We’ve all seen it: The seemingly perfect Instagram parents whose impeccably-dressed children celebrate their birthdays with elaborate, color-coordinated, #aesthetic parties that look like they belong in a magazine. While there’s nothing wrong with an elaborate party, most of us have neither the time nor desire to painstakingly decorate 100 Paw Patrol cookies with royal icing, or hand-stitch custom bunting from vintage fabric, or create a personally-branded photo booth. Fortunately for the more laid-back parents among us, we don’t have to fit a Pinterest board’s worth of ideas into every birthday. Just one or two simple birthday traditions can make your child feel special and spark memories that last a lifetime. 

Creative Birthday Traditions for Kids

Birthday Breakfast

Breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day, but it’s definitely the most fun! Treat your birthday kid to a special surprise by cooking their favorite breakfast—smiley face pancakes with chocolate chips, waffles with fruit and whipped cream, egg in a basket, or whatever else their heart desires! Cooking a special breakfast is so simple, but it’s one of those things your kids will look back on in 20 years and remember fondly. Maybe they’ll even carry on the tradition with their own kids one day! 

Balloon Wakeup Call

Another fun birthday tradition is to cover the floor of your child’s room in colorful balloons before they wake up. They’ll have a blast walking through the sea of balloons, and it’s sure to put a smile on their face to start the day.
If balloons aren’t quite your style, you could hang streamers all over the room or create a streamer curtain in the doorway. Better yet, why not make a balloon avalanche to great your kid when they open the door?

Time Capsule

Mark your child’s latest trip around the sun by creating a time capsule. This is a really fun tradition because you can look back at past years and see how much your child has grown and changed. Or fill out an “interview” like this one to have a record of their favorite color, book, song, etc. If your child likes to craft, you could even work together to create a collage or scrapbook page about the year. 

Birthday Mail

For an even more special birthday tradition/gift, write your child a letter on every birthday. You can include some fun memories from throughout the year, and when they’re older, they’ll be able to look back through the letters and take an incredible trip down memory lane. 

Of course, if you’re looking for a happy medium between a labor-intensive party and no party at all, we can help! Our Moore roller skating parties take the legwork out of party planning, so you and your child can have a great time without the stress and mess of hosting a party at home.