P is off to another birthday party this morning. He avoided making the card something fierce, but really got into it once he started. He’s been making his own birthday cards since he could hold a crayon. Do you have your kids make their own birthday cards?
The reasons for having my son write Thank You cards are starting to build up and so is his resistance to doing them. Last year we made the cards shown in the picture. While they are more personal than a store-bought card, he still has to write out the message…and a fight ensues. So we broke out of the traditional; I asked him how he would like to express his thanks, express what he’s feeling. Here are ten alternatives we’ve come up with to make giving thanks more enjoyable:
1. Write an acrostic poem.
Paolo’s Thank You to those who bought wreaths from him
2. Draw a picture of himself/herself using the gift or doing the activity for which he’s grateful.
3. Sing a song for the person or people. If you child can’t sing it live, record your child singing and send it as a file, CD, or DVD.
4. Have your child choose a special song and make up a dance. If he can’t perform it live, record and send it.
This year our son got to pick three friends to take to the local inflatable-fun place for his birthday. He didn’t have a “real” party, but I thought I could still make the favors super fun. He and his friends have been all about Pokemon cards this year so that’s my inspiration.
I found these great balls at Party City for $.99 apiece. I filled them with home-made felt neck pouches to carry Pokemon cards, Pokemon cards, a Pokemon card of each of the children (http://www.mypokecard.com/en/), Pokemon sweat bands, Raichu Energy Pellets (Lemonheads and Cherry Lemonheads), beads and string to make a bracelet, and a few odds and ends. I designed my own bag toppers using Powerpoint and stapled them on.
I added a sticker to the top to identify each child’s ball.
I’m pretty pleased with the completed Party Pokeball!
We had no idea that filling my mom’s car with balloons for her birthday would be such an ongoing success. After driving around town with a car half-full of balloons for a week or two, she finally brought them inside where they now live. They’ve been floating from room to room, greeting my parents in the morning, and turning up in the most unusual places. Their numbers are slowly dwindling as their dog accidentally pops them or one of us steps on them, but they continue to bring smiles to all of our faces and will surely make this a unique Thanksgiving.
Read the original post “How to Surprise Your Mom on Her Birthday” here.
I saw an idea on Pinterest to surprise your kids on their birthdays with a balloon avalanche. I wanted to do something like that for my mom’s birthday, but that was unrealistic. I decided to fill her car with balloons.
Here’s how you can do it:
1. Buy several packages of balloons and a balloon pump. We found our supplies at the DollarTree.
2. Start inflating the balloons a few days in advance. It took more time than I thought it would.
3. Coral the balloons in giant trash bags for eas(ier) transport.
4. Arrange for someone to distract your mom (and loud, barky dogs, if necessary) while you fill the car with balloons.
5. Quietly unload the bags of balloons from your car without slamming the car doors.
6. Carefully put the balloons in the car. Allow time to chase the runaway balloons.
7. Shut the door quietly. Don’t let any balloons get away!
8. Giggle maniacally as you zip out of there before anyone notices.
It was an adventure and fun from the start. You should have seen our house filling up with balloons and then me scrambling to fill my husband’s larger car with the giant bags of balloons while still dressed in my Halloween witch costume. My dad called me when he had their dog safely out of the house on a walk. It got even crazier when we arrived at my parents’ house, got out of the car and hear shouts from the neighbor’s yard, “Paolo! Paolo’s here!” over and over and Paolo answering, shouting, “I can’t play! I’m here to surprise my Grandma!” Very subtle. I scrambled to get the balloons out of the bags and into her car, using the “borrowed” car key, before she heard any of the chaos that was going on in her driveway. The motion sensor light on the garage lit the scene like a stage, the balloons kept jumping out of the car, and I struggled to keep Paolo quiet while he negotiated with me to play with his friends instead of help with the balloons. By some miracle, my mother didn’t hear a peep or notice the lights.
Instead of discovering her surprise in the morning, she found the balloons that night when she went to her car to get a book. The poor lady had to chase balloons in the dark in her PJs. The next day, my mother and I laughed and laughed reliving the fiasco. She had an unforgettable birthday. In fact, neither one of us will forget this birthday and she’s still driving around with a bunch of balloons in her car.
Life as a Field Trip 