Do you celebrate birthdays?

I do.

Here are some questions I ask myself:

• “Why do I celebrate birthdays?”
• “What’s the goal?”

Ultimately, it is to let them know they are loved and cared for. That they are special and I am so glad they were born.  Also, that they are loved by their creator.

I am reminded of these bible verses I want my children to hear and know. To write them on the tablets of their hearts.

Ps. 20:4– “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

3 John 1:2– “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

Phil 1:6- “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Is. 46:4- “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

Jer. 29:11- “ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

2 Cor. 9:15– “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

When I continue to ask myself, “What do I want to get from this party?”

It boils down to wanting to spend quality time with family and friends, creating more happy memories together with other people who love my children.  Creating positive interactions so they know who they can rely on when they feel unloved, or alone.

How do I plan and DIY to try and save money?

There are many different ways to celebrate your child’s birthday.

Some people rent out a space spending hundreds of dollars, all decked out.

It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant it can just be a simple breakfast, card, and a dollar tree balloon.

To save as much money as we can, I try to look ahead, get good deals, and use coupons.

Planning

First, try and find a date that works best.

Second, decide on a location. This is usually done at your own home but you could have a party at the grandparents’ house, another relative or friends, or even at the park.

Third, decide on the cake. You could make a homemade cake or use a box cake.  We may need to have Melinda write a blog post on how to bake and decorate a cake. Did you know she used to do this as an occupation?! If you needed, you could freeze the cake ahead of time or even ask a friend or a relative to make it. Or as the picture suggests you could even use any sweet such as donuts in place of a cake.

Action

Fourth, DIY invitations: On my daughter’s 3rd birthday we hand drew it to say “Tea-Rex” because she likes tea parties and dinosaurs. On her 4th birthday, she wanted a unicorn party so I drew the outline in sharpie and had her color it in. You could also use a computer to create a photo, add text and print it out.

Fifth, DIY piñata: I collect all the cardboard from packages or from my husband’s work. I decide on the shape, tape it together, and add tissue paper. Here’s a link I used to help direct my steps.

Six, DIY food & drinks:  You only need a few basic snacks of fruit, vegetables, salty snack, and sweets which is usually the cake. When we celebrated my daughter’s “tea-rex” party I went to community aid for teacups and her unicorn party I made our own unicorn chocolate-covered strawberries and my mom made her a unicorn cake.

Seven- DIY games: Pin the horn on the unicorn was created from poster board from the dollar tree and markers.  The dollar tree dinosaur hats and dinosaur tails my Grammie made were used for an obstacle course. In part of the obstacle course, we had a dinosaur face drawn on cardboard to “feed the dino” with a bean bag.  They had to dress up as the dinosaur, complete the course, and then the next person went.   For her first birthday, we threw donuts made from cardboard and paint around a cone.

Eight- DIY thank you bags: We either used items from the pinata or this year my daughter beaded a bracelet for her guests as a thank you for coming to her party and celebrating with her.

Nine- DIY decor: Use your printer for a banner, use childhood pictures as decor, cardboard for signs, paint anything, and always remember the dollar tree has great balloon options. They also stay inflated for AT LEAST one month.

Ten- Balloon arch: The first one I bought on Amazon and now I just reuse the plastic balloon strip tape. It gives a great pop for decor. You can make it as small or long as desired.

Freebies

Below are two free printables.  You can print them out and attach to a gift or just send in the mail with a little note on the back letting them know how loved they are.  That they are special and thought of by you and their creator above.

Have a blessed week!