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Today was my son’s 6th birthday so I thought I’d post two of my favorite family birthday traditions.  They’re not fancy or expensive, but they’re a great way to add a little sparkle to your child’s big day.

Breakfast Doughnut Tower

This simple little idea stemmed from my Mom’s breakfast-in-bed birthday tradition.  When I was growing up, my birthdays always began with a hot plate of french toast in bed and a birthday serenade from my family.  In order to create that same warm and cozy feel for my kids without exerting tons of effort, I created our breakfast doughnut tower tradition.  As you can see from the picture, the idea is pretty simple.  When my kids wake up on their birthday, they find a balloon & crepe paper covered kitchen and a big tower of doughnuts waiting for them on the table.  We add one doughnut for each year and then top the tower with a number candle.  The family sings, we take some pictures and then we all dig in.  We rarely have sweets for breakfast so my kids are thrilled about this tradition even if it’s not their birthday.

Birthday Present Scavenger Hunt

I love drawing out the present-opening process.  For some reason, it seems like my kids appreciate each present more when they get to hunt for it.  Here’s how our little tradition works.  When the kids wake up in the morning all their presents are wrapped and on display.  This way they get a chance to count up their stash and make their predictions about what’s inside.  While they’re away at school or during their nap, I hide their presents in various tricky locations around the house and yard (the locations get a little tougher as they get older).  After their birthday dinner the scavenger hunt begins.

My clue method changes with each birthday.  One year I hid the clues inside balloons and had the kids stomp them to find the present locations.  Another year I snapped zoomed-in pictures of the present locations and sealed them in individual envelopes.  One of my favorites was the year we hid the paper clues in the birthday cake before frosting it.  It was messy, but the kids loved digging through the goopy cake to find the clues.

This year, I came up with a simple target shooting game to kick off my son’s hunt.  First, I printed and laminated seven numbered targets (these targets could have tons of uses, so I included the free file for you below).  Next, I used a dry-erase marker to jot down the present locations on each (ie ‘in the Capn Crunch box’ or ‘in the washing machine’).  Next, I used masking tape to stick them to the wall.  When it was time to hunt, I gave my son an inexpensive Nerf dart gun ($7 at WalMart) and had him shoot at the targets.  When he managed to nail a target with his suction cup dart, he pulled the target off the wall and read the clue aloud.  Once he and his sisters located the present, they brought it back to the living room and tore it open.  The game continued until he’d located and opened all seven presents.

Regardless of the method, the end result of the scavenger hunt is always the same.  My kids come away from their birthday appreciating each gift a little more, their siblings have fun helping in the hunt, and my digital camera is full of fabulous family memories.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

If your family has fun birthday traditions that you’d like to share, please do so in the comments area.  I’m always looking for new ways to spice up our family fun!  Thanks.