Meaningful Celebrations

One of the things that I didn’t learn from school but learned along our family’s homeschooling journey is that Easter lasts 50 days. My friend Truly Rich Mom Tina first brought that to my attention a year ago. So let me greet all of you a happy and joyous Easter season! 

Easter Sunday is special to our five-year-old daughter. It’s one of the few times in the year that she gets to be an angel in our parish’s festivities. My husband and I strive to get Little T, and eventually her brother too, to participate in meaningful celebrations of our faith, and veer away from commercialism. 

Recently, Little T saw a newspaper ad about an Easter celebration at a mall. She wondered aloud about why it is about Easter but is not about Jesus. Shouldn’t it be about Jesus, she asked. My heart leapt with joy and gratitude upon hearing her words. We seem to be doing something right... I hope!

Some Lenten Activities

I plan simple faith-themed activities to keep our focus on the reasons of religious celebrations. The internet is a treasure trove of ideas! The summer heat has made me languid though. Our preparation for Lent and Easter consisted of a Lenten calendar from Catholic Icing and a few Easter books, which I will write about next time.

We, or should I say Wonderful G and the kids, also made Resurrection Rolls on the night of Black Saturday. Making the dough allowed even two-year-old Little Sir to mix, stir, and knead.

They “anointed” Jesus (marshmallows) with “oil” (butter), sprinkled Him with some spices (cinnamon sugar), and wrapped Him in “fine linen” (homemade crescent rolls). He is then buried... in the oven. 

After three days - or 12 minutes - the tomb is opened and Jesus isn’t there anymore. He is Risen! 

Religious celebrations like Easter and Christmas are now under attack from too much commercialism. What we do about it is up to us, the parents. But  information is free and is right at our fingertips. We only have to look for inspiration and do it!

How did you make Easter meaningful for your children?


Make magic!

Christmas Wishes

Christmas is two days away! I'm sure your days are becoming busier and your little ones more excited by the minute. Mine are!

 

It's 5:30 in the morning as I write this.  The lights are still dim, the house quiet, the children still asleep in our bed. I savor this time, the only time I have for myself these days. I savor this season and reflect on what is truly important: my husband, my children, and the life that we wish to fashion after the Holy Family, "united in respect and love."

 

 

 

 

As my part of the world (where Christmas excitement begins in September!) slows down until the smoke from New Year firecrackers has cleared, let me wish you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! May you be abundantly blessed and continue making magic in the lives of your children.

 

See you in 2013!

 

 

Make magic!

 

Staying with the Nativity Story

I’m participating in the Keeping Christ in Christmas Blog Carnival, hosted by Raising (& Teaching) Little Saints, Truly Rich Mom and Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families. We'll be sharing different ways, tips, stories and real-life experiences that will help us focus on Jesus as the Reason for the Christmas season. Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the list of carnival entries.

Christmas is a holiday that can easily lose its meaning for people. Little ones, especially, can come to believe that the season is all about them - their wants, their desires - when they see their mountain of presents under a well-decorated Christmas tree. (In our case, the mountain is from family and friends.)

As a mother to two wee ones, I wish to veer away from the commercialism of the season and "keep Christ in Christmas." I want my children to grow up with their eyes and hearts on the real reason of this wonderful celebration.

It starts with the nativity story

Little kids like good stories, and nothing is more beautiful than the story of the birth of Jesus. From the moment the angel Gabriel appears to Mary up to when the Wise Men trudge to where the Holy Infant lays, children find every detail exciting and enthralling.

By letting this wondrous narrative live in our children's consciousness right from their earliest years, we are already imparting to them that Christmas is about Jesus. This will be our foundation and  baseline for deeper discussions in the future as our children grow older.

Some ways to help young children soak in the story

Read Christmas books together

We just started a new family tradition of unwrapping one Christmas book every day from the first of December until Christmas Eve. I collected our books within one year, choosing mostly those that are about the Nativity or the traditions surrounding it. Our favorites so far are those by author Tomie dePaola, who tells such charming stories while effortlessly passing on information about the Catholic faith.

Make your child her own nativity play set 

I bought a cardboard Nativity Set, pictured above, from Booksale. My daughter just loved coloring and assembling the Holy Family, shepherds, Three Kings, animals, and the stable. The set now proudly sits on our Jesse Tree table and gets played with all the time. 

