Birthday Traditions We Have

Birthdays have always been a big deal to me and I've always felt so loved and special on my birthday.  I have wanted to do the same with my kids as they grow up. We have had five years to figure out our birthday traditions and we like what we have so far! I have noticed that a lot of our traditions end up covering some of the love languages, which I think is great. We've really tried to balance simplicity with making the day special.

Special breakfast 
We start off the morning with a special breakfast. I'll make whatever the kids want, but so far, they always want homemade donuts. I wake up early, but we take our time with eating it.

This fills the acts of service love language.

Birthday Date 
We find a babysitter for the other kids and take the birthday child on a special date with mom and dad (we don't do this for their first birthday, but for each subsequent). For Ashtyn's birthdays, we've taken her to the dinosaur museum, taken her to the pet store to look at the animals (and McDonald's), helped her find materials and make a fairy house (and a Wendy's Frosty), and let her pick treats and had a special movie date watching Spirit. For Parker, we've done the pet store (plus candy from Wal Mart) and a four wheeler ride (and McDonald's).

We try to think of something that is interesting to them at that age. We have other ideas for the future, including taking them to Salt Lake or Provo as they get older if they want. I also want to take them on a special trip of their choice at certain ages.

This fills the quality time love language.

Decorations 
Every year, I choose a theme of something they love for their birthday. For Ashtyn, we've done pumpkins, Elmo, dinosaurs, fairies, and blocks. For Parker, we've done flowers, bears, and Ariel.  We'll make or buy decorations themed that way and make their cake along with the theme somehow. They've loved it, especially Ashtyn, and I've been learning how to not go overboard with it.

This fills acts of service.

Party 
We have family come over for dessert (we will let them do a friends party for select ages). They usually bring some presents for the birthday girl and we always have one gift. We open gifts, I make cake (or a dessert) with ice cream, sing to them with candles, and all enjoy the treats together. It's simple, but really fun. The birthday girl always loves getting presents, being sung to, and being the center of attention.

This fills words of affirmations, quality time, and gift

Measure 
Once we moved into the house, we started keeping track of how tall the kids are on their birthday. Now that we've been in the house a couple years, it's starting to get fun, since the kids can see how much they've grown.

Letters
I write a letter to each of them on their birthday, which I save with their invitation (themed) and a blog post of how they've grown that year. When they turn 18, I'll give them all the envelopes.

Those are our main traditions. It's been a fun ride. I love my kids and I love celebrating them!