Here on LeClaire the parents have a great system for celebrating birthdays of our children.
You may decide we are either the laziest parents in the world and wonder how we all happened to move to the same block, or you will recognize the genius of this system.
On our block in Chicago the parents came up with "neighbor birthdays".
We put out a flyer with the date and time, and kids and parents come over to the front yard of the birthday kid's house for cake.
We take a group picture on the porch steps, and call it a day.
Whole thing takes about an hour.
No (or very small) gifts. We find a Sacagawea dollar or two to be loved by 2 year olds to 15 year olds.
The parents get to visit and the kids of all ages have fun. We have a wonderful record of the children growing up with the porch step photographs. Our block has done this for about 20 years.
(Because our houses have porches, if it is raining we have coverage.)
Rules:
--cake required--usually a homemade box cake with whipped cream for frosting.
--beverage optional
--if you need a bathroom, go home.
--winter? put on a coat
How much more minimalist can you get?
8 comments:
OH! How I wish I had lived in your neighborhood when my boys were small! Although I did have one good rule: one guest for each year of the child's age. I only did one birthday party at home (a cowboy theme, as I recall). Other than that, it was McDonald's, roller skating or laser tag.
Sounds like the very best way to my way of reckoning. *smile*
What a fun time for everyone! And I like that you have the pic of all the kids on the steps to look back on! That's perfect!
That sounds perfect! I just can't believe the parties some parents throw for their kids these days.
Very very fond memories of your blueberry cakes!
Sharon
I love the frugal idea here and hope new closely knit neighborhoods will celebrate this way.
We kept things simple as our kids were growing up with a gathering of grandparents and aunts. Got them to play laser tag, putt-putt golf, etc......
Carolyn in NC
I LOVE it! Terrific idea.
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