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PLANNING A HALF-BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
People are born every day of the year, but sometimes that day isn’t the most convenient for having a birthday party! When you have two birthdays in December (both our daughter's and son's) it’s hard not to have Christmas become part of the birthday celebration as all of our decorations are up. Sometimes the line seems to blur about just what you are celebrating.Does school begin or end during your child’s birthday? If so you might find your child’s birthday party being shunted aside. My husband’s September birthday was the beginning of the school year and a teacher who wasn’t quite "ready" or experienced always threw his party together.
And during the summer is anyone in town? During my August birthday we seemed to always be away on vacation.
However, every child, no matter what type of the year they were born, deserves a special, thoughtful birthday celebration.
I would like to share with you a very seldom used idea ~ that of a half-birthday party. We did our first a year ago for my son, Conner, and it went especially well. We were desperate to get him into potty training full-force but he said he wasn’t a "Big Boy," so didn’t have to try. In desperation we held a "Bigger Boy" party with lots of underwear gifts.
With his birthday falling in December and close to Christmas, we always felt like he got short-changed anyway during the holiday excitement. So we decided it would be a good idea to continue.
Children love parties and parents are always looking for something constructive for kids to do. Here are some guidelines if you would like to hold your own Half-Birthday Party.
- Have a NO gifts policy. Your child has a real birthday for those. One thing that I love about this party is that it reinforces the idea (and one that I think is especially valuable) that you do not have to have presents to have a good time. It's an UN-birthday party.
- Concentrate on a fun idea that your child especially likes (mysteries, dinosaurs, animals etc…)
- Keep it low-key… no presents, no party favor bags, no big expense.
- Invite as many kids as you want OR as make it an intimate small party.
- Ask parents to stay and visit. This would be a great time to get to know your child’s friends’ parents.
- Have games to play that don’t require a lot of expense or set-up.
- If you still need more to do, plan a simple craft project.
- Make it a field-trip party. You could go visit all sorts of interesting places as a group to have fun whether that be an ice-cream factory, newspaper office, zoo, beauty salon, mall, or science museum.
- Other party ideas ~ camp-out, slumber sleepover, nature walk, book club, secret club, cooking party, or photography party.
What are some benefits to having an un-birthday or 1/2 birthday party?
- The party is low-key and low-stress. Parents get a "test-run" on how to hold a successful party without the birthday "perfect" pressure.
- Children can be more involved in planning this party. You are not buying loads of stuff so no need to decide between Barbie or Cinderella cups... Keep it Simple and Keep them Involved.
You can invite a large number of kids and offset the "Invitation Dilemma" (see our other article) when you have a real birthday party later and only invite a few guests.
- It affords a chance to get to know the parents of your child's friends.
- Your child gets more training about how to behave as a host/hostess. Being polite isn't inbred, it is learned.
I hope you try out a 1/2 birthday party and have lots of fun doing it!
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