Birthday & have a special treat.
Kona loved the cake from his dinosaur birthday party, so I wanted to make him another one, only on a much smaller scale. In years past we have had snow cones, ice cream sandwiches, donuts and cupcakes. Just enough for a candle, a birthday wish and some singing!

Eight. End the night with sparklers.
With Kona's birthday around the 4th of July, what better way to end the day than with fireworks! We made sure to buy an extra box for Kai's birthday this year!