Our oldest is about to turn six. Oh how birthdays always get to me. They reveal that life truth that my littles are getting older and they push me to slow down and take in all the moments I have with them. It’s so fun to see their faces light up when it’s their special day. We try and make the day centered on just how special they are to us and how much their life adds beauty to the world. Here’s a few of our birthday traditions. We hope they inspire you to create and add birthday traditions into your family life!

A verse for The Night before the Birthday

When I have said my evening prayer,

And my clothes are folded on the chair,

And mother switches off the light,

I’ll still be …. years old tonight.

But, from the very break of day,

Before the children rise and play,

Before the darkness turns to gold

Tomorrow, I’ll be …. years old.

…….. kisses when I wake,

…….. candles on my cake!

The night before the birthday we read this special birthday verse and once everyone is asleep the night before the birthday, we set up a special area on the kitchen table for the special birthday child. This year we will be draping a special silk rainbow cape over our birthday girl’s chair for her to wear when she wakes up. I also needle felted her a special birthday crown that will be waiting for her at the table as well. We also make sure the birthday ring is set up and the presents are all wrapped on the table.

The birthday ring is a very special tradition and each year, the birthday child gets to choose a new ornament for their birthday ring. We normally wait until dinner to light the candles on our birthday ring. We like to say one special thing that child did for each year before we light the candle. For example, when Reeve was one years old, she started to walk (light candle). When Reeve was two, she loved to dress up in fancy dresses (light candle). Once all the candles are lit, we sing the traditional happy birthday song.

The birthday child also gets to choose our meals and a special family activity for that day. This year donuts are on the menu for breakfast, white chicken enchiladas for dinner and our special family activity is going to the trampoline park! We end the night with opening presents and the reading of a story about how the child came to us. The basic version we will use can be found on Sarah’s Silks website but there’s also a few different books that tell a similar tale. Here’s the basic story:

Once upon a time there was a little child who was still with the angles in heaven and the child was very happy there. She looked at the beautiful colors and listened to the lovely music, and knew that that was where she belonged. But one day the clouds parted in heaven and she saw the beautiful green Earth below with all the people happily playing and working and she suddenly longed to go there and see what it was like. She saw all the rainbow colors of the Earth; she saw butterflies visiting flowers and birds flying in the air. They seemed to be beckoning to her. She saw fish swimming in the sea and all the different plants that covered the Earth. She saw children climbing trees, running and jumping in the meadows and walking through sand and leaves. It was all so beautiful!So she said to her angel, ‘Please, may I go down to Earth now?” But her angel looked at her and said, “No, it is too soon. You must wait a little while yet”. So the child went and was happy and soon forgot about the Earth. Then one day again she saw a glimpse of the Earth through the clouds again. She saw mothers and fathers doing their work. She saw nurses and bakers and engineers and writers and farmers. She saw mothers and fathers loving their children. Then she saw a beautiful mother with love and longing in her heart for a child and she asked her angel now, “May I go to her?” The angel said, “You must go through the land of dreams first.” The next night the little child had a dream. She dreamed that she met and man and a woman and they stretched out their arms to her and asked her to come be their child. The child told her angel the dream. The angel said, “It is now time for you to go.”So the child asked, “May I go now?” “You shall see,” said the angel. That night the child went to sleep into dreamland and while ten moons waxed and waned she rocked in a little boat. And at the end of that time a beautiful rainbow bridge of rose, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet stretched from heaven to Earth and on it came the child as a tiny baby and slid into her mother and father’s waiting arms. (Some people lay down a rainbow silk at this point and have the child walk over it.)

What an honor it is to be a parent. To watch our children grow up and for them to know just how special they are to us. Birthdays are such a great opportunity to celebrate the life of our family members. We hope these ideas inspire you to add birthday traditions into your family rhythm!

Blessings,

Alyssa