Here are some links for your child's own nativity play set which you can do together:

Making Friends - just print and assemble

Scrapbook Scrapbook - print, color, and assemble

Life Your Way - print and assemble; has option to color yourself

Color Advent coloring pages

Being always on the lookout for Christmas-related activities, I found an activity book featuring Bible characters called My Heavenly Helper. It goes so well with the readings for our Jesse Tree.

I found some links for you to download and enjoy doing the same with your children:

Ministry to Children - a free printable set containing one coloring page for each week of Advent

DLTK - I love this free Christmas Story Advent Coloring Book featuring different scenes in the story

Image from DLTK

Dramatize

Bring the story of Jesus to life by dramatizing it! You can do your own mini-play complete with costumes and dialogue, or you can use your nativity set to re-enact the holy birth. It's a fun way to get to know the story intimately and will surely stay in our children's memories until adulthood.



Staying with the Nativity Story and keeping our focus on it will help our families keep Christ in Christmas. The mountain of presents under our trees may give our children temporary happiness, but the joy they will receive by rooting them in our faith will last a lifetime.

Here are the links to the other blog carnival participants. I hope you'll take the time to visit them and leave a comment on their posts! :) The list will be updated throughout the day, so please do come back and check on them. God bless us all!

Homeschool Mosaics: Keeping Christ in Christmas

Joy: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Advent Interruptions
The Breadbox Letters: Interrupted by Glory
TwentyTuesdayAfternoons: Keeping Christ in Christmas/ The Season of Giving / A Wee Bit of Beach Holiday Angst
The Learning Basket: Staying With the Nativity Story
Tercets: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Rosary Mom: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Ate Maui: Hoping and Bringing Hope
Written By the Finger of God: 12 Traditions for Keeping Christ in Christmas
Dominique's Desk: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Felix at Fifty: What Jesus Wants for Christmas
Mommy Bares All: Birthday Cake for the Birthday Boy on Christmas Day
Between Now and Later: Keeping Christ in Christmas, I am trying...
Lique's Antics: Family Antics: Christmas Reflection
Life of Fortunate Chances: Our First Ever Christmas: Keeping Christ in Christmas
The Mommy Journey: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Roller Coaster Ride: How to Remind Your Kids of Jesus Christ This Christmas
Cymplified: Christ -Centered Christmas: Cymplified!
Mountain Grace: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Touring Kitty: Grown-up Christmas List
Mommy Chinkysoup for the Soul: A Very Special Christmas
City Girl, Country Home: Finding Jesus in a Flurry
Coffee Moments with Sam: Christmas Unwrapped: 5 Presents Our Kids Truly Deserve
Raising Lifelong Learners: Keeping Christ in Christmas
The Diary of a Sower: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Celebrating the Golden Days
Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Raising (and Teaching) Little Saints: Keeping Christ in Christmas
Truly Rich Mom: The Greatest Gift of All This Christmas
Joy-Filled Family: CHRIST in Christmas
Blueberry 010: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Jesus is the Reason for the Season
Deeper Truth Blog: Keeping Christ in Christmas Carnival
Holy Ducklings: 10 Ways to Make Advent Special for Your Little Ducklings
Green Eggs and Moms: Keeping Christ in Christmas: Green Eggs & Moms Style!

 

Make magic!

Welcome To Our Advent-Themed Playroom!

Welcome to our playroom that has been decorated for Advent! This is the place where my kids, Little T and Little Sir, stay during the day. Come take a peek!

This is our Advent Calendar that we bought from National Bookstore for only P100! In the pockets peeking out are our Jesse Tree ornaments crafted by my friend Sanne, Little T's ninang (godmother) and my bookshop partner! (Thank you Ninang Sanne!)

This is our Jesse Tree Table. It's actually a Lego-table which I covered with a "Christmas-sy" vinyl table cloth. 

Take a closer look and you'll see our Bible storybooks as well as some activities for Little T: a faith-based workbook called My Heavenly Helper, which will go well with all the Bible stories we will be reading during the season. The two boxes that you see are Christmas craft kits: a do-it-yourself Nativity Scene, and a do-it-yourself ornaments kit. I'm sure there are lots of free resources online that you can download and print to go along with your Advent activities too!

