Celebrating your child's Birthday is a time-honoured ritual. They acknowledge the day they choose to bless this Earth and make the world a brighter place with their unique shine. It's a time for reflection on growth, celebration joy, and a beautiful window for magical family traditions that will leave lasting memories.
Yet today, many of us find that the birthday celebration cannot be what we hope for, not meeting our expectations as parents. Either pass by with a quick happy birthday song or an overwhelming extravaganza event where we are not even present with our children.
We were inspired to create something more meaningful for Ottilie's first Birthday, to honour her first leap around the sun in a simple Steiner approach.
Simple Birthday Traditions
What simple Birthday traditions from childhood have you continued with your children? Every year on our Birthday, we would always have a birthday breakfast. So with little Ottilie, we had breakfast on the beach to start a simple family tradition, honouring this day as a special day.
6 Simple Birthday traditions to do with your child:
- The Waldorf birthday ring. We added a new wooden decoration to symbolize something special about the child's year and added as many bee-waxed candles as the child's age.
- When your child is asleep, decorate their room with balloons for when they wake.
- Have a family birthday crown they wear all day to make them feel like the King or Queen they are.
- Family Birthday dinner, cooking their favourite meal and tying balloons to the birthday child's chair or highchair.
- Have a birthday. I am affirmation that represents your child or the energy they would like for their new age!
- Bake the same birthday cake recipe each year as the family birthday cake but decorate how the child chooses.
The Birthday Song
Another birthday tradition our family has started is singing the birthday song on the Birthday rather than just the standard happy Birthday.
"Happy Birthday to you; we're so glad you are alive.
You're a gift to this Earth,
Bless the day of your Birth."
Ottilie's birthday party
Gingham, bunting, daffodils, Beatrix Potter, SunChild affirmations and a lot of love!
For Ottilie's first Birthday, we kept it very simple with the people she feels most comfortable with in the park for morning tea and cake. It was such a magical day; most importantly, Ottilie had the best day, not once overwhelmed by the celebrations.
Often when hosting children birthday's the first question we need to ask ourselves is, is this what my child would like or myself?
Have you ever noticed that the child has a meltdown when the cake comes out and everyone sings Happy Birthday? It's often because it's too much attention for a little person or, in early years, isn't familiar with half the people singing.
That's why we believe for the first few years, the key to a Birthday's to be small and intimate with people your children feel comfortable with. The alternative is Over Stimulation & Overwhelmed!
Our Top Tips for 1st birthdays:
1. An intimate guest list of people children are comfortable with.
2. Stay close to monitor how your child is doing.
3. Less is More.
Indeed Ottilie's 1st Birthday was such a magical day filled with sunshine, good friends and lots of SunChild cards out on play rugs for endless entertainment!
