Birthdays can be exhausting! As a mother of four who loves to plan out my children’s birthdays, whether it’s a quaint family affair, a small party with their friends, or a large to do with family, friends, and possibly more! I certainly tend to burn myself out. It also can be daunting if you compare yourself to other parents or parties you’ve been to. If you want to still include some DIY or unique touches, I’ve found some simple steps to do that can make the party unique, without burning the candle at both ends.
1. The gift wrap
You may be questioning how you can make your own gift wrap, and how in the world that would make the party process easier? For one of my oldest son’s birthday’s he wanted an Among Us theme. We ended up with a TON of Among Us stickers for the party favors. So, when it came to wrapping his gifts I used plain ole black wrapping paper, flicked a bit of white paint on them to create ‘stars’, and then put on some of the Among Us stickers. They turned out so cute and it was super simple! I did this for a Nightmare Before Christmas birthday as well. I used plain orange, or purple, or black paper, and I drew patterns on them inspired from the gifts in the movie. You can also do this with gift bags as well. I know this may seem like more work, but if you’re like me and you want to keep in the theme, this is an easy solution instead of running store to store trying to find something that matches your party.
2. Location
If you’re like me, you may want to host a birthday party that is not at a typical, loud, and expensive kids party place. Where I live, our choices are slim. We have two birthday ‘venues’ that are catered for kids, but for a 1.5 hour to 2 hour block it is a few hundred dollars, it’s rushed, and it’s loud due to the 13,000 other birthdays going on. I usually want just a space that I can decorate and make personal, and not break the bank. Man oh man is something so simple so hard to find! Here’s what we have done in the past. If you or your kiddo is fortunate to have a birthday in the warmer part of the year, rent a shelter at one of your local parks! Typically it’s a small fee and you get it the whole day. Something else we have done is rent a conference or meeting room at a hotel. This has worked for our kids who have birthdays in the fall and spring time. And of course, there’s no shame in hosting the birthday in your home! But these can be options when you don’t feel like entertaining in your personal space.
3. Audience
This is a big one. I know that sometimes I get wrapped up in wanting to impress others with the party. At the end of the day, this day is special and it is about celebrating the beautiful human being on the day they came earth side. I love to let my kiddos pick their theme for their parties. It’s a chance to let them express their personality in a way. It’s also a way to enhance what their current interests are, and just overall be involved. If there could be one point I would want someone to take away from this, is that the one person you want to impress is the birthday person. I’ve learned to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and give my children the reigns a bit. The last birthday we did, I let my son pick his wrapping paper and decoration, and even design the cake!
4. Frequency
Something I’ve adopted from my older sister, is doing larger birthday parties every other year. I really enjoy this because I personally don’t feel that a huge party is necessary every single year. I quite enjoy those years where we do something special with just our family for our kiddos. It also allows us to provide experiences, like going on a short vacation or doing something new for their special day. As the kids get older this will probably change, but it has worked great so far for us in these single digit years.
5. The Cake
Okay, I really actually wasn’t going to write about this, but just today I’ve watched a couple of videos explaining how modern day birthdays have gotten, well, pretty wild. And the cake is a part of these celebrations that has gotten pretty flamboyant. Now, I’m not one to talk, I’ve made some ambitious cakes…. But what I want to point out is it is something I truly enjoy because I love creating things. I’ve also made small cakes, cakes from scratch, boxed mix cakes, I’ve been all over the map with cakes. On that note, don’t feel obligated to make some huge beautiful cake all by yourself that takes hours of prep. Buy a cake, bake a box mix in a sheet pan, do what will make you happy and make the birthday more enjoyable for you and your child. Hell, order donuts! I’ve been to parties with donuts and it was awesome!
One time I made a 6 inch two layer cake, and I had no motivation to make cutesy decor, so I ended up painting it (a flamingo with some greenery), it took all of ten minutes to paint, and to this day it is one of my favorite cakes I’ve done. Another time I had no energy to make a cake from scratch, so I used boxed mix. You know what? My son didn’t care, what he loved was that he got to pick the shape we made with it, and put some decorations on it.
I realize this is getting a little serious…..here’s some more!
The most important thing about birthdays is the person who you are celebrating. I will admit there have been times I’ve gotten too into planning and wanting things to be perfect, that I lost time just hanging with my babies. I’ve learned where I can manage my time and the parts of party planning that I can really do without. I hope my ramblings can bring some degree of ease.
