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J.Anne
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For children, that is. It is fairly standard where we live to have Check E Cheese parties, Pump it Up etc, but in all seriousness, my cousin has done this for the last two years and each party cost $400-$500. That is an entire set of Jim Weiss CDs! Finances aside, I just cannot commit that kind of money to a child's birthday party. Our home is fairly small, so large parties aren't always possible. Both my babies have summer birthdays - and here in Texas, no one wants to have picnics etc. in August. I'm not necessarily asking for advice, but wondering what you all do to celebrate your children's birthdays.
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Matilda
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We felt like we had to do big parties for the first couple of birthdays because it was the only way to create a buffer zone between my parents who are divorced. But the more kids we had, the more we realized that we could end up throwing these bashes more frequently than our finances (and sanity) would allow.
One way we cut down on the chaos was by insisting that we celebrate the actual day! No more, oh...let's pick which weekend suits everybody we are inviting.
We try to do something special that the birthday child wants to do. Miniature golf, movie, swimming, etc...and they get to pick the dinner. They also can pick a theme for their celebration (flowers, favorite characters, ladybugs, space explorer) and Husband and I decorate the dining room in the theme chosen. It is almost completely for the children's enjoyment since we haven't had anyone else show up for a birthday in a few years. It is usually just us and we like it that way! 
It might be different if we were closer to our family and maybe I am just selfish, but I want to get to celebrate with my child, not have to worry about being a good hostess.
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Meredith
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Oh my goodness! Does it really cost that much at Chuck E Cheese??? I can't imagine having to go through with it 
We've had a a few birthdays as of late, and you know, they were all celebrated at home with family, and they are the best birthdays for the kids!!
This is not to say we haven't had the *all-inclusive* kid b-days with lots of friends and pandimonium, but the ones at home with just our family are the ones they cherish and remember the most 
Just my .02!
Blessings!
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Angel
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Even when we lived in the suburbs, we kept our birthdays small. We would invite the kids' neighborhood friends over to our home. We'd provide cake and ice cream, sing happy birthday, open presents, and then let the kids play. That's it. And to be honest, I think the kids had more fun at our house than they did at the themed birthday parties that cost a zillion dollars and were held at crowded places.
Since moving here we celebrate birthdays just us. We let them pick what to have for dinner. They get to play with their presents. We make a cake (usually they help decorate it) and sing happy birthday. Sometimes their grandparents come visit. I don't think my kids feel deprived.
--Angela
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J.Anne
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I am leaning toward the smaller family party as well. I think the big business of birthday parties is a little out of hand.
And I was not exagerrating. My cousin's last bill - pizza and the whole nine yards for the entire class of children - over $500. I nearly fell out of my chair. That's more than we spend in school books (maybe... ). And I am not speaking badly of her, because I know the decision was difficult. Homeschooling in these situations is easier because there are no rules to who we can/can't invite. She had to invite everyone.
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trish
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Angel wrote:
Even when we lived in the suburbs, we kept our birthdays small. We would invite the kids' neighborhood friends over to our home. We'd provide cake and ice cream, sing happy birthday, open presents, and then let the kids play. That's it. And to be honest, I think the kids had more fun at our house than they did at the themed birthday parties that cost a zillion dollars and were held at crowded places.
Since moving here we celebrate birthdays just us. We let them pick what to have for dinner. They get to play with their presents. We make a cake (usually they help decorate it) and sing happy birthday. Sometimes their grandparents come visit. I don't think my kids feel deprived.
--Angela
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That's exactly what we do. They love to choose supper and the kind of cake they want. They talk about it through out the year.
My ds Jacob had his 5th birthday today. What a lovely day. He chose spaghetti for supper and decorated his cake with gummies. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Mom's fav. Grandma and grandpa came over and stayed for supper.
I just asked him if he had a good birthday and he beamed at me and nodded.  Can't beat that. Simplicity at it's best.
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Jeanne
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We celebrate birthdays just with our family and grandparents, sometimes my brother and sister come over also for dinner. The whole day is theirs, no chores or school work, they get to pick the food, we go to mass together, and ususally something fun--bowling, renting a movie, putt putt etc. When the kids wake up they make a crown for the birthday king/queen. They have this sweet presentation of the royal crown and robe--and present the presents they have made or bought for each other.
