Last month was my son’s birthday. Every year, I have a hard time choosing how to celebrate his birthday. You see, my son’s birthday is very close to Christmas. With all the holiday preparations, school events, etc. it can be hard for his friends to attend his birthday parties. So instead of planning a party, we decided to ask him what he wanted to do. Ultimately, he chose to celebrate his birthday with us at Great Wolf Lodge instead of having a party. We all had such a great time, and my son didn’t feel like he missed out by not having a birthday party. This mini-vacation and birthday experience have now convinced me that maybe we should celebrate birthdays with experiences rather than parties.
Money
Let’s be honest when you have a party, you have to buy so much stuff. Food, decorations, party favors, etc. for the boys’ entire class as well as family and friends…the cost can add up really fast. Sure, you can have a party at your home or opt for an amusement park or indoor playground, but it can still be costly.
In my case, I found a fantastic deal on Groupon I just couldn’t pass up. We also opted to go during the weekday. Yes, they missed a couple of days of school (a story for another day, but still so worth it), but I made sure there wasn’t anything major going on at school.
Family Bonding
We got to try so many activities and games we usually don’t do. It was so great to bond with one another and make new memories. My two oldest sons haven’t stopped talking about the vacation. They have been asking if we can celebrate their birthdays by choosing to go somewhere new or selecting a new experience. I don’t remember the last time that they ever talked about one of their birthday parties like they have been talking about this birthday experience.
Exploring New Places
Choosing a birthday experience is a great way to explore a new city, venue, etc. If you and your family have a bucket list of places that you want to visit, then perhaps a birthday experience to one of those places can help. You can make it into not only a birthday experience but also a family vacation.
We are still planning on asking our kids what they want to do for their birthdays, and if they want to have a birthday party, then that is fine. However, I am fairly certain that my two oldest sons are set on having birthday experiences. As for my youngest son, he is still very young, so we will most likely do a birthday experience until he is old enough to decide for himself. I can’t wait to see what my boys choose to do for their birthday.