Birthday Traditions

7/5/2019

We celebrated our littlest boy turning 2 last weekend. He is the first in our family to celebrate a birthday in 2019. The rest of us all have birthdays between now and Christmas. 


We are making an intentional shift in our birthday traditions this year. Here's the reason why. Bear with me as it will seem that I'm shifting gears here, from birthdays to Christmas traditions.

We have seen a disturbing pattern in our family over the last few years related to Christmas. What is generally considered to be a season of giving has turned inward, with the focus on getting/receiving. Our kids, like so many others who live in abundance and privilege, make lists of what they want and have high hopes of what they will receive. In essence, Christmas was all about them and what they would get, thus turning it into a functional 2nd birthday that happens each year. More gifts for them. 

Now we know that we are somewhat to blame for this confusion. We have not historically made a really big deal about birthdays, but Christmas is a big deal. We have spent more money on our kids at Christmas than at birthdays. We have perpetuated the emphasis on gifts for everyone at Christmastime. We have bought into the consumer-driven culture and let the focus drift from the real meaning of Christmas. 


BUT GOD used some friends recently to present a way to shift our focus, as this couple simply described their birthday traditions. They make a REALLY BIG deal out of birthdays. They go all out. They buy big gifts. They decorate, a lot... with streamers and balloons. They include elements of praising God for the uniqueness of the birthday boy or girl. 


And by making birthdays a really big deal, they can then make Jesus' birthday a really big deal too... and the focus stays on Jesus!

If a birthday is a time to celebrate the birthday celebrant... with decorations, with special desserts, with gifts for that person, with special poems/speeches/pictures we created with that birthday person in mind... then all of this can easily carry over to Christmas as Jesus' birthday and keep the focus on Him, where it belongs! 

So this shift in how we celebrate birthdays all year long will affect how we celebrate Christmas this year. There will not be gifts for our individual children from us. There will be a focus of what we can give to Jesus for His birthday, which will lead to some great discussions of what Jesus really wants for His birthday (things like our hearts, our love and obedience, our sacrificing for others and thinking of others instead of ourselves, etc). All of the decorations, the special foods, the time and energy that goes in to preparing for Christmas as Jesus' birthday will all reinforce the idea that birthdays are super special time to celebrate the birthday person. 


So we have the rest of our family birthdays to celebrate yet this year, all between now and Christmas. I'm excited about this! I'm excited because it is encouraging to hear family members recognize one another's contributions to the rest of the family and to voice them (or draw them). I'm excited to help cultivate a sense of generosity in the kids as they think about buying a gift for their sibling's birthday. I love their excitement over helping decorate or helping pick out the perfect balloon for their sibling. I love walking down memory lane together, sharing memorable moments with one another as we flip through pictures of the last year. 

Traditions.
I think I've undervalued traditions. 
I am looking ahead with great intentionality. 

Happy Birthday, America!

7/4/2019 


Happy Birthday, America! 

I value my freedom and thank those who purchased it for me!

Baby Boy's Birthday Party

7/3/2019


We celebrated our littlest boy's 2nd birthday last weekend. What a fun time to just celebrate his life together as a family!


Each of his siblings had purchased a gift for him. He received a flashlight toy, Mr Potato Head, a racecar and a rubber ducky. Mom and Dad gave him a battery-operated bubble blower - that makes for a very slippery kitchen floor but is great fun outside :-) - and a set of bowling pins and balls and finally a t-shirt that says I'M 2! Daddy also made him a special crown to wear for his birthday. 

Each family member also created something for him. Some wrote down some special memories of this past year. Some drew a picture, made a card, wrote an acrostic with his name or wrote out a prayer for him. 


We also made a trip to the nearest Build-a-Bear Workshop. I recently learned of their "Buy Your Age" birthday bear. So we were able to buy a bear for only $2. We spent a few more dollars on minimal accessories and birthday boy now has his own stuffed bear.



The birthday boy got to choose what food to eat on his birthday. We enjoyed cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Morning snack was popcorn and pretzels. Lunch was pizza. Afternoon snack was birthday cupcakes. Supper was Burger King fries and chicken nuggets. 


We also Skyped with Grandma K in Wisconsin, so she could watch birthday boy open the gifts she had mailed here.

A very fun birthday celebration, as we thank God for the gift of this little boy. Families are a blessing.
"God sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6) We're thankful for the fun, the challenges, the uniqueness that this little boy brings into our lives. 

Happy 2nd Birthday, my son!