Birthday Traditions and Ideas - Treehouse Threads

I have rounded up my favorite birthday traditions or ideas that we have incorporated into celebrating our kids through the years. A lot of these posts have been published on this site and have access to free printables. I love making all the small moments magical- if that is you, then this is the post for you. This post contains affiliate links which means I make commission when you shop through the links at no added cost to you. Thanks for supporting the blog!

Newspaper Birthday Cards

These are perfect for milestone birthdays! It is a “newspaper” style card that details all of the top news/pop culture events that happened the year your child was born. Fun little tidbits like; popular slang words, who won the Super Bowl/World Series to what the top song/movies at the box office were. This is such a fun card for tweens and teens. I found mine on Amazon but I was also in a bind when mine didn’t show up around Christmas and I was able to find a downloadable version on Etsy. Since the details on this card won’t change- this is a one and done (you can’t really give it every year as a birthday tradition). That’s why I think it’s perfect for a milestone birthday!

Books as Cards Birthday Tradition

When my kids were little, I decided to build their library in lieu of giving them birthday cards. I would find books that were special and my husband and I would write a note on the inside cover with the date. We made sure to save these so that the kids could pass them on to their kids years from now. We did this for Valentine’s Day too. And let’s be honest, with the cost of greeting cards these days- it isn’t that much of a stretch.

Here are some of my favorite books that we got the kids as cards when they were little:

Charcuterie Birthday Numbers

These paper mache numbers are great for so many things! When I saw Fig & Honey (and awesome charcuterie/grazing board business out of Denver) share an adult version of this years ago, I was inspired. I love to make kid-friendly charcuterie boxes for my own kids. Or I fill them with candy and treats to gift to their friends. I have even filled some for my own friends’ milestone birthdays.

For the kid friendly charcuterie boxes here are some ideas on what to include:

cold cuts
chedder cheese cuts
strawberries
crackers
grapes
carrots
Baby-bel cheese
raisins
almonds

Birthday Cake Waffles

This is one of my favorite birthday traditions. Did you know that you can take any cake mix and use it to make the most delicious fluffy cake waffles, ever? We have tried this with Funfetti, lemon, ube and strawberry cake mix. We even made gingerbread ones over Christmas. Every single one has been super delicious! Here is what you need:

1 box cake mix
3 eggs (beaten)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
Waffle Iron

Mix all of the wet ingredients. Once mixed, add cake mix and stir until smooth. Make waffles as you would with a waffle mix. Stack and top with a candle. The perfect birthday morning tradition!

Piñata Gift Box

This is such a fun, unique way to give a gift. I use the mini piñatas to give gift cards- I fill them with candy and my gift card and viola! An out of the box way to give a gift card! For my friends I have used a full-sized piñata, cut them half way open with a knife and filled them to give a themed-gift.

DIY Photo Strips

My daughter turned 13 this year and I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. We were going for a bow/coquette theme and I thought it would be even more fun to add these oversized photo strips featuring a collection of her pictures from through the years. The blogpost/template is here. I also shared a detailed how-to video on my Instagram.

Nike-Inspired Favor Boxes

I made these Nike-inspired favor favor boxes for my son’s 10th birthday. These were a hit with his friends. I created the printable and how-to blogpost and shared it here.

Let me know if you do any of these things!

With love,

Shahla