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25 Fresh New Ways to Celebrate Your Next Birthday, as a Mother
Yes, this is a blog roundup. I invited seven beautiful mothers to share some of their favorite ways to celebrate their birthdays. These are all meaningful, fun, and original birthday celebration ideas.
Why? You might ask why I want to do a birthday celebration ideas blog?
Well…
It is almost time to celebrate my own birthday. And, I love celebrating birthdays, including, but of course not limited to my own birthday! I will say that although, as an adult, I do typically get together with a small handful of friends to celebrate my own birthday. However, I have had some birthday celebrations that were not as planned or simply non-existent.
It is almost time to celebrate my own birthday. And, I love celebrating birthdays, including, but of course not limited to my own birthday! I will say that although, as an adult, I do typically get together with a small handful of friends to celebrate my own birthday. However, I have had some birthday celebrations that were not as planned or simply non-existent.
A Couple of Brief Birthday Stories
Like that one time when I turned thirty and I was up at a cabin for a retreat. I obviously knew I would be away for this milestone birthday. For that, the reason for our gathering had nothing to do with my birthday. However, what I did not realize is that there would be no cell phone reception at the cabin. So although I had planned on at least being able to talk on the phone with all the people I loved and missed that day, it just didn’t happen that way.
Or that time when I planned a super fun scavenger hunt in the city, followed by a nice dinner out. I paid the money to the company hosting the activity. My core group of girlfriends was getting excited about it. But then it rained, and the host postponed the event for the following month. And to my good, oh so good fortune, it was also raining on that day too!
But…
If I’m being honest, despite the occasional headache and unfortunate circumstance, I still love celebrating my birthday. For me, the most important thing is celebrating with my small, close-knit group of people I love and care about. That includes my family and my best girlfriends.
Celebration Birthdays as Mothers
So, I know everyone celebrates differently, with different activities, different food, different meeting places, etc. Not only that, but things change once we become parents. Our priorities shift a bit. The way we celebrate through those child-rearing years looks a lot different from the way we celebrated in our child-free years.
That is why this year I decided to put together a blog roundup to birthday celebration ideas about how mothers typically enjoy spending their birthdays, and with whom. I gathered some mothers and asked them the question: How do you enjoy celebrating your birthday? If you’re looking for ideas, I hope you can take some tips from these wonderful ladies. I encourage you to start planning your perfect way to celebrate your own birthday this year.
The Complete List – 25 Birthday Celebration Ideas
1 – Enjoy a Vacation with the Kiddos
Like me, Jasmyn has a January birthday. She shares some of her best birthdays.
“As a mom of 2 small children under the age of 3, when it comes to celebrating my birthday, I love to do something centered around it being relaxing and surrounded by my loved ones! We may also take a family trip.”
2 – Get your Girlfriends Together for a Pamper Party
“One year, we celebrated my birthday by having a girl’s day at the spa with massages, facials, and wine. It was heavenly and one of my favorite birthday celebrations!”
Most days you can find me down the aisles at Homegoods or Target or snuggled up on my couch with some tea and a good book!
My blog, Just Jass, is a space for moms to “just” feel good when they are there through my experiences in mom-life, positive mental health habits, and staying motivated to carry on in motherhood.
On my blog, I am vulnerable and “Just” Jass. Why don’t you join me over there in being “just” you!
3 – Enjoy a Retreat Without the Kiddos, and Make it a Tradition
Mckayla, whose birthday is in December, makes her birthday celebration a weeklong party. It involves several different activities and a variety of people.
Keep reading to discover Mckayla’s birthday celebration ideas.
“For my birthday, we (my husband and I) take a vacation upstate.”
“We spend the weekend pampering ourselves – his birthday is close to mine – and having a kid-free weekend. We take some time to shop for ourselves, stay in a hotel, spend a little extra on dinner, and knock out our Christmas shopping. We spend one evening eating out and looking through downtown, while we spend the other night in bed and order Doordash/delivery. We watch movies, play our video games, and catch up on the sleep we miss the rest of the year.”
“Our mini-vacay has become a tradition that we honor each year – even going to the same breakfast spot on the last day to end the trip.”
I have two littles and love anything DIY (not that I actually finish it, but I still love it).
My husband and I are in our second year of marriage, although we’ve been together for almost six years now.
We live in a super small town surrounded by family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
4 – Plan a Dinner and Invite Close Friends and Family
McKayla continues, “When we get back we have dinner with my close friends and family to celebrate!”
Jasmyn also writes, “I typically celebrate my birthday every year by having a birthday dinner with my family and friends.”
5 – Pamper Yourself and then Shop
And to end her week-long birthday celebration, Mckayla shares, “The following week I go out and get my hair and nails done as well as shop for a new pair of shoes or outfit.”
If you can make your birthday celebration a week-long event, why not make it a month-long one? Choose different activities and events throughout the month. That is exactly what AshleyFern has made a tradition of doing.
