Ditch The Stuff, Keep The Fun

This time of the year is full of joyful celebrations...and if you're like my family you have a few birthdays tossed into the mix on top of the holidays. In my ideal world, celebrations would be intimate and joyful. Their main focus would be on spending time with the people who are dear to mine and my son's hearts, and, of course, there would be lots of good food.

We recently celebrated Levi's 2nd birthday, and I am very glad to say that we hit my ideal square on the head. The celebration was low key, personal, and very enjoyable (if you don't count Levi's initial, unusual disdain for having guests over).

I know I'm not the only mommy around who feels a tad overwhelmed by all the stuff that comes with all the celebrating. In light of sweet success (and so I'll remember what I did when party time hits next year), I'm going to share my tips on minimizing the stuff from birthdays (or any holiday for that matter) while maximizing the fun and enjoyment.

So, here’s what I’ve figured out…so far:

1. Keep your guest list small. Choose people who you and your child really love to spend time with. The fewer guests, the more time y’all will have to spend with one another.

2. Politely request “No Presents, Just Smiles” on the invitations. If your request is ignored don’t be frazzled by it. Just say a heartfelt, “Thank you!”, and let your child be pleasantly surprised. Not everyone will listen to your request, and that’s okay. The point is not to ban gifts, it's to shift the focus.

3. Dedicate a separate, special time to opening family presents. For small children, especially, parties and present opening can be overwhelming. Separating present time from party time…even by a whole day…can really make the celebration go much more smoothly. I’m very lucky that my family is so good about going for quality not quantity, so even when you add together presents from me, the grandparents, the aunt, and the uncle the amount has thus far been just right. However, don’t hesitate to request no presents from family either. Or, at the very least discuss your wishes with them, so they know what you consider to be too much.

4. Follow your own rules. This might be the hardest part. There are so many cute and wonderful toys out there, and that’s coming from me…the girl who genuinely dislikes most toys. But, really, with all the great handmade and natural toy stores popping up all over the web, the options are nearing limitless. Carefully select the toys you buy for your child. Too much of a good thing is still too much.

5. Give. As a response to a previous post, Toni made a great suggestion. Why not turn your party into a can drive? There are loads of different ways you could incorporate charitable giving into your party. For, older children, by all means, get them involved in deciding the type of charity to collect for and creative ways to go about it. Not only would this help someone in need, it would also encourage generosity in your child.

6. Purge. Get a box. Mark it “Giveaways.” Go through your child’s current toys (preferably with your child if he or she is old enough), and decide which ones are no longer being used. Give them away. This makes room for the new and goes with #5’s theme of promoting generosity.

7. Decorate! Make the party feel special by personalizing it to the birthday child’s interests. Levi was thrilled to wake up to paper cut outs of vehicles taped to the doors and walls. There are plenty of ways to personalize a party without going out and buying loads of stuff. Get your kids in on the action, and make paper chains to string around the house. Decorate with toys you already own. Or, surprise, your child by decorating with some of the presents from you.

8. Music is a must. Play good, fun music….not too loud though. You still want to be able to have meaningful conversations. We’re huge fans of Smithsonian Folkways, so we opted for Alan Mills’ Animals, Vol. 1.

9. Keep it relaxed. Don’t over plan. It’s fine to have games or activities for children (although, I promise, they can and will entertain themselves if left to their own devices), but leave plenty of room for just plain enjoying one another.

10. And, last but not least…Food. All good things revolve around food. Even Jesus was into feeding people. So, make your child’s favorite easy dishes in big batches, frost a cake, and let the party get started.

Please tell, do you try to minimize birthday and holiday stuff overload? If so, what are your methods?