By: Brittney Baily
Birthdays are a BIG deal in our house!!! Ever since I can remember, my Mom has always called me right at midnight to wish me a happy birthday greeting, and it’s a celebration for the rest of the day!
When Liam turned 1, the pressure was on to have a major extravaganza!
Pinterest is my frenemy; great ideas, but it can be a lot to live up to!
The idea that I had to make everything perfect was daunting. Decorations, food, games, and making sure every snack was labeled in the appropriate theme, i.e. “Thomas’s Magic Puffs!” They were just Cheetos….but it was so much extra work to make it as perfect as the Pinterest pictures I admired.
In hindsight, Liam was turning 1. ONE. He wasn’t going to remember any of it, and at the end of the day, the most important part of the celebration was that he felt loved!! I spent oodles of time, money, and effort on a big party that I have both lived and learned from to reevaluate the parties in our family. Especially since we are incredibly blessed to have 3 little souls to celebrate!
Last year Nigel was turning one in August, and Liam was turning six in September. With their birthdays so close together I thought about a combined party but didn’t want Hope (who wasn’t turning three until December) to feel left out. Hope’s parties had been a struggle, mainly due to weather. Indiana winters are just as unpredictable as they are long!
So with their powers combined, we had one big shindig to celebrate all of my kids at once! 
Can I just say that for the foreseeable future, this is how we will continue to celebrate!
Last year we hosted the party at our church gym and had an ocean theme! I got lucky with an underwater designed bounce house and the church supplied the tables, chairs, and a large kitchen to get ready!
If you have multiple kids, I can’t stress enough how wonderful this is! The money and time I spent on 3 separate parties throughout the year were better utilized in ONE party, and I didn’t feel bad spending however much on a bounce house because I was saving big time in the long run.
Pinterest ideas and their parties aren’t bad, but I wanted to enjoy the party that we were hosting more than stress over it.
As we celebrated in the summer, more people were able to make it, which we found was the opposite in winter. We also weren’t asking our friends to devote more time out of their schedules with multiple parties per year.
When it comes to gifts, it has also been great because the kids have been gifted presents that all 3 of them can share, like Play-doh or board games.
In time, they may want to celebrate separately, but for now, they see this as THEIR event as a team. There is more anticipation, which is already a LOT to begin with!! They count down the days until the BIG day and are all excited FOR each other. On their actual birthdays, we still make it very special for whoever is turning another year older.
We have birthday wish lists that each kid creates with special things they would like to do that day.
This year, as Liam turned 7, he wanted to go swimming and drink pop…as you can see, his request also came with 3 straws so they could all share!
There were a few other things he wanted, like Patrick and I to take time off work to be together, but we had already planned on doing that anyway! 😉
We also plan surprises, like going to see the sunset and to play in the waves, or stop at a local bookstore to pick out a special book to read together; sweet experiences that are both affordable and memorable!
There are only a few days out of the year that mean so much to me, and their birthdays top that list.
Another year of health and love to celebrate for the 3 most important people in my life? It’s pure JOY!!
If you have any birthday tips that have helped in your party experiences, I’d love to hear them!
Email me at brittney@b100.com, and share them in our B100 Mom Squad Facebook group!
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