The night before they stay up and decorate the kitchen eating area with balloons/streamers and paint birthday wishes on the windows. When the b-day child wakes up-they are so excited to walk into the enchanted room.
They also get to pick the kind of cake they want, this has become a big tradition. They go to familyfun.com and pick the special design they want, we all make it together. Starting tommorrow the 26th, we have 4 birthdays in just over a week(April 26, 30, May 5 and 7). That's a lot of cake--not good for my waistline!! 
When the kids turn 5, 10, and 16 they are allowed to have a friend party. With 7 kids--and many birthdays so close together it can get kinda hectic sometimes, but we really try to make them special and thank God for their lives! 
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Courtney
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When I was growing up, birthdays were very special. I've tried to carry out that same attitude with my own dc.
My ds's birthday was last Tuesday. My dh took off work Mon. and we celebrated his birthday on that day as well since daddy was home. On their birthdays, my dc get to choose what they want for dinner and what kind of cake they want. We usually have a family party (I have 5 sisters and about 12 neices and nephews). What is still really neat to me is that almost all my neices and nephews are college aged and still make a point of coming to my dc's bday parties. We just have family over for cake and to hang out together. My kids think this is great.
One other thing I started (didn't know I was starting something) when dd was 5 was making the birthday child a crown (out of construction paper) with their name and age in glitter on it. THey both think this is great and a mandatory part of their bday.
Sometimes I feel a little guilty about not having the big blowout parties, but then again, my dc have never really asked for one. I think they just like being with the family and feeling like it's their special day.
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KC in TX
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J.Anne wrote:
| That is an entire set of Jim Weiss CDs! |
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That's how I think too!! We do family parties only right now although that may change this year as we are really close with some families in our homeschool group. If we do have a kid party, it will be cake and ice cream only with some games. We also have summer birthdays and there's no outside stuff--too hot.
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theresa-lynn
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We just do simple parties here too... I can't imagine trying to organize a big party and keep track of all my littles at the same time, plus it's just too expensive, and we've found the kids have a great time just playing with their friends at our house.
The grandparent's love to come and watch the kids with their friends, and then the family often stays for a nice dinner or lunch.
We never spend more than $50...
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chicken lady
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We have parties every other year. Our parties are very simple, although they include a zillion kids because of where we live(big HS Catholic families) it is a blessing and a curse at b-day time.
For example one dd had a b-day around the time the American girl movie was released last fall. We invited over a couple of the girls friends(15 ) and watched the movie. During commercials we opened the gifts, had cake, sang HB, and we gave AG stickers, and lip gloss as favors. To me that was easy enough, we have family that throw parties like you mentioned but we just refuse to buy into it all.
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Michaela
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We usually celebrate with immediate family.
The one time we had a huge party with a jumper & I cooked sides while DH BBQ steaks & hot dogs....it turned ugly when one family started fighting with another. I wasn't able to spend the time I would have liked with the birthday boy. Too busy playing hostess & breaking up fights. Never again.
My twins celebrated their birthday this past Friday. We rented a cabin on a lake. Sounds terribly expensive, but it was just $60 a night which included EVERYTHING except the food. Add in a quick stop at the store for marshmallows & hot dogs...we didn't spend nearly as much as what it apparently costs to go to Chuck E Cheese.
When we lived in Vegas, we drove out to stay with DH's mom & took the birthday child(ren) to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm. That also sounds expensive, but at the time, military families were free.
The must do list is cake & ice cream, DH takes the day off, and the diningroom has to be decorated with balloons and streamers. Everything else is just extra to our kiddoes.
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graciefaith
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We've had semi expensive bday parties before. Dd2 has had them these past 2yrs. That is only because we have been in town visiting family during her bday. My parents and his pay for it though and that is usually their present for her. The party is just family though so thats about 8 other kids. The only reason it happens to cost around $200 or so is because we have to find a place to have it at. Neither of our parents want to host a party. They would rather pay to have it elsewhere and not have to worry about catering or cleaning up their own household. Last year, we had dd's at this place called O2B kids and the year before at The Little Gym. Since we are here for Dd1's bday and we dont know too many people, we just opt to let her pick a place to go for her bday. One year we went to the zoo and she was thrilled. This year, we plan to go to the beach. They have never been before. Dd's dont ask for a party and they dont complain when they dont get one.
