I love birthdays. I am pretty sure that the reason why I love them so much is because of all of the special traditions my mom created for me and my siblings on our birthdays when we were younger.
Growing up, when it was your birthday, you would be greeted in the morning with the breakfast in bed tray that had been outfitted with a breakfast of your choosing, all of your birthday cards/gifts, the family birthday crown (encrusted in only the finest plastic gems) and most importantly, your birthday horoscope cut out from the morning newspaper. To this day, I still make a point of getting the birthday horoscope from the actual newspaper, since that was the original tradition. Actually come to think of it, not too much has changed with my personal birthday routine as I have gotten older (birthday crown included….yes, my husband is a saint!).
In addition to family birthday celebrations, I love hosting birthday parties for my close friends. It gives me an opportunity to celebrate my friends individually, share some of my old birthday traditions and come up with some new birthday ideas.
The main reason why I am sitting here regaling you with all of the family birthday traditions I have enjoyed since childhood, is because it was the inspiration for my first birthday party blog post.
Party Overview
This was an all girls birthday cocktail party. I kept the food pretty simple with a cheeseboard, cupcakes and a specialty cocktail. I wanted it to be relaxed and assembled all of the hors d'oeuvres on my coffee table. My thought was that it would be nice to have everything right there so I would be able to enjoy my guests and not have to get up and fuss with different entrees. It ended up being just that, which was great. Of course, the "Birthday Tradition Musts" for this party included: party favors, cupcakes, party hats, decorations and a birthday horoscope.
All desserts and birthday decor were set up on my dining table. My dining table happens to be the first thing you see when you enter my home, so focusing the decorations on the table created the immediate birthday vibe when I welcomed my guests.
Dining Table Details:
- DIY Tissue Pom-Poms (Easy to make and cost approx. $2 to make as opposed to the $20 cost of buying them already made)
- Paper Source Table Confetti- Classic or Trend
- S'more Cupcakes
- Sugar Cookies
- DIY Floral Arrangement using some of my favorite Budget Friendly Florals
- Mini Birthday Party Hats -Oh Joy! for Target
- DIY Party Favors
- Nail Polish-Save on cost by purchasing a multipack and then parsing it out to each favor bag.
- Sofia Coppola Sparkling Wine - Champagne in a pink can complete with straw. Need I say more?
- Novelty Candy- Like these adorable Brut & Rose Gummi Bears from Sugarfina
- Kitsch Hair Ties- I found the hair-ties featured above at Home Goods for 60% off their suggested retail value
- Nail Files- Again, I was able to save on cost through buying a nail file multi pack and then parsing it out to each goody bag. These Glass Nail Files are fantastic and known to have a very long lifespan.
- Cellophane Bags with Flat Bottoms
- Ribbon (I am a huge fan of saving good ribbon and reusing it).
Birthday traditions can be fun to create, hold on to and share with your friends and family. Personally, the best part of celebrating birthdays would have to be the people. Being with family and friends can instantly turn a birthday into a memorable celebration.