How to make home celebrations feel special?

[Anonymous]

PP here - and party hats!

[Anonymous]

OP here - love all these responses! So many great ideas, and definitely part of it is that I need to plan better and do more (decluttering, decorating) in advance. I didn't grow up in a "family that celebrates," so it doesn't come naturally to me (or DH), but I want our family to have more of these special moments and I want to be able to make them happen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - love all these responses! So many great ideas, and definitely part of it is that I need to plan better and do more (decluttering, decorating) in advance. I didn't grow up in a "family that celebrates," so it doesn't come naturally to me (or DH), but I want our family to have more of these special moments and I want to be able to make them happen!

You can do it! You are a family that celebrates! What are you going to celebrate next?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: You can do it! You are a family that celebrates! What are you going to celebrate next?

DC'S 3rd bday is coming up! So all these suggestions are just in time!

[Anonymous]

I let my kids pick a theme and we decorate for that theme. They also pick out a cake flavor and I make it for them. There’s an easy cutting guide on how to make a number 3 cake using round cake pans. On their birthday I make birthday pancakes which are pancakes with sprinkles and they get a small single candle for their first birthday song of the day. They pick out an activity for that day or a nearby weekend and decide on a dinner for that day.

[Anonymous]

You’ve gotten great suggestions here. Two additional ideas - Spotify has great playlists for any kind of celebration. Also, fancy beverages are a huge hit. We have made Grinch Punch (sprite, sherbet, green food coloring), sparking cranberry juice for Valentine’s Day, etc. The brighter the colors and the fancier the glasses are, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’ve gotten great suggestions here. Two additional ideas - Spotify has great playlists for any kind of celebration. Also, fancy beverages are a huge hit. We have made Grinch Punch (sprite, sherbet, green food coloring), sparking cranberry juice for Valentine’s Day, etc. The brighter the colors and the fancier the glasses are, the better.

+ 1 regarding fancy drinks.

I serve sparkling cider or cranberry ginger ale in wine or champagne glasses.

[Anonymous]

These are such great ideas! Appreciate all the thoughtful responses. I'm making a list from this thread for our next celebration (and beyond!)
- OP

[Anonymous]

OP, you can also buy Happy Birthday yard signs on Amazon. The set that I bought has now been used by other neighbors - the gift that keeps on giving!

When my kids were little, we would decorate their bedroom doors and throw blown up balloons into their room. We also make my kids a poster all about them and their likes each year. It’s nice to see how their likes change/stay the same over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Use a tablecloth and drag out the good dishes? Have the kids decorate the chandelier over the table. It doesn’t have to be magazine worthy, just fuss a little.

This.

Plus, everyone should dress up.

And, everyone should be present. That means your cell phones and screens are shut off and nowhere in sight.

Lastly, facetime or zoom with additional guests. We have the grandparents join us for dessert and coffee; we prop the laptop on the end of the dining room table.

Last night I facetimed my sister and her family in another state so they could watch the birthday girl open presents and sing happy birthday with us.

It’s all about what makes you happy! This works for some. We have been doing the opposite the past year.

This means for special occasions we cook a lot of food and have several courses and everyone eats in pjs. No phones or electronics. No FaceTime or zoom at the table. Just the immediate family. My oldest is a teen and he even likes the new holiday or birthday pj with lots of food tradition.

We talk to relatives before or after the meal.

[Anonymous]

20:26 again. I forgot to add the most important part for the kids- sparkling grape juice in fancy glasses! Necessary for any celebration from the time they were little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: You can do it! You are a family that celebrates! What are you going to celebrate next?

DC'S 3rd bday is coming up! So all these suggestions are just in time!

My favorite trick for this age is to blow up a bunch of balloons and cover the floor of their room. They wake up feeling SO excited and the days starts off magical!

