[granola_mom]

Please share your birthday celebration ideas!

My DC is not even seven months yet, but I've already started thinking about how I'm going to celebrate her birthday. I want some unconventional ideas. I grew up in a very materialistic family and don't want her birthday to be a time when she is showered in gifts that support environmental destruction, materialism and injustice. Problem is, my family is BIG on gifts and I don't want DD to get a lot of them, and the ones she does get I want them to be organic, non toxic, not plastic or made from a sweatshop, etc. Her grandma thought it was ridiculous that i dont want her to have barbies because i believe it fosters negative body image. How do I approach this? Is it proper to tell them that we won't accept certain things? Do I make a registry, or is that rude? It's just that I want to raise her a certain way, and don't want other intruding on that yk? I was very angry after my baby shower (never having one of those again!) and sold a lot of the things I got, but I felt wrong about it and worried they would notice later.

Another thing I've been thinking about is that I would like to make her birthday sort of unconventional in that I don't want it to be a what it is in many other north american families. I need ideas for how it can be a celebration for our whole family, rather than just for DD, because we really feel that her birthday was an incredibly special day in all of our lives and we would like to comemorate that somehow. Ideas?

 

[MissMommyNiceNice]

We just had a birthing day tree ceremony for our son. It wasn't his birthday, though, since he was born in december, you can't plant a tree then. We used his placenta and explained about how we wanted the earth to be green and beautiful when he was old enough to plant a tree for his child. We used a book by a local author, but i couldn't find it on amazon. (Called: The Legend of the Birthing Day Tree.)

It tells a great story, and we had a bunch of people in our park, some food & wine, doggies & kiddies...really nice. People asked about gifts, and we said they weren't necessary. Most people that brought something brought a card w/ money or check. Much more usefull than stupid toys.

If I was you, I would make a registry, if they insist on bringing gifts. That way, you can put on it what you will. I know you probably think it seems tacky like I do, but you gotta make a point with some people!

Plus, instead of doing it in the dead of winter on actually bday, you could have it this fall. That may also hold off the glut of un-needed gifts. Plan a special family birthday out of town or at an aquarium or something.

Good luck! If you want more info, PM me. I might be able to find contact info for the author over the weekend and get back to you late next week. The story is very nice, and talks about a beautiful kingdom that no one ever leaves because it is so beautiful, and that goes on for generations until it is a dirty yucky city, but the kind decrees the planting of a tree to celebrate the birth of every child and the city returns to its former beauty. it comes with a pledge to sign for your dc, places for pics of babe & tree, signatures, etc. Very cool!

 

[dancebaraka]

Maybe throw a book-themed birthday party.. where everyone brings the child 1 book to help build her library. That's what we are going to do to avoid the plastic commercial gift-fest, but we are book people and could never have too many... maybe just a simple pot luck or picnic at the park and have a special ritual or ceremony just for the immediate family earlier in the day, so there's something quiet and sacred, but also something festive that integrates family and community (b/c they are very important too)...