Here is another Advent calendar. It closes into a book, and was the first one that Little T opened on December 1. The gifts in one of the shelf's cubbyholes are some of the teeny tiny books that Little Sir will open soon. The books are too small for our front-facing shelf!

This is our wooden table which I make sure to cover with a table cloth lest Little Sir decides to paint it! Little T, in this picture, is making her own ornaments. We had a lovely quiet time doing it together yesterday while listening to some Advent music.

And this is their iPod, a recent addition to our playroom, "donated" by their Angkong (grandfather). We are now listening to the Advent collection of Making Music Praying Twice and I'll be putting other Christmas albums in the iPod too. (You can ask Making Music Praying Twice for a download option of their albums for a cheaper price.)

We have a bed in another corner of the room for their afternoon naps and some cuddling time together. We got a few (well, okay just two!) "Chrismas-sy" pillows.

And lastly, this is our bookshelf with all our Christmas books! All those nights wrapping each one were worth it when Little T declared after opening the books on December 1: "I can't wait to wake up tomorrow!"

I hope you enjoyed the tour and I hope you got some inspiration for your family's Advent activities too. 

Make magic!

Make Jesus' Manger Soft With Kindness: An Advent Activity

"I’m participating in the Spend-Less Holidays: Saving While Savoring the Season Blog Carnival, hosted by The Frugal Fil-Am and Dainty Mom. We’ll be sharing our tips on how to spend less this holiday season, so that we can have a more meaningful Christmas. Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the list of carnival entries."

Finding meaningful activities for Advent has been a special interest of mine since taking on the responsibility of educating my daughter in her preschool years. Every occasion and happenstance is a learning opportunity for us!

Advent is such a wonderful time for families to create or strengthen their traditions. And you can't have too many of them! For this year, we are again going to make our Jesse Tree, light up luminarias, unwrap one or more Christmas books a day, and finally, make Jesus' manger soft with our kind deeds!

Make Jesus' manger soft!
For every good deed you do today,
lay down one straw on His manger.

My mother-in-law, when I asked her, said that she has been doing this activity for more than ten years now. The rule is simple. For every kind deed that you do for the day, you can lay down a straw on the manger. On Christmas Eve, you place the Baby Jesus in the soft manger that your family has worked for to give Him!

Children LOVE the idea of helping Jesus become more comfortable, and would thoughtfully, intentionally perform acts of kindness. This activity perfectly complements our recent focus on the virtue Kindness too!


How To Make Your Own

Making your own "Kindness Kit," as my bookshop partner Sanne Unson calls it, is easy and inexpensive. You can use your existing nativity set or make your own "stand-alone" kit. Here are some ideas to pick from.

Manger	Straw	Baby Jesus
Shoe or craft box Cheese box Small basket	Raffia Yellow yarn Twine	Finger puppet  Clay Small baby doll

Keeping Our Focus

With all the presents that we give and receive, and parties that we prepare and attend during the Christmas season, it is so very easy to spend too much and to lose our focus on who and why we are celebrating.

This simple activity is a fun exercise for even very young children to grasp the true meaning of Christmas: love, kindness, sacrifice.

As parents, it is our duty to show our children more than what the world is showing them. Taking advantage of special occasions, like Christmas, to teach and guide our children is a gift that will bear fruit in the future.


Other Spend-Less Christmas Carnival Participants

Domesticated Goddess 

The Learning Basket 

Apple's World 

A WAHM's Life 

Changing Nappies in High Heels 

Savvy Saving Couple 

Kids Party Hub 

My Life in Letters 

Super Mommy Wannabe 

The Frugal Fil-Am 

Mrs. C's Sugar-Coated Life 

Henry's Mom 

Roller Coaster Mom 

Saved By the Miracle of Baked Mac 

Mommy Journey 

City Girl, Country Home 

Ate Maui 

The World is Our Classroom 

Lique's Antics 

Mommy Bares All 

Consumer Queen 

Truly Rich Mom

Saving Well, Spending Less

Dainty Mom

Make magic!

Jesse Tree Kits by Mano Amiga: Now Available at The Learning Basket

The Jesse Tree is an Advent activity that helps families prepare for Christmas in a meaningful, faith-based way. We did it last year and adopted it as part of our family's tradition.

