A contest
Because I am sick of thinking and endlessly talking (sorry) about seizures, I have decreed it to be contest day. I am going to be giving away a Precious Moments Birthday figurine to the person who can share the best birthday that you remember having as a child.
The one that comes to my mind is my 9th birthday celebration at my grandma’s house in Idaho, where she made me a cake and my cousins got to attend. Since my family lived in Missouri at the time, it seemed extra-special to have my cousins there celebrating with us.
I also have a fond memory of my 16th birthday. At 9 AM on the day of my birthday, I was at the driver’s license office office, ready to take my driving test. An hour later I had my new license in my hand. Don’t ask me what I did the rest of the day; that was the highlight for me.
Because I’m going to be pretty busy for the rest of this week, you have until Monday morning to share your memories. Sometime on Monday or Tuesday I’ll pick a winner. The Precious Moments figurine was donated by Preciousmoms.com. They also have a birthday party planning kit that you might like to check out.
I can’t wait to hear your memories. I’ll be reading with the focus of trying to figure out what tends to make birthdays most special for kids. With 5 kids age 10 or under, there are lots of Owlhaven birthday parties still in our future, and I’d like to make them good ones!
Ten kids from three countries. Awesome hubby. Fragrant kitchen. Big ol' garden. Busy homeschool. Smokin' camera. Always something to write about.
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19 comments
I don’t really remember much about birthdays, except the when I turned 12 I got to get my ears pierced.
However, for my 18th birhtday, my parents decided to take my best friend and I to the Pantages theatre to see Fiddler on the Roof. We stopped on the way at Mc Donalds to “get a bite to eat” first.
hey sent me in to the dining area to get a table - and to my surprise, all my frineds were there. It was a surprise party!
We played the games, we ate Happy Meals and a blew out the candles on a huge Big Mac cake.
To be 18, sitting on the floor playing Duck Duck Goose with all your senior friends?
Unforgettable.
We didn’t have birthday parties every year when I was a kid. Amazingly, all four of us survived; not one of us has spent any time in prison; and we all feel loved.
Mama always baked a cake, and there was always singing and a gift, but not always a party with friends. Sometimes, but only a few times, I had a party or sleepover.
But one year? When I was turning 7, I think, and my brother was turning 9 two days later? P-a-r-t-y in the Park, with loads of my friends — and loads of his.
Not having a party every year, and sharing that one with my wonderful brother, gave me a memory that I still treasure today. um, a few years later.
My favorite birthday memory is of my 14th birthday. My mom made me a “butterfly” cake she had seen in a magazine. It involved making a sheet cake, cutting the pieces and then trying to frost it. My mom isn’t much of a cook and it turned out pretty funky and you really can’t frost the sides of a cut cake. But we had a really good time doing it and it really was my last birthday as a “kid.” The best birthdays are the ones when someone (usually your mom!) really puts some thought into making it special and doing something you really like, regardless of what that is. Most of my really great childhood memories involve my mom and I doing little things together and just enjoying each other. I think memories are what you make when you are busy doing other stuff.
:-)Tera
My favorite birthday memory is from when I turned 7 (I think). I had spent the week at church camp, and was not looking forward to the post-church-camp boredom and a birthday without my friends. My parents picked my brother & I up from camp, and instead of going home, we went straight to a campground with an awesome lake, and spent the week! We celebrated my birthday on a picnic table by the lake, with my parents and grandparents, and it was lots of fun.
I have no idea what presents I got, or what my cake was like, but it was just fantastic to have a surprise week of vacation, filled with family, swimming, and fun!
What a neat idea!
My best was by far my 6th birthday. My father had been out of work for several months by the time January rolled around. My mother was doing her best to keep us going with a part time job.
The night before my birthday, it snowed more than it had ever snowed in my life. We woke up to a blanket of snow that made roads completely impassable.
I knew that there was no shopping for my present that day. I could see my mom’s worried face.
And then my Dad went outside and put chains on the tires of his truck. He came back in and bundled us up, and then we were driving very slowly the five blocks to the drug-store.
I knew what I wanted the moment I saw it. A bright pink umbrella with a pink handle.
