For some parents we’ve met, it feels like kids birthday parties have gotten a bit out of control.
Whatever happened to cake in the backyard with some friends from the neighborhood?
It’s one thing if you really enjoy party planning and baking and crafting, but quite another if you just want to keep things simple.
If you’re looking for a way to get back to basics in regard to celebrating your little ones birthday, this episode is for you.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
In this episode:
-
Why bday parties have gotten out of control
- 5 tips to keeping the insanity in check
-
Are we raising the next Cake Boss?
-
Chris’s most memorable birthday party
Items of interest:
- The book The Five Love Languages
You made me feel like I’m not alone by doing this episode. Sometimes I feel this weird guilt for not throwing some big bash for my kids’ birthdays, especially for their first birthday (um like they’re even going to remember?). And yet I want to make them special and don’t always know how to do that too. I LOVED your idea of thinking back to your own childhood birthdays. My mom struggles with anxiety/depression and we pretty much never had people over to our house (not even family unless it was briefly). But my mom would let me have a couple friends over every year for my birthday and do a sleepover. I’d have ice cream cake with my family on my birthday night, maybe celebrate with my grandmother (her bday is 2 days before mine) at her house with just dinner and dessert, and then over the weekend I’d have the sleepover and we’d almost always play Twister and just hang out. And I looked forward to it every year. My parents didn’t have to do much at all. No fancy anything. So this year, we let our 5 year old have a playdate with some neighbor friends for a bit (just walked to the playground) and then she had one friend sleep over. And she loved it. Simple. So maybe that’ll be our new thing, at least for her. :)
Thanks again for this. Really enjoyed it.
You made ME feel like I’m not alone! So thanks for that!
I love your childhood birthday tradition. That sounds like something any little girl would love. A sleepover with friends?! Heck yeah! And so weird – my grandmothers birthday is just a week before mine so we always celebrate together too. So weird! (Your birthday isn’t in October is it?!)
You’ve encouraged me to keep things simple again next year. It’s so hard to remember sometimes that simple is usually best. So many “shoulds” get in the way. Where do those shoulds even come from anyways?
Sarah and Chris … right on, you two!
This was my favorite episode so far and I’m not sure how you packed all that goodness into about twelve minutes.
Sarah, your honesty about making a cake for the boys’ five-year birthday party was refreshing. I really resonated with just wanting plain and simple – just straight up vanilla or chocolate without the fixins’ – but then thinking, “What are other parents going to believe about me not going all-out for my kids?”
You two ended up doing what your kids wanted and everyone won. Kudos for that and kudos for the commentary on external expectations, social norms, and our own internal pressure as parents.
I’m not a time-strapped parent, but if there are some of them out there, this is a showcase episode of what they can get out of you two with a small investment.
Thanks so much Joel! We really appreciate the feedback. Wish you lived down the street so you and the kids and Melinda could have come over for some birthday cake!