“Ok so I take celebrating my birthday as a personal responsibility. While I love surprises most of the time my friends and family don’t manage to plan any kind of surprise celebration. I prefer to have more than one celebration and celebrate all month long.”
6 – Find a Birthday Bestie and Celebrate Together
“Some of my traditions include a special day out with my birthday buddy who has a birthday in the same month. We do different things every year but it’s always just the two of us.”
7 – Get all the Freebies You Can for the Month
“I call in different free birthday restaurant offerings with different friends and family throughout the month.”
8 – Create a Tradition of Spending Quality Time with a Special Relative
“I also often have an outing or play games with both of my grandmothers as they share my birth month.”
“Often my grandmother will make her signature apple Bundt cake for a small family celebration.”
9 – Send the Boys Away and Establish an Annual Ladies Night In
“My other family will often celebrate [with a] ladies’ night in. [This is somewhat of a dual event since all of us ladies have a yearly night in while] the men have their yearly Father-son campout. [The ladies’ night in/birthday celebration] includes children and often a sleepover with games, massages, facials, and crafts.”
10 – Gather Your ‘Cultured’ Friends and See a Play or Musical
“[When] I turned 12 and I was actually surprised by my parents taking me to see “The Sound Of Music” as a musical at the Country Dinner Playhouse which used to be in Littleton Colorado.”
“I had no clue where we were going or what the plans were. My family and a few close friends were also there to celebrate. It was a signature birthday for sure.”
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11 – Take the Day Off from Motherly Duties, and Allow Your Family to Spoil You
Jenn Warren’s shares her birthday celebration ideas, which I love! Jenn’s is another January birthday (of course I love all my January ladies)! Her special day off consists of…
- 12 – Let Your Children Prepare Breakfast and Lunch: “My 11-year-old daughter made my favorite overnight French Toast Souffle casserole to eat for my birthday breakfast. However, when we woke up, we had no power so we could not bake or make coffee! I ended up grabbing Starbucks and donuts – which would have been my second favorite option anyway. Then we had the souffle for lunch, so I didn’t have to cook at all!”
- 13 – Family Movie at the Theatre: “With six kids ages 15 down to 5, babysitting is scarce for longer than a couple of hours. We gathered up our crew and went to the movies to watch Sing 2. Our local theater is low-key and family friendly, so we ordered snacks and drinks and enjoyed the movie together.”
- 14 – Thoughtful Decorations: “My kids decorated the house with streamers and balloons and colored me a beautiful wall mural with contributions from each of them.”
- 15 – Favorite Cake from a Local Bakery: “For my birthday cake my husband ordered me a cheesecake from our local specialty bakery, YUM!”
- 16 – Small but Significant Gifts: “My favorite present was Apple Minipods for upstairs and downstairs so that I don’t have to go up and down the stairs every time I need to call a kid!”
Those I Love on my Birthday
“My husband and kids are my favorite people, and I am an introvert, so this birthday was absolutely fantastic!
Being loved and together with my immediate family is the best birthday gift I could ask for.”
I write about millennial marriage and parenting, homeschooling, ADHD parenting, and anything else that I think will be helpful to others who are hurting. You can find my blog at https://dinkumtribe.com
I have a BA in Spanish from Azusa Pacific University. When I have a few moments to myself, I can usually be found sipping a mocha and quilting or rewatching Psych episodes.
Another Mother takes the Day Off on her Birthday
Mai Pham’s, whose birthday is in October, shares about how her perfect birthday “is always with my family. As an introvert, I tend to like to stay in a small and close group.”
- 17 – Wake up Early to a Fun Birthday Song: “My husband often wakes up very early and blasts the house with the birthday song to wake me and my son up.”
- 18 – Secret Birthday Love Notes: “I love that he [husband] hides secret notes around the house for me to find.”
- 19 – Flowers: “He also often surprises me with some flowers as he knows I love to have something different on my birthday.”
As a first-time mother, I know what it feels like to raise a little one without knowing anything at all. [And] when all the books you read go one way and your little one decides to go the other way!
I’ve learned from experience that children don’t come with manuals and every kid is different. But when moms trust their instinct on what’s best for their kids, things turn out okay.
I started a blog called Mommy Instinct to help first-time moms take care of their little ones and themselves.
Paula Arms has her birthday in August. She writes about her birthday celebration ideas, and the first two are ones that I’ll admit, I am jealous about.
20 – Start, or End the Day with some Relaxing Self Care
“My birthday celebrations are often not the most spectacular or overly elaborate but they are a perfect fit for me. I typically start my day with a long, hot, relaxing bath. This always sets the mood for the entire day!”
“If you’re not into calm relaxing baths and would rather sleep in and have a movie [or something else you enjoy] to make the best of it”.
I graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and a minor in Biology but being a creative person, I found it necessary to express myself outside of science. I did that through crafting, writing, and giving it all to God; thus, my hobby turned into a business.
I thoroughly enjoy helping others through my words and/or my products and I tend to involve my whole family. My husband cuts my sign blanks, and my daughters sometimes join in the painting fun.
My family is my sounding board, and I wouldn’t want to do this business without them.
