I grew up in a home where birthdays were simple, but extremely special, personal, and fun. Without fail, every year my birthday would start when my entire family would wake me up and come into my room and sing happy birthday to me. They sang happy birthday, jumped on my bed to wake me up, and my mom always had a little present for me. Then I was able to choose not just breakfast, but all meals, and I was able to have whatever I wanted! I didn’t have to do any chores, I didn’t have to help with the dishes, and I always got pumpkin pie and blackberry pie, my favorites. And of course my parents always gave me some gifts.

But perhaps the most memorable and significant thing about birthdays in my house was that birthdays were a family day. Some of my fondest memories growing up were just sitting at the table with my parents and siblings talking and laughing. And then, we would always gather in the family room and just play. As I reflect, maybe birthdays were so special, not necessarily because of the food, the gifts, the attention, or even having the day off, it was certainly due to the fact that birthdays were a family day, and I just had to be with the ones I love the most – my family.

My hope is that the 15 ideas below serve as ideas for starting fun and meaningful birthday traditions in your family. Obviously, there are many more ideas than these 15, but it’s a start. Regardless of which one you implement, the importance is to be consistent and ensure that the birthday becomes not only a special day for the child whose birthday it is, but also that the birthday becomes a ‘family day’.

1) ‘Special dish:Designate a plate to be used only on birthdays. You can buy one or make your own, but make it ‘special’.

2) choose a meal: The person whose birthday it is can choose what they want for their ‘Birthday Dinner’. It can be one meal, or better yet, ALL meals that day!

3) ‘morning surprise’: Wake up the person whose birthday it is by singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them in bed. Give them a treat first thing in the morning!

4) No work: The birthday boy does not have to do any homework, work, help with the dishes, etc. on his birthday. Just a day of relaxation and fun!

5) ‘I love you game’: At dinner, everyone in the family will sit around the table and say one or two things they love about that family member (whose birthday it is).

6) Breakfast in bed: Every year the birthday person has breakfast in bed!

7) Decorate Room / House: Buy some balloons and decorate the house or the room of the child whose birthday it is.

8) Birthday card: Each year, write a personal letter to your child and give it to him on his birthday. Tell them why you love them, why you are proud of them, write memories of them from last year, etc. (Make copies and save/collect them in case the child loses them 🙂

9) Birthday gift scavenger hunt: Hide all the gifts you gave your child around the house, in the yard, etc. Then, create a scavenger hunt for the child to find the gifts.

10) Individual Birthday Dinner/Date: If you have more than one child, spend the birthday as a family. But then, on another night that week, go out to dinner with just the parents and the kid whose birthday it is: a one-on-one ‘special’ night just for them. (Let the child choose the restaurant he wants to go to.) Maybe one idea is to get the child out of school early and go out to eat (kids always love to get out of school!)

eleven) Birthday Cake Breakfast: Be creative and do different things. Mix the ingredients for a chocolate cake and make chocolate waffles. Bake a cake for breakfast – let the child decorate it. Eat ice cream, cookies or brownies, whatever. Hey, it’s her birthday…why not!

12) Annual growth: Establish a portion of a wall in the house as the ‘growth wall’. Each year, mark the child’s height to show his growth and change (take a picture of the child each year as well to show how he changes from year to year).

13) stay up late: Whoever the birthday is, they stay up late. They can watch a movie, play with friends, have a party, or just play with the family (so allow other kids to stay up too, if appropriate).

14) birthday tablecloth: Each child will have their own tablecloth (it has to be white, to draw on). Then, every birthday, it will be taken out and used for dinner. Each family member will write a few things on it each year: why they love the person whose birthday it is, a funny or meaningful memory from last year, etc.

fifteen) birthdays are family days: Spend birthdays with family. Have a fun family game night. Play games, watch a movie together, tell stories, share memories of past birthdays, etc. Just have fun as a family that day/night.

Be creative and also think of your own ideas and traditions. Regardless of which of these you use, how many, or if you think of your own, the important thing is to make the day special for that child and spend time as a family.