WAKE UP TO BALLOONS
After our birthday child is in bed, my husband and I blow up balloons and make mini posters wishing her a happy birthday. When she wakes up the next morning, she is greeted with a big bunch of balloons hanging on her door, and she finds more balloons and posters on her way to the kitchen. As the kids have gotten older (they are ages 12, nine, five, and two), they help get posters and balloons ready for the younger ones. One year, even I woke up to balloons. My two older girls waited patiently in bed for me to go to sleep so they could surprise me. "It's tradition, Mom," they said.--Toni Moll, Missouri
WELCOME THE BIRTHDAY FAIRY
On the night before our girls' birthday (three-year-old twins), the Birthday Fairy comes to our house and leaves each of them a gift or two. The gifts are left at their spot at the dining room table.--Chris Smithhisler, Indiana
BREAKFAST CHEER
On our birthday morning, my mom would prepare pancakes and serve them complete with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" and a lit birthday candle for us to blow out. Now that I am a mom, I've carried on the same tradition with my own children (ages five, three, and eight months).--Stephanie Weight, Iowa
GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME
In our family, the birthday kid (or mom or dad) gets woken up with the Beatles' "Birthday" song played at high volume. We all dance, yell, and jump around. Then the birthday celebrant gets to choose what we will all have for breakfast. Usually, it's chocolate-chip pancakes!--Jenny Verdonk, California
EXACT-TIME WISHES
We wish the kids happy birthday at the exact time they were born. For the child born at 2:05 a.m., we wake them up and have a wonderful laugh before everybody goes back to sleep.--Rebecca Westfall, Oklahoma
A ONE-DAY REIGN
The birthday person in our family is king or queen for the day, complete with a crown if they are willing to wear it. They choose all meals, can go to a restaurant for one meal, and decide what kind of cake we will have. They are released from all household chores for the day and even control the television remote control. They can also choose a family activity, such as going to the park or playing games.--Dianne White, Virginia
FAMILY TRIBUTE
We have five children ages ten and under. On the evening before the birthday, we gather in our pajamas with hot cocoa and cinnamon toast. As each person tells the birthday kid something they like about them, I write it down on pretty paper in gold ink. I place it in an envelope, and each of us seals it with a lipstick kiss. The "love letter" is put into that child's keepsake box with a vow not to be opened until they are 18.--Pamela Sprecacenere, Florida
SERVE UP SOME FUN
The month before our daughter's fourth birthday, she painted her very own Birthday Cake Plate at a ceramics shop. Each year, she looks forward to using it at her birthday party. This year, a month before her brother's fourth birthday, she reminded me to take him to the shop so he could create his own Birthday Cake Plate.--Lauri Campbell, Virginia
TOGETHER TIME
When our older daughter was turning three, we decided that our gift to her would be to go someplace special as a family for the day. We have continued this tradition with both girls (ages ten and seven), and they love it! They enjoy deciding where we should go, and we enjoy spending time with them.--Tami Jacques, California
A CLASSY PRESENT
Rather than bring in candy or cupcakes to their classroom, our children give a gift, such as a book or supplies. We wrap it, and they open it in front of the other students. This makes them feel special, and they are giving something of lasting value to the class.--Cindy Adams, California
HONOR YOUR BROTHER
On my daughter's birthday, she gives her brother a small but thoughtful gift with a loving note saying how glad she is to have him. He does the same for her. We did it for them when they were little, but now that they are in their teens, they are very excited to do it on their own.--Mary Harris, South Carolina
GET A CLUE
Our children get a scavenger hunt on their birthdays. I write the clues in the form of a poem, for example, "Happy Birthday for everyone/What we have planned is a lot of fun/This hunt will be great, but you have to use your head/Your first clue is hiding under your …" Under the bed, they find their first surprise, along with a letter containing a clue to lead them to another surprise. You can make the clues easy for three-year-olds and harder as the children get older. Over the years, our hunts have grown longer and the surprises smaller because the kids hate to see them end.--Tracey Bierman, Missouri
TREE HUGGER
For our daughter's first birthday, we planted a tree, and we took a picture of her standing next to it. Every year since, we have taken a picture of her next to her tree. Our son will turn one this summer, and we are already planning where his tree will go.--Jennifer Tucker, Ohio
FINGER PHOTO
We take a photo of our kids (ages six and three) holding up the number of fingers that represent his or her age--for example, four fingers on the fourth birthday. When we look back, we will always know what age they are in the "finger photo."--Maria Mulville, New Jersey
WATCH TIME FLY
Every year around her birthday, we videotape our daughter sitting in the same chair for several seconds. When she's an adult, we hope to be able to show the video on fast-forward and watch her grow up before our very eyes!--Kevin and Dawn Kugler, Florida
LETTER FROM DAD
My husband writes a letter to our daughter every year for her birthday. He started this tradition while we were waiting for Abby's birth. He wrote to her about his dreams, fears, and anticipation of the birth. Abby is three now, and her dad's letter tells of her accomplishments over the year, his dreams for the coming year, and a little about us as a family. We read the previous letters to her around her birthday.--Katie Olson, Iowa
MEMORY BOOK
Each of our children (ages 18, 16, and 13) has a birthday notebook. In it, they list their current friends, favorite subjects at school, what they want to be when they grow up, and their height and weight. We include birthday photos and a description of the day's festivities and invite party guests to autograph their notebook. The children enjoy going back through their books to find happy memories.--Lea Boyd, Wisconsin
HOW TALL?
We have one chart on which we mark our three children's heights every year on their birthdays. Each child has a mark in his or her own color.--Kathryn Ryan, Ontario, Canada
HALVE YOUR CAKE
On the child's half birthday, I make half a cake (cut a round, 9-inch cake in half, stack, and frost!), stick one candle on it, and we sing half of the birthday song after dinner.--Ginny Lennon, Japan
ADOPTION DAYS
We celebrate not only our children's birthdays, but also the days that their adoptions were finalized, about six months later. To celebrate Happy Rachel Day and Happy Jonathan Day, we have a special outing to the zoo or a museum. I also made them each a book that tells the story of how they came to live with us. --Beth Moore, Illinois
