{Let’s Party!} Brady’s Half Birthday

From the day he was born (literally!), I’ve felt a great responsibility for making my son’s future birthdays as special as he deserves them to be. More so than most Mamas, because with a birthday like December 26, it’s no easy task.

I immediately thought about celebrating his birthday each year on June 26, on his half-birthday, to give him two distinct “big days” each year (Christmas & birthday), like most kids have. Otherwise, I knew he’d fall victim to things like “joint gifts” and friends/family not attending birthday his parties because they were already busy or simply spread too thin.

When Brady’s first birthday was approaching, Matt and I talked about waiting to celebrate this momentous occasion, but it just didn’t feel right. How could we let such a special day come and go without any pomp and circumstance, even if we planned to do it all in 6 months? So we had a birthday party for him a week in advance, before everyone got swept up in the hoopla of the holidays. It ended up working out okay, but he was overwhelmed with gifts in a matter of 7 days… and then it was all over. For 364 more days. Boo.

We talked about throwing a half-birthday party for his second birthday, but then we moved to California and we weren’t sure if/when we’d be back in Chicago over the summer, and we didn’t want to have a party without our family. So we ended up having his 2nd birthday party on his actual birthday. Most of our family attended, but people were definitely burned out (including his parents!) and we just couldn’t give it our all like we did for #1.

As Brady’s got older, his relationships with his friends starting to become more important, and he started getting invited to more friend/kid birthday parties. We realized that for his 3rd birthday, we would need to do something in CA with all of his buddies, in addition to something in Chicago with his family. But with our holiday travel, when would we have it? This seemed like the perfect time to begin the “half-birthday party in June” tradition.

So that’s just what we did!

Six months ago, Matt and I hosted a pizza party for Brady with his Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles & cousin, where he could be showered with love and attention on his actual birthday. Then we had his “birthday party” this past weekend, with his friends at our home. It ended up working out really well and I was happy that Brady got to feel that separation of Christmas holiday and birthday (even though he acted like a little monster!!!!!) We will definitely continue doing this for years to come, until he decides if/when he wants to stop.

In preparation for the party, I looked to the internet (ok, Pinterest) for help in setting the tone for this “half” party and was surprised to find virtually nothing out there. Surely there are more kids who are in a similar situation, right? Are they all just having pirate or Batman-themed parties? I tried to come up with ideas on my own to convey the “half” theme and found it to be really difficult, apart from having half a cake and half decorated cupcakes. Things like half pinatas, half favors and half decorations just didn’t make sense…

So I went with a simple, brightly colored theme in which I could incorporate a “Hap Birth” banner (see photo below) and the half cake/cupcakes, without them coming out of left field. Next year, we’ll probably have a pirate or Batman-themed party

This basic theme allowed me to use an awesome idea that I came across on Pinterest, which was to have the kids paint canvases for the party activity (though ours were much smaller). This kept this kids busy and became a great take-home item for the parents. It also allowed me to create a fun party favor for the kids– a paint pail with paint brushes, an oversized white t-shirt for a smock, chalk and bubbles.

** On a side note, if you’re ever interested in doing a painting-themed party, might I suggest using this adorable cupcake painter’s palette or Rice Krispies Treats paintbrushes idea? I would have totally done this if I didn’t have to get the “half” in there somehow.

Here are a few photos of the party. I wish I would have taken more, but I was just too busy playing hostess (and icing the cake mid-party after I had a major fail at 11:30pm the night before!)

{Homemade “half birthday” banner– get it?!}

{Party favors. Thank you Target Dollar Bins!}

{Where the magic happened}

{Kids (and Moms) in action!}

{The (half) birthday boy painting his masterpiece}

{The finished products}

{The half cake & cupcakes}

{Look at that face!}

One thing that I was really excited about for the party, that I barely caught on camera, were the adorable Vintage Daisy Cut Mason Jar lids and paper straws that I purchased from The TomKat Studio. I got round, unmarked mason jars for super cheap at Walmart and pretty’d them up with these adorable lids/straws, along with colorful little circle cutouts that said “3 1/2″. To fill the jars, I made a refreshing, kid-friendly punch that I found on Allrecipes.com– it was a huge hit! Here is a terrible image that I cropped out of another photo, but it at least gives you an idea of what they looked like.

Overall, a great time was had by all. Even though I’m 9 months pregnant (and all that implies), I really enjoyed being able to create a unique birthday experience for Brady that did not have that holiday spill-over feeling, and most importantly, that we could host outside (something we’d never be able to do in Chicago in December!!) Next year, things might get a little tricky with a 1st birthday party on the horizon for his baby brother, but we look forward to giving him a special experience all his own every June.

Have you ever hosted/been to a half-birthday party? What suggestions can you give me for next year?