Every day from the beginning of Advent, a symbolic ornament is hung on a leafless branch, which stands for Jesus' family tree. The ornaments represent the stories of Jesus' lineage. (For more about the what, why, and how of the Jesse Tree, click here.)

The ornaments can be home-made or bought. Last year, my daughter and I made our ornaments using simple paper and cardboard. We decorated each one with glitter, felt, colored paper, beads, or yarn. It was a wonderful experience as each of the Bibles stories came to life for us and truly prepared us for Christmas.

Can you guess which Bible stories the ornaments above represent? :)

Jesse Tree Kits by Mano Amiga

If you don't have the time nor the inclination to do the ornaments yourself, you can opt to buy a  ready-made Jesse Tree Kit and get you started with a new family tradition right away.

I learned about Mano Amiga's Jesse Tree Kits through Teacher Mama Tina's blog last year, after we've already started with our own Jesse Tree. Though we had a grand time making our own ornaments and wouldn't trade the experience for anything, I have to confess that I still longed for more polished Jesse Tree ornaments.

Mano Amiga is a non-profit organization that provides underprivileged families with education, health, and development services. The Jesse Tree project is one of its livelihood programs for the mothers in the community, and is already on its fourth year.


Now Available

Each Jesse Tree Kit for 2012 contains 23 ornaments for each day of Advent and a CD guide containing the daily Bible readings, reflections, and prayers.

I LOVE the ornaments as the colors are vibrant and have a decoupage effect. Hung on a twig planted in a sand-filled wine bottle, the Jesse Tree is a beautiful and meaningful accent piece for one's home this coming Advent season. 

Children will fall in love with this activity/tradition and will make it easier for parents to focus on what is really important about Christmas: Jesus and how he came to earth to save His people. It would make a great gift for family friends too!

Each Jesse Tree set is sold at P1500 and will directly benefit the mothers of the Mano Amiga community. If you are willing and able to pick up your order in Quezon City, we will give you a branch and a sand-filled wine bottle for your tree. You may also arrange with us to pick it up on December 1 at our Preschool Homeschool seminar at Medela House. (It is easy, though, to make your own!)

If you are interested to order, kindly send us an email at shop at thelearningbasket dot com with your shipping address or whether you want to pick up the Jesse Tree set yourself. It would be best to get your order before Advent begins on Dec 2.


Here's to a meaningful Christmas for our families! I am so happy to be able to help the Mano Amiga community as well as provide my readers and loyal customers the chance to embark on a special family Advent tradition.


Make magic!

Unwrapping Christmas

Our hands-on approach to our children's education has given us inspiration in crafting our own family Christmas traditions that focus on the spirit of the occasion.

• During our first year of homeschooling our preschooler, we incorporated art and gift-giving by making our own home-made gift wrappers. (Want to know about what preschool homeschooling is and how you can do it too? Click here.)

• Last year, we had a meaningful Advent creating our Jesse Tree. We read Bible stories  and hung our symbolic ornament for each of the days of Advent while singing Christmas carols.

• We also discovered about the tradition of luminarias. We lit up a path with lamps made of brown paper bags and candles to signify our welcoming of Jesus in our home and hearts.

A Book A Day

I also saw around the web last year another activity that I had wanted to do – unwrapping and reading one Christmas book every day until Christmas Eve. It was already too late then to gather the appropriate titles, so I vowed to start the tradition this year. 

I’m wrapping our books now and looking forward to cuddling nightly with my little ones as we read. The books that I’ve chosen for our family are mostly about the story and spirit of Christmas – though I’ve included some about Santa Claus too, just for fun! 

I plan to start on the first of December. We will pile our wrapped Christmas books high and will (im)patiently wait for our night time surprise. It will be like unwrapping Christmas, one book at a time, relishing the details of the story from different angles as the much-awaited date nears.

And these are some of our books! I will definitely be adding to our collection through the years.

