We have a few birthday traditions in our family that I love. They started simply but have become a cherished part of the day, even now that my children are teenagers. Birthdays begin with the bedroom door decorating before the birthday child wakes up.
Other members of the family can help and I am sure that we make so much noise that the birthday child is far from sleeping but is laying in bed on the other side of the door laughing at our lack of stealth.
The door is decorated with signs that express love and signify the importance of the upcoming year. Here is the door for my son who just turned 15.
The door is also decorated with photos that show that child throughout the years. I love to look back and see their growth and progress. I have a box of photos that I have set aside to use for door decorating. These are duplicates that never made it to the scrapbook. It is also really handy to have this box of loose photos when teachers request a picture for a project or when we need to make a poster because one of our kids is the Star of the Week at school.
After the door is unveiled in all its crepe paper and curly ribbon glory, we tramp upstairs for teddy bear pancakes. My grandmother gave me these teddy bear pancake molds when my children were small and they are pulled out just for each child's birthday breakfast.
We add mini M&Ms for the eyes, mouth and buttons and usually whipped cream or ice cream for the hair. Healthy breakfast, right?! Luckily kids' birthdays come just 5 times a year at our house! (Rather than say 100...)
We sing Happy Birthday and then the birthday child goes off to school or work feeling loved and celebrated for the day even if the official birthday party isn't until three days later or we can't fit in a family dinner until the following night.
My children have now started to decorate my bedroom door for my birthday and for my husband's. They even decorated grandpa's door last June! It is fun to see them start to adopt and carry on these traditions themselves.
Have you read this absolutely hysterical post from Glennon about birthdays? I love Momastery and I think this post is absolutely essential reading for every newlywed. I know I will be making each of my daughters read this before they get married. Enjoy!
Glennon on Birthdays
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