Two acts of kindness, a new birthday tradition!

 I was completely inspired by Valerie at Inner Child Fun and her 35 random acts of kindness for her birthday.  My daughter’s second birthday was approaching when I read the blog post.  I had been thinking about the traditions that we would be starting this year.  The idea of “paying it forward” really resonates with me, especially starting at a young age.

 Little Roo still received many gifts from her family members and had an absolutely amazing birthday party with help from my party planner friend at Minnow and Co Productions.

Our yard transformed into a fabulous play land!

Her two acts of kindness:

* Book drive in lieu of gifts at her party.  We collected books to donate rather than gifts from her toddler friends.  It was fun to see the generosity of others as well as the creativity in the hand-made cards she received.  I will keep the paintings, cards, and drawings forever.

* Cookies for community workers.  There has been construction across the street from our neighborhood all summer.  The same “worker” helps direct the truck traffic and always helps stop traffic so we can cross the street safely.  The rest of the construction crew always wave and stop to help us navigate through the maze of holes in the road and detours so that we can make it to the playground.  We decided to make the workers a batch of cookies. They were delightfully surprised to receive the cookies.  I told them how much we appreciate their friendliness and that the trucks themselves provide great entertainment.  The crossing guard’s reply, “We try to be nice, the trucks drawing so much attention just comes along with it.”

I plan to encourage Roo to continue this tradition of “giving back” to match her age every year!  I can’t wait to hear what her ideas are in the future!  What birthday traditions does your family enjoy?? Tell me how you perform Random Acts of Kindness!

To Gift Or Not To Gift??

Why is it so hard to respect a “no-gift” request for a child’s birthday party?  I am serious….I will be making a similar request when Little Roo turns two in a couple months, so why when I am asked to just come to celebrate a little boy turning one do I immediately think “I should at least get him something little?!”  I think there are many reasons to make the request of friends to skip gift giving.  Financial burden, child already has plenty of toys, parent wanting to ensure toys fit with their philosophy, burden of time and effort-- to name a few.  That being said, traditions become hard-wired in us and we can’t imagine a birthday without presents or cake.  We know that this child is going to get presents, even if it is not from us. Yet, we still have trouble respecting the parents’ wishes, which would actually make our lives just a little easier. The first party Little Roo was ever invited to had a “no gift” request, which I promptly I ignored.  Some of the other party-goers listened and I, in turn, unintentionally made them feel bad for not bringing a gift.  I was excited for the party and thought that I would never be able to show up without a gift.  Nearly a year later, Little Roo has a lot of friends that will all be celebrating birthdays every year.  From my perspective, I have started to realize that can really add up!   This time around, I decided to make a little something for the birthday boy instead….I guess I would still feel bad showing up “empty-handed.”  I made a small batch of play dough, stuck it in a cupcake liner and added a candle.  This would also make a cute party favor!  What are your thoughts on birthday parties with "no gifts??"