21 – Allow Your Husband to Prepare You Breakfast
“This is followed by a homemade breakfast from my hubby! It comes complete with fresh eggs, bacon, scratch-made biscuits, and chocolate gravy (I’ve got to make this).”
22 – Take a Family Shopping Trip and Grab Lunch Together
“If my birthday happens to fall on the weekend, we all load up for a shopping trip to my favorite stores. Hobby Lobby and Rural King never disappoint! If we go to the mall we will stop for the Lord’s chicken at Chick-Fil-A; otherwise, we go out for Mexican.”
“I truly enjoy days like this with my family, but I love surprises too!”
23 – Let Your Friends Surprise You
“Several years ago, my friends and I went out to lunch on my birthday. I had no idea they had planned a surprise complete with gifts and topped off with a whipped cream smear upon my face!
An out-of-the-blue surprise was the best! It meant so much to me that they took time out of their day to do something special for me!
I truly think birthdays are days to treasure regardless of how you spend them! No matter what you consider your perfect birthday be sure to enjoy every minute!”
Also of being surprised, AshleyFern shares, “Now I’m old enough and planning a true surprise for me would be a challenge for my family. Although I don’t think I would make it impossible.”
24 – Travel with your Friends and/or your Family
Michelle Moyer celebrates her birthday in November. She shares her experiences traveling for her birthday. Michelle provides some extra tips and tricks on how to plan and prepare for that.
“It can be a big, elaborate trip to a far-off destination, or a small weekend getaway just down the road. There is no shortage of birthday trip vacation ideas. It is not the size of the trip, but the significance of experiencing and creating memories with family and friends that is the important part of a birthday trip celebration.”
Vegas Baby – a travel birthday celebration idea
“I recently took a 50th birthday trip to Las Vegas to celebrate my milestone with family. We rented a mansion near the strip so that we could all be together. We saw a comedy show, went to the casinos on the strip, took a hike in Red Rock Canyon, and then gathered around the dining room table at the mansion to reminisce about the new experiences we had each day.”
Now that I have entered the digital age with the creation of Moyer Memoirs Empty-Nester Travel Blog I can share my stories with a larger audience than the people that enter my living room and fit onto my couch!
I love to share my stories with people around the world. I [also] write advice so that those who will travel in my footsteps can enjoy the knowledge of someone who has been there and done that. Never Stop Exploring!
A Few Birthday Travel Tips
“Make sure you pack a birthday banner to wear during your trip. It makes it all more fun when even the strangers that you pass on the street smile at you and wish you a happy birthday. [This is] not to mention the host of the comedy show that you are attending!”
“The best tip that I can give you is to make sure that you plan your birthday trip way in advance so that all your family and friends have the opportunity to join you in your celebration. Reserve your Bucket List trip for your milestone birthday or organize a fun weekend trip with your besties. Plan ahead to organize group events and accommodations so that everyone can be together. A group vacation is so much fun. The bonding that you do with your family and friends will be an unforgettable experience!”
The Final Birthday Celebration Idea…
Now that I have shared with you all of these amazing birthday celebration ideas, I will share with you one of my personal favorite birthdays. This is an idea that I actually did for my last milestone birthday. (Don’t even ask which milestone it was cause I won’t say).
So here it is, and yes, it was amazing!
25 – Girlfriends Weekend Spa Retreat
We booked a vacation rental house for the weekend. Then we planned out our meals and who was cooking each meal. On the way to the house, we all hit up the grocery store. We also stocked up on drinks and snacks and brought cards and games, and movies with us. It was like a weekend-long slumber party.
But…
The following day, we headed out to a local spa where we spent the day in mud baths, massages, facials, and the hot springs.
Of course, we had one dinner out, and one morning, a brunch out, along with a tasting at a local winery.
Overall, the weekend was truly amazing.
So What’s Your Favorite Birthday Celebration Idea?
Although there are certainly more ideas out there, I believe this list is a comprehensive one. So go ahead, start planning out how you want to celebrate your own birthday, and with whom.
I would love to hear your thoughts on these birthday celebration ideas. Are there any additional ways we as mothers can truly enjoy our birthdays? Leave your comments below.
What fun birthday celebration ideas from so many women in different stages of life! Bubble baths, theater, spa day – gotta add a few of them to my list for next year’s birthday.
Thank you Jenn. I know! Everyone shared some great ideas and I will also be adding many of these to my own list of ideas to do.
Love your blog and this post especially Sarah. Thank you and thank your Ladies for the grand ideas!
Thanks Cindy! I know. These are some great ideas. I hope you are getting and feeling better.
[…] As our kids get older, we expect that most birthdays will transition to be more about just spending time together. That’s how we (Mom and Dad) celebrate our birthdays. If you’d like to hear more about how I celebrate my birthdays as a mom, you can click over to my friend Sarah’s birthday roundup post. […]
I love celebrating my child’s birthday too. We do two celebrations – one with just our little family, and the other with extended family and his invited friends. The birthdays are all so memorable.