We also use the fancy plates for dinner and do a fancy table setup, or use paper plates with their favorite character! Ask ahead of time what special food they would like - especially for breakfast and dinner. My young kids love making a cake, and feel so special to choose the type of cake, frosting, and cupcakes vs. full cake. Throw some sprinkles on there and some candles and you're just about there. Play music and have a dance party. Get some streamers and maybe a "Happy Birthday" banner from Target. It's so easy when they're young! Just enjoy it and don't overthink it. You've got this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so much to say about this. I had a crap childhood and have deliberately focused on adding magic in my kids lives. A few thoughts: it all starts in delighting in their littleness daily. Be excited when they find a fairy feather or pick up a green rock that’s beautiful. Tell yourself that you are a mom who celebrates! Say it as many times as you need and then it will be true. I am not a particularly social person, but I believe that I am a person who celebrates. You can too. Celebrate little things, and find something every month to celebrate (valentines, st Patrick’s, Easter or May days, etc). I mark the beginning of every month with a change of decor - I put up a themed banner on suction hooks in the kitchen. That’s it! Sometimes I change a dish towel or get flowers. If you set the bar too high you will burn out. When I change the banner the kids ask about it... and I pump them up. “It’s almost time for New Years!!!! We are going to have so much fun at our party!” Etc. Talk it up. Talk often. Talk about celebrating and say we are a family that has parties!

For the day of - first you do need to chat with your DH. What does he need to be more present for your party? Maybe time to work first? A break? Set expectations... and set them low! A party with little kids is legitimately 15 minutes long. Our New Years party (“the fanciest party ever!”) lasted maybe 20 minutes. The kids were so pumped! I try and outsource food if it stresses me out, order pizza whatever. I try and clean the area right before so we have a clean kitchen or living room. Tell the kids what to wear but don’t sweat their choices...”pick something that makes you feel FUN! FANCY! READY TO DANCE!”

And then have fun! Turn on tunes. Wear a party hat. Put on something fun. Play a game like twister or freeze dance. It’s all mindset. To be fun have fun. Your kids will feel it. The last element that makes it feel magic is that it’s different. Kids notice deviations from their routine. So you could hang a disco ball. Bring out animal hats from the costume bin. Twinkle lights. Candles. Dim the lights. Put flowers out.

Here are a few things my family does with our 1/4 year olds:

For NYE disco ball, glow stick, hats, dance party and running around yelling Happy New Year’s!! For Valentine’s Day - all month we stick hearts that I cut out on cabinets and write things we love on them. Looks festive, and then we have a love breakfast. Things we love! Mom and dad kiss a lot because kids are into that (kissss her!!) For Christmas dinner I put those English party crackers on each plate. Different enough that it made dinner festive! We just had a fairy birthday for one of my kids and we put flowers on the table with those fairy light jars and we surprised her with fairy wings for each of us to wear. It was simple but she was so thrilled. We do beginning of school parties with favorite foods, wear crowns and talk about school!

Truly the little things make a big impact, OP, but ultimately it’s your attitude. You want this for your kids and I know you will find a way that feels authentic and fun to you. Good luck.

This post made me so happy. How lucky your kids are to have you.

[Anonymous]

Get some decorations for the event, balloons go a long way. Use a table cloth and put out fancy dinnerware. We put juice in champagne glasses for the kids. Make some sort of game so everyone participates, it can be as simple as "tell us about the funniest thing that happened with Johnny this year? If you had to guess what Johnny will grow up to be, what would it be and why?....
For Christmas Eve we use poppers- every one tells their corny jokes and wears the paper hat..
And I tell everyone they must get dressed for dinner- no sweats, etc. because no one would if I didn't ask them to- and they end up liking it.
Put the bday cake on a raised platter with candles so it really looks celebratory.

[Anonymous]

I think that what you might see on social media makes it look like people are celebrating for a full day non stop, but it really is all just moments throughout the day. We pot balloons and streamers on their door to make up to so that's a fun thing for them throughout the day. Ice cream for breakfast (it can just be a side dish...). And cupcakes with dinner (decorated with a favorite color or interest). Bday person gets to choose dinner.

Usually they're at school all day so that covers it. If it's a weekend or pandemic, they can choose a family outing or a movie for movie night.

We throw in little things here and then when it's not a birthday - half birthday, "epic ice cream sundae bar", movie marathon snow day, board game bonanza, costume party dance party. When they're little, just give it a fun name to make it seem like you're doing something special. And yeah, it may only last 20 minutes but it livens things up and gives them something to look forward to.