It’s an age-old tradition: cake, presents, a few games — birthday parties are beloved by children and adults of all ages.
Birthday parties are great when you’re the one being celebrated. But for parents, throwing a birthday party for a child can seem like a daunting task. For some, the idea of planning a party is overwhelming. For others, the cost of throwing a birthday party might be a deterrent. We understand the challenges that can come when it’s time for another birthday — but don’t underestimate the importance of a birthday celebration.
Why Birthdays Are Important for Kids
Before you opt to skip the birthday party, consider these reasons why celebrations are important for kids:
1. Honor Your Child
If you’re looking for simple ways to help your child boost their self-esteem, then a birthday party is a good place to start. If you have more than one child, a birthday celebration is also a great way to teach your children how to celebrate and honor each other’s milestones. A birthday party is a great opportunity to make your child feel special for simply being who they are.
Think about it: a birthday party doesn’t celebrate academic achievements or athletic accomplishments. It’s not based on their talents or efforts learning a musical instrument or foreign language. It’s simply a way to show your child they’re special on their own.
2. Make Memories
Sure, there’s a psychology of celebrating birthdays to consider, but the importance of celebrating your child’s birthday can also be found among the pages of family photo albums. As your child grows up, they’ll spend more time creating their own memories with friends. They’ll go places without you, try things without you and experience plenty of things on their own. So make the most of the time you have together. Planning a party gives you a chance to make memories with your child — and those memories are gifts you can both enjoy for years to come.
3. Encourage Friendships
When you encourage your child to invite friends to a party, you’re showing them you value the friendships they’ve made with their peers. Your willingness to host a special event for their friends also encourages them to build and strengthen friendships.
Birthday parties give children a chance to socialize outside the confines of school. They don’t have to sit quietly at their desks, and they aren’t engaging in academic activities. Instead, they’re playing and engaging in activities they all enjoy.
4. Understand the Passage of Time
Children aren’t born with an understanding of time. It’s up to their parents to teach them to understand how time passes. When you’re making a point to celebrate, especially when you’re celebrating a preschooler’s birthday, you’re teaching your child about their age, growth and other concepts of time, such as dates, months and years.
Yes, they’ll get this in school too, but when you give a child a tangible example to hold on to — such as their birthday — it helps to drive the concept home. Children also naturally look forward to becoming older. By teaching them about birthdays, you can give them milestones to look forward to, such as growing old enough to drive, getting their ears pierced or going to school.
5. Teach Children to Celebrate Others
By showering your child with love on their birthday, you demonstrate to them how they should treat other people on their special day. When you make your child feel special by planning a party for their birthday, they will learn to look for ways to help their friends and family members experience the same joy they felt. Over time, they will begin to look for more ways to celebrate others by giving gifts and planning special surprises for others.
6. Socialization
When you encourage your child to spend time in groups of other children — big or small — you’re creating opportunities for them to practice socializing in groups. They can practice the manners you’ve taught at home, learn how to hold conversations, interact with others and deal with conflict when it arises.
7. Show Off Unique Interests
Most of the time, a child’s birthday party will revolve around a theme — typically something they are interested in, such as princesses, dinosaurs or sports. This gives your child a great opportunity to share something they’re passionate about with their friends. Older children may not be interested in a Mickey Mouse-themed cake, but this idea still holds true as they grow. Older children often enjoy party themes that revolve around a beloved activity, such as laser tag or swimming.
8. Celebrate Parenting Milestones
Birthday parties can be a lot of work for parents, but they’re also a great time to stop and remember how much you love your child. Birthdays give parents time to reflect on how far their child has come and to look ahead to what’s in store. If it’s been a particularly difficult year, it can also be a much-needed time to kick back and enjoy the company of other adults while your children entertain each other.
Tips for Successful Party Planning
Birthday celebrations are important, but they don’t need to be stressful. Before you plan, remember:
1. Keep Things Simple
Your child doesn’t need an elaborate party with 50 guests to feel special. It could be as simple as a pizza and movie night with their closest friends. It could be cupcakes and an outing to the zoo. You don’t have to break the bank or cram lots of people into your house to have a good time.
2. Focus on Your Child
Remember that your child is a unique individual who has their own likes and dislikes. Be sure to plan a special celebration full of things they love. If your child hates cake, then put candles on an ice cream sundae. If your child doesn’t like loud noises, then opt for a party at home or a special weekend away with their two closest friends.
3. It’s Okay to Say No
If you have an especially social child, they may be eager to invite everyone they know for a celebration. This can quickly spiral out of control. It’s okay to limit the number of guests on the guest list or opt to have a party at home to save money. When you set boundaries for the guest list, you teach your child the value of focusing on close friendships. When you put limitations on what you can spend, you teach them that you can have fun without spending a lot of money to do it.
4. Get Creative
If you have a child who tends to be an introvert or who doesn’t have a huge circle of friends, you can still have a beautiful and meaningful celebration. Instead of having a traditional cake and presents party, invite their closest friend to attend a baseball game with your family or take an overnight trip to an amusement park. Look for activities your child loves and then make it a special occasion.
Birthday Parties at Bricks 4 Kidz
At Bricks 4 Kidz, we understand the importance of celebrating birthdays! We offer several different birthday party packages to choose from, depending on the size party you want to throw and your location. As part of that package, our Bricks 4 Kidz party host will lead party guests through a variety of LEGO® based activities and games, taking the stress off of parents and allowing them to enjoy the day, too. For more information about our party packages, contact the Bricks 4 Kidz location near you.