Family Birthday Party Ideas

Q. I loved the answers to the Family Holiday Parties, so I thought I would ask suggestions for Family Birthday Parties. Our family is rather large consisting of 8 parents, 9 children and 6 grandchildren. It doesn’t seem like an overload but when you try to celebrate everybody’s birthday it can get out of control. My oldest daughter is turning 21 and I would like to throw a Birthday party that allows everyone the opportunity to get together to celebrate the big event without putting any financial burden on family members to buy yet another present. I’m sure that your readers are full of creative ideas.

For family parties, how about a themed gift basket everyone can contribute to. For the gourmet cook, specialty shops have all kinds of goodies they’d like to try; for the soon-to-be-college-student, dorm supplies would be a great help; for the owner of a new pet, there are plenty of supplies that can be used even if duplicates show up. So many ideas…so few parties. – Angela

Dear Lady With The Many Birthdays, I totally understand your dilemna. My grandmother, who’s still living, has 7 children, 19 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren! On birthdays, we have favorite meals to celebrate. The birthday person chooses their favorite foods, and each family brings an item off the list. The birthday person feels special, there’s a big feast, and it’s alot more reasonable than continuous gift buying. – God Bless You, Maria

Go through oneof your own photo albums or box of saved photos. Find a bunch of family gatherings and select those that would be of significance to the recipient. You probably have many that she hasn’t seen before or has forgotten. With today’s far-flung families, we don’t always get to see all the wonderful candid shots that were taken. Include not only those of the recipient but anybody or event that may bring fond memories. Then buy or make an album and place only one photo per page with the most of the rest of the space filled with a description of the when, where and why the photo was taken. Leave room for autographs and at the party pass it around with some colored ink pens and let people add their own thoughts and memories. – Pam

I thought family/friends members could look for a picture of the birthday girl, at any age of her lifetime, with the family member or without, and bring to the party for a family "show and tell". They could tell the age of the birthday girl and circumstances surrounding the picture. This would be good for some laughs possibly and bring back some fun memories.