10 Birthday Traditions Kids Will Love & Remember

Birthdays are a really big deal to kids of all ages. From the time they are little they often look forward to and talk about their birthdays all year long, but it's not all about presents and big parties. It's a special day just for them that brings happiness, joy, excitement, attention and lots of wonderful moments and traditions that create memories which are cherished and often passed onto their own children. Birthday traditions are about making your child feel extremely loved, special and important. We love that these 10 birthday traditions are easy, fun and you can start them with your kids no matter their age:

Wake Up Surprise

Waking up to a fun surprise on your birthday is like waking up on Christmas morning! And it wouldn't be a birthday without a few balloons and some decorations so why not decorate a doorway, fill their bedroom floor with balloons, hang a birthday banner, put a helium balloon bouquet in the middle of the lounge room or even shower them with a balloon avalanche! Mix it up year on year, or even if you recreate the same wake up surprise for your kids every year they will love the anticipation of what the morning could bring.

Birthday Breakfast

Even on a school day a Birthday Breakfast is such a fun treat! Ask your child what they would like for breakfast or surprise them with one of our super sweet sprinkle recipes (find them here) and decorate the table with a special birthday placemat, a sprinkle of confetti and a few balloons or party hats and have yourself a mini birthday-breakfast party!

Birthday Interview

Conduct a special birthday interview and record the answers to read back to them as they grow up. This is a lovely way to record just how much your child grows, develops and changes over the years.

Birthday YES Day!

Have you seen the movie? A Yes Day is such a fun family tradition that everyone will love planning, talking about and doing together.

The concept it that we have to say no to our kids more than we say yes, and a Yes Day means you have to say yes to everything they say for one day (or a few hours). There are some ground rules - set a budget, not to far from home, nothing dangerous - but mostly it's an opportunity to let loose and have fun together as a family.

Hand Tracing Drawing

A simple hand trace drawing that will become a treasured piece of art. Using a simple piece of paper trace your child's hand or hands and add the date. Frame it on the wall or keep it in a safe place and every year retrace their hands/s again in a different colour over the top, remembering to add the date. This will become a treasured tradition as they grow (and looks great framed on the wall)

Family Outing or Activity

A birthday outing is something to do together as a family. Ask or let the birthday child decide what fun adventure they would like the whole family to share with them for their birthday. It could be as simple as heading out for ice-cream, or visiting an amusement park, a trip to the zoo or a nature hike - the possibilities are endless! and each year it will bring new memories, adventures and interests.

Gift Treasure Hunt

It could be just one big gift, or a few smaller ones, the fun the birthday kid will have on a treasure hunt is the same. I remember when I was little, one birthday my grandmother hide a birthday gift she had bought for me and tied a red piece of string to it that lead all over the house and garden.  I followed that simple red piece of string until I found my present. What a special memory that made and I still think of it so fondly all these years on.

A few years later I remember my parents hid my brother's birthday gift in the lounge room tv cabinet and he had to go searching for it while we guided him by saying warmer or colder as he got neared to the hiding place.  

You could use my grandmother's red string idea, my parents hotter/colder idea or a series of clues that lead to the treasure. As the birthday child gets older you could make the clues more cryptic or harder to solve.

Sweet Surprise

Lollie or Treat posters are a unique and fun gift that siblings can help create. Be creative with the wording from the chocolate, sweets and treat wrappers to spell out a birthday message.

A new twist on this poster treat are the unfolding layered boxes that reveal layers of treats once opened.

Birthday Message

Greet the birthday boy or girl with a big birthday poster or sign. Use their age to list out the things you love about them (8 things we love about Katie) or simply write a fun and special message on the bathroom mirror.

Height Chart

Record their height on the same chart or wall each year as they grow and it will become a very special birthday tradition and treasured family memory.