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florasita
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We all have winter birthdays here so summer fun is out .
We do a family meal sometimes the kids have 1-2 friends over . We have done everything for food from order chinese to make hot dogs and fries. Same with a cake either homemade or bought .
Nothing fancy . no big gifts . Two dc have birthdays on dec. 3rd so at times I have felt a bit sad as they tend to get a bit less then the others because of Christmas . For gifts usually 1-2 books . triops , that slimey goopy stuff , yoyos ,stickers , markers etc. just gifts that are still $20 or under .
What we love doing most is getting out the persons photo album and looking at the pics . We all have a blast and alot of laughs doing this .
My mil as well willphone during that birthday week usually and willcome over and she almost always brings a pizza with her and a cake . Its nice as dh does not see her much .
Thats about it .
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Mary G
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We do very simple, family only birthdays around here ... when Joe and Cate were little (now 17 and 15) I did the huge party at the skating rink, amusement park, etc. Lots of money, lots of kids and lots of gifts -- it was just too much! They'd get toys from kids that I didn't approve of, they thought they were much more of the center of the universe than they needed to think , and it was a one-upmanship all the time.
That's why we keep it pretty mellow. We do one big present and try to have the birthday kid pick out small things for his/her siblings ... party favors from the birthday boy/girl.
I still like the Austrian custom -- the mom gets presents on the kids' birthdays!
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Matilda
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We also do party favors for the siblings! Little things, silly things or homemade things. For my daughter's "Hawaiian Party" they each got a coconut cup with a fancy straw.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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juststartn
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We have three birthdays so far, all in spring...and since we're hsing..and don't do a whole lot of "outside" stuff yet, there aren't alot of friends that are not held "in common" (my one IRL friend is about the only one I can think of, lol--she's got five dc of her own, and her oldest's bday was this Monday (a month after my oldest dds), and so on down the line. All of our dc play together, so the whole family gets invited.
What we've done the last couple of years is one BIG party, for all three at the same time. Partly because of the friend issue, partly because three parties three months in a row is rather silly to me, esp when if any family wants to come, they'd be coming from out of state, paying for something like a bouncer ONCE is much more manageable than three times, etc...and DH has had deployments/arrivals right smack around the time that their bdays fall, so I prefer to do the party when he is here....etc.
We do cookouts, a bouncer, and one big cake (having all dds so far works well for that, lol). They get a few smallish presents on their bdays and for the party.
We have a small crowd--maybe 15people total, not counting us 5, so 20 tops.
I will NOT pay for an out of the home party, period. Ain't happenin'. No way Jose. I'm too cheap and too anti-establishment mentality to do that, I suppose, lol.
Rachel
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MaryM
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We do parties periodically - every three years or so. The parties aren't ever very big (average 5 kids) and they are "home-made." On the off years the kids can choose a friend and do some special activity - like going bowling, to a movie, miniature golf, etc.
Birthday child does also get to pick dinner and cake.
I had sort of similar expereince growing up. I had three birthday parties (6, 10, 13) but always got a invite a friend to go out to dinner with our family on the other years.
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momwise
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I had no idea those professional parties were that expensive.
We have always enjoyed giving our dc a big homemade party about every 3-4 yrs. We have a theme (pirates, fire engines, etc.) and make games, give prizes, favors, etc. We invite about 6-10 children and many parents stick around. I usually cook either lunch or dinner since I figure might as well get a good meal in as long as you're having a party...saves some work at dinner time. kidding!
16th birthday gets a big cookout with lots of families (or dinner indoors for winter).
On the other years dh and I take the dc out to dinner on another night than his birthday and on the birthday we have a special family dinner with dessert and open gifts.
We go to Mass in the morning and get a blessing from the priest.
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J.Anne
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Gwen, I love the Mass idea. Why have we not done that? Thank you all for sharing your wonderful ideas. 
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: How do you celebrate birthdays?