I don’t even remember the trip back home. I just remember it as the best birthday present ever, because my Dad did something very simple to show me that he cared.
Gosh, I don’t have any recollection of birthdays when I was growing up. I have always tried hard to make birthdays special for the birthday child.
The one birthday that stands out, though, was my 16th birthday. For some reason, my mother planned a surprise birthday party. Two people showed up. I remember feeling very unloved, lonely…like in large letters LOSER was printed across my forehead. Even my siblings didn’t show up. I can’t imagine my own children letting each other down like that.
Sorry I don’t remember a best birthday.
My memory will not help you with your kids one bit!
My parents were missionaries and as was the custom way back then we went to a boarding school. My birthday was (actually still is) in November so I was at school for my birthday. One year, my mom made arrangements for the dorm parents to celebrate my birthday and we had a little party during study hall after supper. I felt so special that my mom and done this for me and all my friends helped celebrate.
Hi Mary! BTW, so glad to hear that your daughter is doing so much better! What a load off your mind it must be. Brightest of blessings to you and your family on her continued well-being!
So now….birthdays…hmm…
Well, being an only child (and the only grandchild around the better part of the time) I must say I was rather spoiled as a kid.
For my 6th (and very many after that) I was routinely treated to exaggerated touristy things all around the St Louis area for the better part of the day — and as my mom always liked to point out…since my birthday was and LOL still is in the middle of August…the HOTTEST dang day of the year!! (she was right). We went to Grant’s Farm, The Arch, The Zoo…and hmm, anything else she could think of…and then came home to catch lightning bugs and drink lemonade with cake on the back porch swing while the ballgame played in the background on the black and white TV
I *do* remember an odd thing about my 4th birthday, though. I remember a big party in the basement of my grandma’s house (because that’s where her kitchen was) and everyone said I was “getting SO BIG!”. I came outside in late afternoon and saw my shadow — SO LONG AND TALL!!! LOL…and I really believed I had seriously grown about four feet haha!!
When I was 12 I also had a big surprise birthday party. Truly surprised the heck outta me!
But 18 was interesting too. For some reason I had gotten it into my head that I was “getting old” (what was I thinking!!!??) and I was just about to go off to college and I don’t know what happened but I didn’t want to get out of bed and just lay there and moped and cried some the better part of the day. My mom was not a big fan of my boyfriend at the time (uhm…he was Chinese-American and my parents were a teeny bit racist, unfortunately). But she swallowed that and called him and told him what was going on and about 7 p.m. that evening she told me to just get my hiney out of bed and come downstairs…and there he was with a lovely bouquet of flowers all ready to take me out to a nice dinner (compliments of mom, of course).
Certainly I hugged mom and went right upstairs to shower and get ready and proceeded to have a very nice evening and a yummy dinner.
So there are my childhood b-day stories.
As for my kids…we have had pool parties, skating parties, sleepover parties, and cake until you wretch parties LOL. They never get sick of it.
Oh Mary…don’t worry. You are doing great. I should have been so wonderful.
Blessed Be!
Well..I had to think only for a second. I think one of my favorite birthdays was my eight birthday. All birthdays in my family were big, but my eight was special for me. I was an only child and up until the day before my eight birthday the only grandchild on my fathers side of the family. My father had adopted me and well as often is the case I was a big insecure about how things would change when my aunt had her first child. My grandparents first bio-logical child. But even being insecure I was EXCITED! My cousin was a baby girl and born on valentines day the day before my eight birthday. I went to school and told everyone how my cousin was my birthday present and how excited I was to have a playmate.
It never really phased me that she was eight years younger than I, because just having another child in my family was the best thing I could think of. Mind you that child lived 100’s of miles away, just as my grandparents did, but my grandparents have never treated me any differently, and after her came along three more children. Both of my dads younger sisters having two children each. I am the oldest of five grandchildren, all of them wonderful young adults now, and even though we are miles apart, very close. I still tell people when I introduce my oldest (younger) cousin that she was the best birthday present ever. 
That and the schwinn 18 speed bike I got on my 12th birthday…except she is still one of my best friends and that bike had its tires rode off…. 
