At work I run birthday parties. This is one among many of my duties, which also include leading environmental education programs for teachers, toddlers, and everyone in between. I sweep floors and clean toilets too, sometimes. I like diversity in work. It’s kind of like being a mother.
Anyway, years ago when I was not a mother yet I created our birthday parties, and now as a somewhat tired mother, I pep myself up to delve into the birthdays of other children as well. I am sure that the parents think that I am nuts, and I sometimes wonder myself. I do enjoy it, though. It’s a great way to introduce children to the work that we do at our nature center.
The current trend is the un-birthday. We followed this trend last year at our daughter’s first official birthday party. We called it a snake and cake. We invited a friend over with his pet snake (our daughter loves snakes) and then we washed our hands and had a snake-shaped cake. We then played in the snake-shaped sprinkler and called it a party. Actualy, it was a snake and cake.
One missing component was the presents. I don’t think that anyone noticed – my daughter certainly didn’t. We gave her a gift that morning, then we had the party in the afternoon. Exciting day, and there was certainly no need for a lot of gifts.
I’ve noticed that many of the parents of small children who attend our birthday parties at work do the same thing. Children have a lot of toys, and if they don’t they can always acquire a lot of them at thrift stores and garage sales. Do they really need even half of them? Probably not. While I love giving gifts as much as the next person, as a parent it is also tiring to go out and find a gift that may or may not be loved.
The current trend is no presents or simply donations or a collection for a good cause. The child decides where she wants the money to go and asks everyone to bring four dollars – two for the charity and two to go to a single gift of her choice. It’s a much more reasonable version of a birthday, and since it is popular in our neighborhood the children don’t know any different. My daughter is looking forward to raising some money for the animal shelter this year, and I’m pleased at the lack of influx of toys.
What are the birthday trends in your neighborhood?