I love birthdays. It’s hard for me to understand how some households don’t work themselves into a frenzy when birthdays roll around. Between planning parties, pursuing the perfect gift, and preparing the food, our lives are a little hectic the week before a family birthday. And because all that excitement is worth WAY more than one day, we celebrate birthday week in our home.
And last week was a doozy. We had two birthdays – O turned eight, and I turned…older. I could not cram all of the festivities into yesterday’s post, so I’ll continue birthday week with O’s special day.
This is how O’s actual birthday began:
Years ago, a friend of mine told me about (and gave me) the Birthday Plate – a plate that is only used on birthdays. Each family member gets their birthday cake (and some meals) served on this plate. O wanted breakfast in bed, so that’s what she got. Her sister and I mixed cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, then spread it onto Pillsbury crescent rolls. After we rolled them up, we brushed the rolls with melted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked them as specified. Yum.
Although every year, we celebrate birthdays with family, every few years, the kids get a big friend party (the party is big, not the friends). This year, O wanted an Artist Party where everyone would talk about their favorite artist and maybe do a little art creation. After discussing that not every 7-soon-to-be-8 year old has a favorite artist, she decided on just an Art Party. And here are some highlights.
We had projects planned for the Seurats, Van Goghs, and Pollocks in the group, but Van Gogh and his sunflowers didn’t see the light of day – we ran out of time because the Pollock gene in everyone clearly dominated. No sooner were paper plates of paint refilled then the girls were flinging gobs of color at each other. Some even abandoned the dainty paintbrushes and scooped the paint up with their hands, looking to slop the closest victim. Their shrieks of delight and cackles of laughter made me smile (while standing a safe distance away with my camera). The day was a hit. And my baby girl had the “best birthday ever.”
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Fantastic ideas. We also have similar birthday traditions. Birthday cupkakes for breakfast usually begin the festivities.
I love simple, yet creative “home” birthday parties. It looks like you had a fantastic day.
Oh, I LOVE this whole post!! Birthdays are a big deal in our family too, it makes life extra special. We have a birthday plate too.
The party looks so creative and fun! Those rolls sounds YUMMY too.
We love birthdays at my house. We do them up big and have the family in for the weekend. I love the birthday plate. Makes me want to head over to All Fired Up and create a bithday plate for our family, before our birthday frenzy starts in a month.
What great ideas! My husband tends to go overboard and wants a birthday month but this year I’m going to compromise on the week. I also think the birthday plate would be a great gift idea. Thanks for sharing!
How fun! Those croissants look really tasty and I love the craft idea!
I want to know who O’s favorite artist is!