I was 10 years old. My dad was serving his last year in the military in Korea and my mother decided we would go ahead and move to Oklahoma on my grandfathers farm where my dad planned to retire. I hated it on site. I was sad I missed my dad, my friends, my house on military base. I did like the animals and I loved learning to ride horses. The night before my birthday I broke a wishbone with my cousin and I won. My grandpa told me not to tell anyone what I wished for but he said to wish for the best birthday present ever. So of course being 10 I wished for a horse. Grandpa knew me too well. The next morning he came in “Kelli Dawn there is something tied to the well I think you better get out there”. Well sure enough there was something tied there….a horse! For me my very first. I named him wishbone and I remember that birthday with clarity and genuine happiness.
My favorite birthday was just two years ago when I turned 40. My girlfriends made arrangements w/my husband to kidnap me on a Saturday morning for a day of shopping at this fabulous store called Nell Hills in Atchison, KS. After a full day with my best friends I arrived at home to a party that my husband planned for me - my girlfriends stayed and their spouses were there to meet us. Best and first party ever; we didn’t do parties when I was a kid.
I’m 45 now and I’m trying to remember my childhood birthdays. We didn’t do big parties, like my kids have had every birthday until they turned 18. I vaguely remember a skating party, I think it was my 11th birthday. What I do remember the best is that for my 6th birthday my grandma made me a Barbie doll cake. The kind with the doll stuck in the middle and the cake is her skirt. It was beautiful!!
My best birthday present wasn’t a present. It was my dad coming home from being out to sea on the USS Enterprise for 6 months. He made it back in time to sing Happy Birthday to me.
My favorite birthday was my 7th (or maybe 8th - the years are kinda blurred!
) Anyway, it was at my Grama’s and I remember being so excited because my two Aunts and all my cousins were going to be there for ME! We played musical chairs and I won. At the time I didn’t realize they let me win but I do remember I was so proud to be the winner on my birthday! I didn’t get many presents but I do remember getting a very special doll. There’s a picture of me holding it so tight and the look of happiness on my face is just precious. But I think the best part was having my immediate family and alot of my extended family there to celebrate with me!
I’m going to post my favorite Christmas memory since I didn’t have a favorite birthday one:
http://live4truth13.blogspot.com/2006/07/christmas-in-july-growing-up-i-looked.html
Since I didn’t have a favorite birthday to share as a child, I wanted to share my favorite Christmas memory. I couldn’t figure out how to add it, so I put it in place of my website.
http://live4truth13.blogspot.com/2006/07/christmas-in-july-growing-up-i-looked.html
My hands-down, all-time favorite birthday party was the one my parents put on for my 6th birthday. It was a safari themed extravaganza! The whole idea for the party started, I think, during a papier mache project we did where my dad and brother made a crocodile. Both of my parents are fairly artistically inclined, especially my father, so the project evolved from there into TONS of painted cardboard creatures. We had Tarzan in the jungle, pin the spots on the leapard, a bean bag toss through a hippo’s mouth, a lion, and several jungle men. My parents even cut the faces out of one or two of the men and took pictures of each of my guests as a “jungle native,” and we sent them out with my thank you notes. I made my own pinata in the shape of a toucan. We had a tape of jungle music and went on a safari through the back yard where we saw all the jungle animals my parents had created. My mom even decorated my cake with simple animal outlines. The party was such a hit, my parents saved all the cardboard creatures and used them again for my brother’s sixth birthday. To this day, childhood friends still tell us it was the best birthday party they ever attended, and it is certainly still my favorite birthday memory!
For my 16th birthday, my stepmother, who was so dear to me, had all my cousins bring me a nightgown. Imagine my surprise when I got about 20 nightgowns. What a fun thing that was, and I have never forgotten it. She truly showed love for her children.
I don’t remember any fantastic birthdays. My birthday was near my sister’s, close to Hanukkah, and during winter break. Not so much fun.
However, my freshman year in college, when I was a down and feeling blue, a couple months after my birthday—my friends on my dorm floor threw a surprise party just because they thought I needed some cheering up! Complete with treats, posters, signs and a poem from one girl about what I meant to her.
My friends did not need my birthday to make me feel special!
Thanks for taking time to comment! I love hearing from you.