Do you have some family ritual or custom that you’d like to share?
Growing up quite poor, I distinctly remember this: My mom would let us kids request the dinner of our choice on our birthdays.
Now growed up and married, for the last few years I’ve been kidnapping my wife on her birthday and taking her on a 3 to 5 day getaway. This year, she said turnaround’s fair play, so I was instructed to take leave this Wed, Thurs & Fri. I have no idea where we’re going and it’s kinda exciting…
Thats such a sweet thing to do. In my family, three of us kids have our birthday in the same week. My parents always made sure each of us had a party. Nothing too fancy, just some friends, maybe a p.j. party.
I always have a special something for my son, his birthday is in May and usually we can hold it outside. One year I had a clown and it was a great success.
My only other relative here is my bro and we always celebrate ours together because we are three days apart. This past year we went out for a great steak dinner and spent the evening laughing and reminiscing. It was awesome!
We are, each of us angels with only one wing,and we can only fly by embracing one another
I can remember that we grew up quite poor too. I have four brothers so you can imagine the food it took for us. But every Friday my mom would let us pick one thing to eat that she would get for us at the grocery store. My favorite was frozen strawberries with whipped cream. Gesssh…does that bring back memories.
My sisters and I , along with choosing dinner, and the regular birthday trappings, cake, presents, party, etc., were excused the entire day of all chores. We had a ‘day off’. I always remember looking forward to that.
Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you.
-William Blake
My childrens birthdays are 2 days apart, March 24 & March 26. While I have one party for both of them, where, of course, they each invite their own friends, I do make sure to have a little something extra to give them the day of their birthday. Along with lots of hugs and kisses and ‘birthday boy’ treatment. It’s just easier to have one party.
Always be ready to speak your mind and a base man will avoid you.
-William Blake
I have three kids. The two oldest are on the 15th and 23rd of September. We used to have their b-days together, but now that they’re older, with their own friends, we do them separately.
They are used to (read: sick of) getting the same things, clothes, food, whatever. It’s hard to make each little thing different for each kid on a daily basis. So, when their b-days come, I take them out, by themselves, to dinner and a movie or mini golf or an arcade or whatever they want to do with just the two of us.
“It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.”
my son’s b’days are 10 days apart in the early spring but i always had separate parties. they got to invite as many kids as they were old: 8 yrs old = 8 guests. they also got to pick what we would eat–pizza was the usual choice, which was a big deal because i had $0.00–& the kind of cake or whatever. (sometimes they picked stuff like strawberry crepes or upside down cupcakes or fruit pies. i have creative kids.) they also could wear a crown.
my daughter was considerably younger & was nearly raised like an only child. her b’day is july 3. the barnum & bailey circus is always in phoenix during that time of the summer & i would get very good tickets every year. sometimes she would bring a friend.
We do general kid-type stuff on the kids’ birthdays. What’s special is what my wife and I do for each other on our birthdays (not THAT, get your mind out of the gutter!)
Our birthdays are a week apart, with Christmas in between, so the hectic pace doesn’t allow a lot of lavish gifts ($$) or even a lot of time. But we make sure that, some weekend, around those birthdays, the birthday boy/girl gets breakfast in bed, made to order, and no interruptions while s/he savors the luxury of it, and gets to loll around reading while munching on the final piece of toast.
This is a big thing for my wife especially, because she doesn’t usually eat breakfast. But on her birthday, it’s bacon, eggs, toast, tea, milk, the whole nine yards. But she’s worth it.
The Dave-Guy
“since my daughter’s only half-Jewish, can she go in up to her knees?” J.H. Marx
My birthdays, well, suck. It’s a long-standing, time-honored tradition.
It began on my 12th birthday, when I had to wake up at 5 AM and ride with my family for 7 hours so that my brother could compete in a state track meet. I spent most of my birthday alone in a hotel room.
Last year, I tried to plan something; co-workers agreed to take the afternoon off, grab food and beer, and have a little fiesta. When the day came, everyone just vanished. I couldn’t get a hold of anyone. So, alone again, whee.
As a result, I’m resigned to my birthdays being downers from here on.
Coming from a large family, the real treat was that we got to go to dinner alone with our parents. It was possibly the only time we got their undivided attention, so it was very special. We also got to choose where we went as we got older, allowing us to develope our own taste.
I am a redhead, you see, and I do not tempt. I insist. -Cristi
I started when both my sons were little to make special cakes, and they get to decide what they look like. So, I’ve made the album cover of ‘Abbey Road’ for my oldest son, and once Barney Rubble & Fred Flintstone looking up at a helicopter with a picture of my youngest son as the pilot…they were waving to him. My favorite will always be the craze of the ‘Turtles’ and I made a pizza cake, it was the coolest of them all!