Birthdays

With a lack of very specific memories to share about 3rd grade, and a fun picture, I decided to write about an event that makes memories in our family every year: birthdays.



My brother looks almost as excited as me!

Birthdays are important in our family. We don’t have enormous or elaborate parties, usually just dinner with the family, but for us, family always included my aunt’s family too. On our birthday, we get to pick the menu for the evening, whether it’s a family favorite or an exotic experiment.

When we were kids, we’d have a “friend” party too, which was often separate from the family party. I had a few sleepovers, crafting parties, and pizza parties. My brother had movie parties and camp-outs. Mom would put together a few games or activities and fun snacks and treats.


Cakes are always homemade in our family – not especially fancy in decoration, but we get our choice of flavors. The most popular choice is yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but brownies are a close second. I spent a few years requesting my grandma’s banana cake for my birthday. Since my birthday is in early January, my grandparents often held over their Christmas visit to celebrate with me. Grandma would make banana cake for my family dinner and Peanut Blossom cookies (with the Hershey kisses) to share at school or with my friends.


We also share a somewhat unusual birthday song. At a young age (possibly 3rd grade but maybe even before) I received a cassette tape of Disney songs in popular music styles. One of the songs was a version of Happy Birthday. It has 3 verses, many chorus repeats, and lasts over 3 minutes! We actually buy extra long candles to accommodate the song! It quickly became a standard for everyone in the family, not just me. After years of passing the tape around, we found a digital version on-line, downloaded it, and burned copies for each household. We’ve now made it a tradition with our own kids, and it’s even infiltrated some birthday parties in my husband’s family. We typed and laminated lyric sheets for family friends who may not be birthday-regulars to follow along.


We have another family birthday coming this weekend: my aunt’s. Her kids are coming home from college and work in different cities. Birthdays are a priority, not so much because the day is about one person, but because it brings the family together.



P.S. Thanks to Karen of Riding Along, in group 3 of Mommy's Piggy Tales, I found a YouTube video that features our beloved birthday song - take a listen if you've got 3 minutes to spare - you'll be singing it all day!