Today is my daughter’s half-birthday. Yep! You read that right. She is six and a half today…and we celebrate! We have celebrated half-birthdays since my son was one-half! It is almost as special as their “big” birthday. We don’t necessarily make a huge deal about it, but why not celebrate when you have a reason to celebrate? These days, we need to look for reasons to celebrate and to bring a little extra joy to our lives and the lives of others. It doesn’t have to be half-birthdays. It can be anything–even a party for no good reason because the importance of celebration is more than we may realize!
You’ve heard me say this before, but it’s because I think it’s one of the most crippling issues for moms. Sometimes we get so inside our own heads thinking that we have to have some huge dinner party, or a Stepford Wives birthday party that costs thousands of dollars. Trust me! Your one-year old will not remember or care that you had a professional cake-smash photo shoot! Pretty sure you can capture that with your Nikon.
I love to throw themed birthday parties for my children with their friends! It is a lot of work, but it brings a lot of joy for me. Food, games, invitations and the cake are all themed and I have thrown some really fun birthday parties spending a few pennies and some time!
My daughter recently attended a birthday party of a friend. When she came home, she said, “That was such a fun birthday party!” I asked her, “What made it so fun?” She said, “Just playing with my friends.” That friend’s mom had not done anything extraordinary. She served hotdogs and cupcakes, had a few girls over, and sent everyone home with a home-made sugar cookie. And it was SO FUN!
Some friends of ours recently celebrated their “dating anniversary” by holding a “home prom” for themselves and their kids. They all dressed up and had a prom! How great! Their children got to celebrate their parents’ commitment to each other. It didn’t take a lot of planning, but it was a meaningful celebration for their family. I love it!
You might be thinking, “What if you’re not a planner? What if you’re just not a person who enjoys birthdays, or any other type of celebration?” Well, that’s okay. But not everything is about you. You can stretch to make things enjoyable for someone else…and like a crisp, green vegetable, you might learn to love it!
Why does it matter? Because celebrations are important to not only kids, but adults too. Just think of the fun kids have at any kind of party! Through the years I have spent struggling to get out of bed, scraping my way through the days, celebrations were sometimes what kept me going. I didn’t want my children to miss out on the importance of celebration because I was so ill. And though it was exhausting for me to host people for a party, and I crashed for days afterward, it was so worth it! Because now that my health is improving, I don’t have to look back with regret!
Still not buying it? Maybe these five reasons will help you see the importance of celebration!
The Importance of Celebrations for Kids
- Celebrating Builds Confidence—
Think about when you accomplished something as a child—maybe you passed your belt test for martial arts, or played in a piano recital that you were terrified for, or scored your first home run. Maybe you didn’t even perform perfectly, but you pushed through the fear to at least try. And afterward, your parents took you out for ice cream. Why? To celebrate! And in doing that, it showed you that their love and approval was not based on your performance.
That is a message you want your children to receive from you loud and clear! I have watched countless athletes of different sports be met with criticism from [usually only one of] their parents. I’m sure you’ve also seen the coach or the teacher that has students and players so terrified of making mistakes that they would rather sit on the bench or never raise their hands.
But if these children’s efforts are celebrated, rather than the quality of their performances, it will build confidence for children to try again.
- Celebrating Makes Children Feel Important—
When you single your child out to celebrate either a birthday, half-birthday, or an accomplishment, your child feels important enough to be recognized. So often, children are competing for attention in the home, in school, and at activities. The importance of celebration is huge for your child when it means that he or she gets to have the attention for the day!
Even those of us who don’t seek or even like attention still need to feel special once in a while. The only difference with children is that they need to feel special more often. Celebrate each one of them!
- Celebrating Helps Children Feel Secure—
When your child feels important and knows that their efforts are celebrated, he or she will feel more secure. He knows that your love and approval is not based on performance—that’s the importance of celebration in a nutshell! Children who are secure have a major head start on life. If they don’t feel the need to strive and strive to earn love, they also have a head start on understanding the Gospel!
- Celebrating Teaches Tradition—
I love traditions! Teaching your child tradition is important as well, because it gives them roots and helps them understand their culture. Children are constantly looking for a sense of identity. Celebrating traditions doesn’t give them that sense of identity on its own, but it builds into it.
Traditions can be a little tricky too. We have to be flexible with traditions, especially as our children get older. I have known of families who absolutely will not bend their traditional ways of celebrating, even after their children are grown and married. So, it’s either you get there for the day when the celebration is happening, or you don’t celebrate. Why? Because it’s tradition. Traditions are great when your children are at home. They’re great when your children are married and off on their own too. But if you have to choose between celebrating your traditional way, or getting to see your child, choose your child! The tradition isn’t going anywhere…even if you skip a year!
- Celebrating Breeds Joy—
I love the anticipation and the joy that celebrating with my children brings. It brings wonder and a countdown to a special day. My daughter has been counting down to her half birthday for a week! Last night, she said, “Only three more days until my half-birthday!” with her eyes wide and her smile broad. Imagine the excitement on her face when I told her “It’s tomorrow!” What about that is not fantastic?
Our other children are excited for her too. After all, she is now six…and a half! And they love a reason to eat cake!
I don’t really need to tell you how much joy birthdays bring. I know you’ve seen it for yourself with your children—so why not find more opportunities for that? Does that mean you should have a party every day? Of course not. You and I both know that it wouldn’t be special then. But we all should have a party a little more often!
My daughter asked, during the COVID-19 lockdown, if we could make Thursdays a family pizza party night. As a family, we made homemade pizza from scratch every Thursday night. The fun was in doing it together and having something to look forward on Thursdays (because Thursdays are often a little blah around here) and we let them have a can of soda on Thursday nights with the pizza.
We had to eat dinner anyway. Sure, I had to teach them how to make the crust, but now that they’ve learned, I can wash the dishes while they make the pizza crust. They have learned to make a signature dish and we have had a “party” every week. It’s nothing huge, but it is intentional.
So, if you’re trying to think of what your summer fun activity will be today…I’ve got a pretty easy one for you. Today is National Doughnut Day! It’s a reason to celebrate and you can get your kids a fun, cheap treat. Make it special by surprising them with the news when they wake up! Or let them eat doughnuts before dinner (it won’t kill them!)
Here is a list of other wacky June holidays so you can start planning a few celebrations into your summer fun challenges! I’d love to see you come up with something for “National Ball Point Pen Day!”
Friend, keep challenging yourself daily. Our family has had so much fun this week! I haven’t gotten everything done that I’ve wanted to, but it has been so worth it! With all the heaviness of the world right now, our children need fun and the importance of celebration is greater than ever right now! So, we press on!
Ready to join our summer fun challenge? Find out more!
RElated: Summer Fun Challenge