• B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet by Isabel Wilner
• Books by Catholic author Tomie de Paola: The Night of Las Posadas, Merry Christmas Strega Nona!, The Legend of Old Befana, The Legend of the Poinsettia, The Clown of God
• How Many Miles to Bethlehem? by Kevin Crossley-Holland
• Baboushka and the Three Kings by Ruth Robbins
• The Christmas Path: A Legend of the Luminarias by Sue Wright
• The Christmas Story by Jane Werner Watson
• We Were There by Eve Bunting
• The First Night by B. G. Hennessy
• The Story of Mary by Barry Martinson
• Silent Night (a sing along book)
• Christmas is Coming!
• Mary's Baby by Jane Chapman
• The Christmas Alphabet by Robert Sabuda
• The Stable Where Jesus Was Born by Rhonda Green
• 'Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore - a classic!

Many of these books are available at our shop for you to start collecting Christmas books to start a new family tradition of your own too! 

Make magic!

Praying and Remembering

When I was young, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day were always solemn and special. My mother would prepare flowers and candles days in advance. Her preparations always signaled the upcoming holy days.

Every first of November, we would go to mass in the morning as a family and would then proceed to the cemetery to pray for my grandfather with all my cousins and aunts and uncles. We would always gossip, my cousins and I, and we would listen to our elders' stories about our grandfather. 

We would also gather as a family for his death anniversary, which also falls in November. So even though I've never met my grandfather, as he died almost two decades before I was born, I grew up knowing a lot about him. I grew up remembering him from the clan's collective memory.

My cousins and I have grown up and most of us have moved from the small town that we grew up in. Those family traditions, as I knew it, have come to an end. I want, though, to bring the same solemnity of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day to my children's lives. I want us to respect, to remember, and to pray for the souls of our dearly departed. 

Remembering Our Loved Ones

My husband's grandmother passed away early this year. Our daughter was close to her and misses her until now. I want her and her brother to continue remembering her and praying for her, so I've asked my husband to tell us stories about her once in a while. I also share anecdotes about my own grandmother who passed away several years ago.

As it is my habit to get help from stories, I chose books to read to help us talk about those who were dear to our hearts. These bring tears to our eyes, and sometimes, Little T refuses to read them because she says she is reminded of her great-grandmother, "and that makes me cry!"

"Lola-Lola" is about a boy and his great-grandmother whom he calls "lola-lola." The pictures show how a very old person moves, and what she can and cannot do. Overall, a lovely story about our elders.

"The Mats" is a beautiful book about remembering those who have gone before us. It's also a wonderful book for learning about the Philippines. (Check out the unit study we created here.) 

We are going to Mass on November 1 or 2, light up candles, bring out pictures, and pray for our grandmothers and grandfathers. Though we have participated in Halloween parties and trick-or-treat activities in the past - mainly because we were parents excited to dress up our kids in cute costumes - we really do want to our observance of these holy days to be solemn and special. 

Our children are growing up, and as we have discovered, so are we.

Make magic!

Not Just A Performance

I have been very busy with work the past few weeks that our Lenten activities have been quite simple. We ate through The Very Hungry Caterpillar and made our own story play set to demonstrate what Lent is all about – transformation and rebirth. For most of the 40 days of Lent, we just read and re-read the Passion narrative in our Bible storybooks.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

I comforted myself with Little T's participation in our parish’s Easter Sunday celebration. Her wish last year to be one of the singing angels during the salubong, the imagined first meeting of Jesus and Mary after the Resurrection, has come true. 

Together with 25 other children, my daughter joyfully sang and danced to an adapted version of Go Tell It On TheMountain, traditionally a Christmas song:

Go tell it on the mountain (cup hands around mouth)

Over the hills and everywhere (wave right arm then left arm)

Go tell it on the mountain (cup hands around mouth)

Jesus Christ is risen (raise both arms)

Hallelujah! (praying hands)

Not Just A Performance

I tell myself that the whole experience – three Sunday practices, one final rehearsal, and their performance - was a lesson in itself. She was part of a big group of kids, made friends on her own (as we purposely did not go with her to practices), and worked with adults other than us, her parents.

Most importantly, I am glad that her labors were not just for a performance geared towards pleasing the participants’ parents. It had actual value in the celebration of Easter, it had value in our community. It was not a performance for performance’s sake. As Lenten studies go, this one tops my list. 

Make magic!

Quiet, Intimate, and Memorable Birthday Parties

A birthday party is now like a wedding or a corporate event – a big production number.

There are all kinds of “suppliers” vying for space in a child’s special day and a slice of the proud parents’ budget.

