Looking for some ideas to make an upcoming birthday extra special? Look no further. We’ve made a huge list of 29 ideas which are perfect for young children. Don’t be put off by the size of the list – we wouldn’t expect you to do all these on a single birthday, the list is long enough to bring in new traditions every year for their entire child years.
Decorations
- Sleep into their room at night and fill the room with lots of banners, streamers and balloons.
- Write a cute birthday message on the mirror that they will see as they first go into the bathroom in the morning.
- Set up a special birthday place setting, with accompanying birthday throne and crown for the little one’s birthday breakfast.
- Get the rest of the family together to write a big sign which can be set up outside the front of the house to let the world know!
- We love to write on the side of our car that there is a birthday boy/girl inside and to honk to wish them a happy birthday – my children love the drive to and from school.
- Get a piñata – a colourfully decorated container filled with sweets and toys that the birthday boy/girl must try to hit with a stick.
Birthday Traditions
- Hide all the presents around the house and leave clues for them to find them – but don’t let them open them until they’ve found them all.
- Let them pick where you go for the big birthday meal out – and let them pick the cake!
- Have a birthday countdown calendar – just like an advent calendar.
- When they come down for breakfast on their special day, have the whole family be there to greet them.
- Make a posh mocktail or fancy drink that they never normally get.
- Have a family sleepover! Build a den in the living room and all stay up together and watch their favourite movie or tv show.
- Leave a special note in their lunchbox.
- Better yet, turn up to their school at lunchtime and have a special birthday lunch – make sure you ask the schools permission first.
- Have you got a prankster side? In Jamaica, it is tradition to cover the birthday boy/girl in flour – its all just a bit of fun!
- Keep the celebration going! Celebrate for a full week with various treats and activities planned throughout the week such as: birthday meals, presents, trips, parties.
- Get them on the TV or radio – certain places like the CBeebies let you send in birthday announcements which can be read out publicly.
Presents
- After a couple of years of presents, the unused toys and gifts really start to stack up. I try to opt for something unique instead. Customgifts.co.uk do a huge range or personalised gifts that are extra special.
- Keep it fun! Opt for lots of little presents and throw in a few joke gifts as well to make present opening time fun for the whole family.
- If you’ve got siblings, buy something small for everyone. This makes everyone look forward to each other’s big day and will help build a stronger bond in the family.
- Remember those less fortunate than us. Try to encourage the birthday boy/girl to do things for other people on their special day. This could be choosing to eat in on their birthday and giving the money saved to charity.
- Don’t forget their school friends – bring sweets or a cake into work to share with everyone.
- Give them a plant or a tree which you can put in your back garden. Then they will share the same birthday as the tree.
- Add money to their time capsule or a bank account that they can only access when they are 18.
- Give lots of little gifts throughout the day – hide them in the car or in their lunchbox and fill their day with lots of little surprises.
Reflection
- Keep a birthday journal where they list various things about the past year including: Important milestones and achievements / What their favourite things were of the past year e.g. toys, food, movies, etc. / What their biggest wish is for the coming year
- Take a picture of them standing in the same place every year and gather up photos from the past year.
- Store the journal and photos, along with keepsakes from the past year in a box to revisit in future years.
- Open previous years’ boxes and revisit past years as well as the time they were born.
There you have it. 29 ideas to make that a birthday extra special. I love creating special birthday traditions to make my children’s early years memorable. Whilst we are guilty of sometimes spoiling them, we also try to instil values like thinking of others and reflection on these special days to help them grow into a well-rounded person.
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