5 Ways To Make Your Child's Birthday Special

Birthdays are so much fun for kids.  My family does get presents for our kids, but we wanted to find other ways to celebrate and take the emphasis off of "what am I getting for my birthday?"  Here's some ways we have come up with to make birthdays special.

 1.  The Birthday Sign:  On our birthday every year while growing up my mom would put out a wooden tole painted clown that said "Happy Birthday".  It was something we looked forward to when our birthday rolled around.  Recently my family was staying at my parents house for a few days.  It happened to be on my Dad's birthday.  Sure enough, when I got up in the morning the birthday clown was out along with a birthday mug.  Even with no children at home they keep up the tradition.  At my house we have a shiny silver banner that gets hung up.  Last year I made these Happy Birthday (reversible-blue on one side, pink on the other) blocks.  My kids remind me when a birthday is coming to get the sign and blocks ready.

2.  Birthday Letter:  A wonderful idea (at which I am currently failing miserably) is to write a letter to your child on their birthday each year.  It could also be added to over the course of the year.  Include special things about the child.  What have they been doing during the year and what fun times have you had together?  How have they grown and changed?  What do you love about them?  This can be given to the child the following birthday to read.  They can then be saved in a binder.  What a special gift for your child to know you have been thinking of them and why you love them.

3.  Spend time together:  With school, homework, and soccer practice my daughter's birthday was very busy.  When she got up in the morning we cuddled up on my bed and spent some time talking.  We talked about her day, about what I remember from the day she was born, anything she wanted.  It was off to school and went non stop until bed time.  We always open presents in the evening when the whole family can be together.  When my husband & I went up to bed I checked on all the kiddos and found my birthday girl still awake.  She came into our room and spent a few more minutes with both of us.  They get excited for the cake, parties, and presents, but what kids need the most is time with their family.  We always try to fit in some one on one time with our birthday child to let them know how much we love them.  


4.  Special Food:  What's a celebration without food-right?  It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.  Some families let the birthday child pick a restaurant to eat at.  Growing up we always got to pick what my mom would make for breakfast and dinner.  We also got to pick out the birthday dessert.  Most of the time for kids that ends up being cake & ice cream.  My kids get to pick a theme for the cake if they want, as well as what flavor.  As you can see, my talents do not lie in the cake decorating department (it looks crazy, but both of my girls said this was the "best cake ever!"), but my kids love having a fun cake every year.



5.  Serve Others:  With children birthdays can quickly become crazy.  Children often get the me-me-me attitude.  My family has already had our first birthday for the year.  We decided this year to try something different.  On the morning of her birthday I asked my daughter to think of a secret service she could do for each family member during the day.  She had so much fun thinking of ways to serve the family.  It made everyone happy.  It helped her remember that she is not the only one that matters, while also helping her feel special and important.  This will definitely be something we continue in our family.



Every family does things differently, but a lot of it seems to boil down to starting traditions.  Have fun finding creative ways to show your children how special they are.

~Amy

Oreo Truffles

Our family has great traditions that we have done for years.  One of my favorites is our annual Red Elf party.  My Grandparents started it when we were quite young.  I honestly don't remember a year without this party.  It included a pinata, fish pond and a room with a bed filled with Stuffed animals that we would all take turn picking from.  When it was time to pick stuffed animals my cute grandparents would come out dressed up in red long johns topped off with elf hats, a big red nose and Christmas striped toe socks.  I still look forward to this party all year.  My kids now enjoy going, even though the details have changed.  I love sharing this tradition with my kids.

A new tradition I love is making Oreo Truffles every year.  A friend of mine gave us Oreo Truffles for a neighbor gift one year and I couldn't get enough of them.  I get so excited thinking about these truffles, they are so yummy!  The best part is, that they are quite simple to make.  Just a few ingredients.

Here you go:

Oreo Truffles
1 package Oreos (just traditional type)
1 package Cream Cheese, softened
Milk chocolate chips


Blend up the Oreos, I use my Bosch and blended them until pretty smooth.
Pour the blended Oreos into a mixing bowl and add the cream cheese.  Mix the Oreos and Cream Cheese until mixed well.  I usually end up having to use my hands to get it mixed all the way.  Yes, wash them first!  Next, I roll them into small balls  maybe about 3/4 inch.  I just grab and roll the mix around my palms until it forms a ball.  While you are doing this, you can have the chocolate melting.  I usually just use a pie pan and put it over a pan of boiling water.  Stir fairly often so it doesn't get burnt at all.

Once the balls are all ready, roll them in the chocolate and lay on wax or parchment paper to cool.  If you want to make them more decorative, you could use white chocolate or colored candy melts and put them in a cake bag or even just a ziplock bag.  Cut the tip and drizzle it over the Oreos.   You could also try other chocolates to dip them in.  Have fun!

I was hoping to post a picture but have had a yucky cold bug so I haven't been up to making them.

Hope you love them as much as we all do!

~Andrea

Thoughts on Christmas

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas lately.  Who hasn’t?  While I am not “old” yet, I have been around for a lot of Christmases.  There are a lot of things which have changed over the years, and a lot of other things which are the same.  One thing that hasn’t changed over the many Christmases of my life time is the interest in special treats for the holiday.  My mom was one who loved to make holiday treats.  She made holiday breads, candies, cookies, and even a sweet roll Christmas wreath.  I was usually her helper, being the only daughter, and have fond memories of making treats with Mom.  Many of the treats were gifts for the neighbors.  She would even leave a loaf of sweet bread on the mailbox for the mailman and one on our garbage can at the curb for the garbage man.  I don’t make many of those treats any more, but one of my daughters really likes the cookies we used to make with a cookie press (which I now own) and my other 2 daughters love the peanut butter fudge.  Occasionally we make some of the treats that my mom did, and we always think of my mom when we do. Even my nieces and nephews think of Grandma when they make the family’s traditional treats.

Shopping for gifts or making gifts is still the norm for Christmas, even though malls were not around when I was younger.  I would have enjoyed going to the mall just to see the decorations then, now I try at all costs to avoid the mall at Christmas time.

Christmas lights are the same and yet different now.  I used to love when we would pile into the car (without seatbelts) to drive around the wealthier parts of town to see the decorated houses.  I loved one house that always looked like a castle from a distance.  Now, we go to a place that has light displays, where we pay to drive around slowly and let the grandkids ohhh and ahhh over the lighted reindeer jumping over the road and a large Santa waving at us.  I would probably make my husband take me each year to see the lights even if we didn’t have grandkids around to go with. 

As our lives become more busy and hectic, it seems harder each year to take time to remember the reason we celebrate the season.  I pulled out some nativity storybooks today to read to my grandchildren tonight as we go to see the lights, so that we can talk about the real meaning of the things we do at this Christmas season. And when we are done, maybe we will come back here to drink hot chocolate and eat peanut butter fudge.

~Gayle