• There are caterers, coordinators, and stylists making sure that the venue looks beautiful and picture-perfect.
• There are magicians, bounce inflatables, face painting and hair salon services to keep the young guests entertained.
• There are booths that churn out photos as a souvenir of the event. (I like this a lot, I admit!)
• And there are emcees who scream into the microphone, trying to be heard above the too-loud background music.

It’s loud, impersonal, and over-stimulating. It’s not uncommon to find young guests covering their ears or hiding under cloth-covered tables!

While I love catching up with friends in their children’s big birthday bashes (please don't strike me off your guest lists!), I personally like another kind of party for my kids. One that is small, intimate, and quiet – save for the children’s laughter.

We follow the do-it-yourself route, trim the guest list, and ignore the party suppliers. Here are some ideas on putting together a quiet, intimate, and memorable birthday party for your little one.

Invite a Natural Group

It is important to me that my children are comfortable in their own birthday party, and that they know and interact with all of their guests. With seven cousins, four aunts, three uncles, and four grandparents, we have a natural group who our children enjoy spending time with and who are comfortable with each other.

Other than your extended families, you can also consider your close friends’ families, or neighborhood playmates, kids and adults who know each other.

Little T and her cousins painting some ballerina magnets

Turn Down the Music, Ditch the Emcee

Turn down the background music, or turn it off altogether. Even big parties in big venues can benefit from keeping the sound system at a minimum. Guests don’t have to shout to hear each other. I love the hum of conversation, bursts of laughter, and squeals of delight heard in a party not enveloped by pulsing music.

On the matter of emcees, you obviously don’t need one for small parties. With guests numbering 50 and above, you can still make your child’s birthday party more personal by being the emcee yourself. You don’t need to entertain your guests, just welcome them and let the party run its course.


Last year, my husband and I were uniformed hosts to Little T's Rainbow Party. 

Let Them Play

I consider children’s parties as extra-special play dates. I prepare some games but generally plan for unstructured play time for the kids to enjoy each other.

For Little T’s second to fourth birthday parties, we arranged our outdoor toys in the backyard and let her and her cousins run about.

For an indoor venue like a clubhouse or a function room, you can just bring some of your child’s favorite toys and see the kids come alive. Some ideas are:

• Small slides
• Toy kitchen set
• Ride-along cars
• A sturdy tent or playhouse
• Inflatable pools filled with balls for a ball pit
• Trampoline

For Baby Boy’s first birthday, which with around 80 guests admittedly was not a small party, I borrowed a giant mat and placed different kinds of musical instruments on it, and that was it. The kids had a lot of carefree fun, experimenting with the egg shakers, drums, one bell jingles, rhythm sticks, etc.

Prepare Simple, Creative Games

For our small backyard parties, I tweak favorite childhood games to fit our theme.

For our ballerina party, we played
Pin the Ballerina’s Tutu

• 
  

For our rainbow party, Stop Dance became Musical Rainbow
(pick a ball and freeze when the music stops)

• 
  

For our treasure hunt game, the leprechauns
had to hunt for four-leaf clovers to
get their pot of gold (giveaway)

Choose Generic Themes

Our themes are usually generic: music, ladybug, rainbow, and ballerina. They are easy to modify and the internet is full of beautiful ideas for decorations, games, and activities. It will almost feel like school craft with all the crepe paper, Japanese paper, and cardboard you are bound to use!

Crepe paper for "curtains" for the cardboard ballerinas

Rainbow decor

Mount Your Own Shows

The party scene is now full of magicians and balloon shows that some children think it's standard fare. Oh wait, it has become standard fare! In the spirit of fun and creativity, we mounted our own "shows". Last year, my husband was the balloon expert.

This year, I asked my nephew who is passionate about magic to do his own show. It was a huge hit! He showcased his talent and thrilled his younger cousins (and gushing mom and aunts).

The magician and his assistant

The enthralled audience

Consider Several Small Celebrations

Should your budget permit it, it is also a great idea to throw several small parties or get-togethers with specific groups as guests. We had a week-long celebration for Little T's birthday this year! We played chaperone to her neighborhood friends to an hour at an activity center and treated them out to dinner, served cupcakes and Yakult after her Kindermusik class, and had a ballerina party with our extended family.




I hope these ideas will put some magic into your child's special day!

Make magic!