Our Top Ten Birthday Traditions {Making Each Year Special}

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Top Ten Birthday Traditions

November is a month long birthday celebration in our house. Mine starts things off and is quickly followed by my son’s which precedes my daughter’s by ten days. The folks at The Kupcake Factory know us by name by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. While we try to make sure both of our children have a birthday (and birthday parties) that are unique and special, we also incorporate family traditions that we hope will last a lifetime. When I asked the New Orleans Moms Blog contributors what birthday traditions their families have, I was thrilled to see all of the ways they make their children’s days special. So if you are looking to start a birthday tradition or to add one to those you already have, I’m hoping these ten ideas bring a smile to your face the same way they did to mine.

  1. Read your child’s favorite book. We close each birthday by reading On the Night You birthday traditionsWere Born. A tear always squeaks out when we close the day with the words “Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born.” 
  2. Share their birth story with them. My daughter loves hearing about how she came into the world and what it was like to see her for the first time.
  3. Annually stage a picture from the day they were born. We chose to replicate a picture of my daughter kissing my son and the results are hysterical!
  4. Let them eat cake … for breakfast. A few of our contributors throw caution to the wind and start the day off with birthday cake and well wishes.
  5. Fill their room with balloons. One of our writer’s has a Christmas birthday and received a balloon from Santa each year. To pass along that tradition, she fills her children’s rooms with balloons while they sleep so they wake up to a colorful surprise.
  6. Serve the birthday boy or girl’s favorite foods for dinner. Many of us give our children the chance to pick their birthday menu. Sure, it might be chicken nuggets with a side of corn dogs, but they love to take over the kitchen once a year!
  7. Take the day off or pick them up early to enjoy their favorite activity. Maybe it’s a local park or to see a movie or even a camp out in the backyard, but whatever your child loves to do, find a way to make that a part of their special day.
  8. Everyone pays the birthday boy or girl a compliment. Before cutting the cake, have everyone share one thing they love about the birthday girl or boy.
  9. Select a keepsake and photograph them with it each year. A colleague of mine takes a photograph of her son each year on his birthday in a special tie. When he turns 18, it will be his gift. He can wear it on all of the special occasions he has ahead of him. For her daughter, she plans to do the same with a pair of pearls.
  10. Give them a goodnight kiss for each year you are celebrating. A simple and fun way to end a wonderful, marvelous day.

What do you do to celebrate your children’s birthdays?

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