Birthdays | Pad Patter 10.17

In between here too - when we do organise something, it's all out; but mostly if it's not immediate family i'm terrible at remembering dates! (lucky for reminders!)

 

We're fairly low key here. Clara's ends up being a big deal about every other year (this year is a big deal year - sweet 16). Alex hasn't made a big deal about his in years until he planned his own party with his friends this year. Mine ends up being a little bigger (it's all relative) just because it's over Christmas break and everyone is home. Jeff is almost always out of town for his birthday and is impossible to buy for.

If you watch The Middle... we do a lot of "floating" of birthdays... it's not unusual for our family celebration to be a couple weeks after the person's actual birthday.

 

Before I answer, just let me say @bestcee



Hope you've had a wonderful day!! What did you choose for food??

We're pretty low key around here. We usually go out to dinner and then home for cake and such, especially since the kids are older. I just found out this evening that our end of the season football practice is on my birthday :/, so I guess we'll do celebrating on another day or just bring the whole family to that and pretend it's a party for me hahaha.

 

I'm low key. DH is lower key. And I don't just mean "lower key" for his own bday. I mean that some years I buy myself something, send him the link, and say "You got this for me for my bday" and he's like "Oh, yeah, that's coming up, isn't it?" *sigh*

 

For my kids, I ask them what they want to do. My girls have usually wanted to have a theme and do something with friends. My son has been less interested. There are always a few presents and the birthday person chooses dinner.

My husband and I barely pay attention to holidays in general. We agreed long ago that they weren't important to us and, as for gifts, we'd rather get ourselves what we really want.

Tracie @tkradtke we rarely have celebrations on the actual day too. Got to pick days that work better with friends' schedules when you want to have a party!

p.s. Happy birthday Courtney!

 

When the boys were younger, they had parties and sleep overs. I declared them a success if 1) they let me sleep and 2) nothing got broken. My daughter has continued the tradition of sleep overs.

However, this year she is the big 16, so I am not sure yet what will we will do. Her birthday is Christmas day so we often have to plan a party the first weekend in December before all her friends get really busy with holiday stuff. And yes, we do family birthday presents on Christmas day for her - Christmas presents in the morning and birthday in the afternoon. We have stopped getting her cakes though because there is always way more than enough food around already.

Not always, but we typically go out to eat at Red Robin for their birthday dinner. Now that it is harder to get a free birthday burger with their reward program, we have started going other places. Family celebration is always dinner out somewhere with presents.

 

For my birthday, I'm lucky if anyone remembers (and that includes my my own mother who normally remembers my birthday a week later). I normally buy myself something and let it go.

I remember all the birthdays for hubby, kids & grandkids but no big deals.

 

Birthdays are casual family gatherings. We hang out, have a BBQ or prepare simple meals so that no one is over-worked or over-stressed about the planning. We always give gifts to each other. I've got my 60th coming up next Monday (yikes. can you believe it???) and we're planning to go play miniature golf and have a BBQ. The family will have cupcakes and I'm going to make a keto dessert for myself. Not sure if I'll make squares, cake or cupcakes. If the weather is good I might get out in the early morning for a photo walk with Taz. I have no idea what I'd like from hubs so I've got a few more days to think about it and if I don't have something in mind, I can just wait and get something later.

 

Between. And maybe it has evolved. I used to go all out with decorations, homemade cake and treats, etc. But after a while I think I just got tired. Now we sort of alternate - a family birthday one year, party the next, or maybe a few friends for a sleepover.

 

We didn't have much money when I was growing up to do big vacations and such, so my parents made sure that our birthdays and Christmas was always extra special. My mom would always make a special birthday cake for us, and every other year we were allowed to have a party with friends. If it was family Mom would make our favorite dinner, we'd eat cake then open presents. Then Dad would take our photo so we could see how much we've grown over the years.

Christmas was even bigger. We'd have a huge smorgasbord of Swedish foods for dinner, then open one tree present before going to church for services. We'd finish opening presents when we returned, then have a second buffet of cookies that we'd have spent baking since Thanksgiving. Overnight "Santa" would come and fill our stockings with small presents that we'd have a blast opening. We'd draw it out as long as possible, too.

My DH is another story. You give/get a card with money for your birthday, have dinner out, and maybe a cake. Christmas was only celebrated on Christmas day with one big present under the tree and a few things in the stockings. No fanfare.

Needless to say the blending of our two families ideas hasn't been easy. I ended up buying my own birthday present every year when I only received a card, but now he's finally caught on!

 

We're low key...we've tried now a couple times to throw a birthday party for the middle and a first time for the youngest this summer, and a couple friends couldn't make it because they were out of town and the two that could come ended up getting sick so no party...

 

@bestcee I have an Amazon wishlist but I figure having him buy me something I've picked out with money from a joint account is quite similar to me buying the same thing. I just cut out the middle man. And yes, the middle man is my DH, but still!

Sometimes he's good with birthdays. He did really well this year. I had sent him a link to something I wanted and he got it for me. So that is kind of like a one-item wishlist lol.

 

Birthdays are a big deal on my side of the family. We have dinner together nearly every Thursday night so adult birthdays are celebrated on the closest Thursday to the actual day (except for my grandmother). My mom makes whatever your requested meal + cake is & there are presents, too. My aunt works nights so she is the only local adult whose birthday doesn't get celebrated. Everyone else -- my parents, my sister, my husband, my grandfather, & me -- all do. My aunt throws a BBQ for my grandmother for her birthday and invites the rest of the extended family to come (and she then conveniently invites her friends to come over later to eat the leftovers she wants us to leave with her -- ).

My 'gift' from my husband is usually to take the kids with him for a weekend to his parents' house so the last couple of years part of my birthday celebration has been going out shopping or to a movie with my mom & sister.

There are three grandkids & they have separate family parties on a weekend close to their birthday. The boys' birthdays are only a few days apart so we celebrate them together at one big party. My ILs are invited (and come) to my kids' parties. A large part of my nephew's dad's family also came to his party until my sister & BIL split up this year.

DH's family doesn't get together for birthdays. My ILs send/bring the kids a gift or two, and they usually send the adults (two sons + two DILs) a card & money but that's all. We don't exchange gifts for any occasion with BIL and his family and vice versa.

 

BTW, @Lena Gardner is the best party planner on the face of the earth & her kids' birthday parties are amazing every single year.

 

We run in between most of the time. Happy Birthday!!!!

 

I started out as that amazing party planning mom...and have turned into a pretty pathetic party planner. It's usually planned in the few days before the birthday. My daughter's 13th birthday is coming up & thankfully she is pretty much planning it all...she actually wants to. She even designed her own invitation! This made me very happy!