Birthday Parties

Birthday Party Trouble

1 Comment

There are several reasons a birthday could lead to trouble. Let’s think of a few:

  • Party is too loud.
  • Underage drinking.
  • Drinking and driving.
  • Stolen presents.
  • Over-the-top antics prompted by too much birthday fun.
  • Rioting when your birthday invitation goes viral (yep, that happened).
  • Pulling out a gun when people don’t sing your girlfriend happy birthday (yep, that happened too).
  • Celebrating your birthday with a dozen or so friends in an Irish pub.

Uhm? What?! Yep, that last one happened in Tajikistan this year, and the birthday boy was fined the equivalent of four months pay!

According to The Daily Mail (Kate Pickles reporting – tee hee — Pickles), it’s against the law in Tajikistan to celebrate your birthday outside of the home with more than family. The law was passed in 2007 to prevent excess spending.

Birthday boy Isayev Amirbek, who was aware of the law, thought he was OK to gather his friends for his 25th, as he and his friends simply brought a cake and spent approximately 540 somoni between them (that’s under $100US). Yet he was fined 4,000 somoni (roughly $640US) for his audacity.

Amirbek claimed at first it was just a friend’s night out, but in court prosecutors proved he’d broken the law against celebrating his birthday in public using photographs of the birthday cake posted on Facebook.

Pickles reported the law limits the number of guests, how much money can be spent and the duration of a gathering. Apparently the law was violated 394 times in 2014!

I can maybe see the point of banning lavish birthday extravaganzas in a struggling economy (although think of all the people hired to make the party possible). Yet getting your friends together at a pub and giving each a piece of cake is a preposterous reason to take someone to court! Surely there has to be a better way to spend the time and energy of police, lawyers and court officials than pooh-poohing someone’s birthday fun.

Birthday Party

Photo credit: / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Birthdays are for sharing the love

2 Comments

A loyal reader recently asked me to weigh in on an article she’d seen about refusing to have a birthday for a one-year-old. Surprisingly, I actually agree with many of the points Jennifer Canavan makes on scarymommy.com (paraphrased with some of my own editorializing below):

  • The baby is not old enough to remember
  • Pinterest has made party hosting a nightmare for the not-so-crafty Mom
  • It’s exhausting to host a party and do thank you’s when you feel lucky enough to shower.

This reminded me of my son’s Charlie Brown first birthday party. It was only a play date, really, but I was disappointed when no one was actually able to join us (illness and hospital visits intervened). So, I took the monkey cupcakes I’d made to daycare the next day and felt better about him celebrating with his buddies there.

Certainly, if a parent doesn’t have the time, energy, or money to fete a first year birthday, they shouldn’t feel guilty. The main thing is that a birthday is a day to celebrate our loved ones and share that love. So, party or not, as long as the birthdayee (yep, that’s a new word for you to use #tweetit) feels the love — again, at any age — the party is just icing on the cake. Or, borrowing another suggestion from the same loyal, lovely reader, extra yum of another sweet treat for those (weird) kids who don’t like cake.

Birthday alone

Photo credit: / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Birthday Kindness — Pass It On.

6 Comments

Regular readers of this blog will already know how much I love reporting on people using their birthdays to be generous and share love. #bdaygenerosity is a great thing to see whether it is someone hosting a birthday donation drive for a local food bank or animal shelter or an organization making sure that underprivileged or hospitalized children get to celebrate their special day.

IMG_0047.JPG
So, allow me to share another thoughtful act done by a father and daughter in England. A 32-year-old Dad and his 7-year-old daughter together decided to mark their birthdays by performing 39 random acts of kindness including:

• Hiding treats for the Dad’s co-workers and emailing them on the Dad’s birthday to look in his desk to claim their rewards for giving him the day off

• Writing thank-you letters to teachers

• Picking up trash at a park

• Registering for organ donation

• Giving art supplies to a children’s hospital and books to a children’s library

• Dropping chocolates off at local police and fire stations

• Donating to a homeless shelter, a mental-health program, and a nonprofit helping wild birds

My personal favorites were their leaving pennies by a fountain for people to make wishes and leaving coins by kids’ rides to enable other children to take a surprise spin.

Today.com reports the duo is already planning on doing 41 acts of kindness next year. Maybe someone reading this blog will be prompted to do the same?

Social Media Birthday Bash

Leave a comment

Maybe you’ve seen a shared request on social media asking you to help a birthday someone to receive a landslide of likes or retweets or birthday cards or other greetings.

One woman recently went to Facebook to ask people in Roanake, Va. to come celebrate her son’s birthday at a local park with a water balloon fight. “I thought maybe a few people on my friends list would bring their kids,“ the nine-year-old’s mom wrote. “Instead it has reached people from all over the world.”

Balloon Birthday Bash

Photo credit: Steve Wilhelm / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Yahoo Parenting took the opportunity to interview some experts about whether this approach was a good idea. Yep, let’s just consider Yahoo Parenting the birthday buzzkill from now on.

One expert suggested the birthday could make the child feel alienated. Another suggested the mom wasn’t empowering her son. Both agreed labeling the child as someone who needs help making friends was not a wise move.

There were also concerns about the singular focus on the birthday and one of the experts suggested instead this should have been embraced as a special family day.

Photo credit: garrellmillhouse / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Photo credit: garrellmillhouse / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Now, my seven-year-old will be the first to tell you I am no parenting expert, but I wonder why facilitating your son having a crazy wild water balloon party and giving him the opportunity to meet with all kinds of new people (who might become friends) is a bad thing. At least this Mom’s turn to social media involved actual human interaction rather than those pleas that ask for messages or tweets or likes and represent nothing more than a bunch of strangers pushing a button on social media.

Me, I’m going to applaud this Mom for taking initiative. She helped her home-schooled son get out there for an opportunity to interact with more kids and gave him a party he won’t soon forget.

Birthday Snub Shooting

1 Comment

Reading about a Minnesota man getting sentenced to nearly 28 years for shooting three people when they didn’t sing the Birthday song for his girlfriend has made me rethink my view on birthday catastrophes.

I used to think a birthday disaster was about who came or didn’t come to your party. Like in middle school the worst thing that might happen is the cute boy you had a crush on not coming to the party…Or the cute boy attending your party and then there being spin the bottle and you getting picked to kiss him but having the most gross breath ever. TRAGEDY.

But then I read about this shooting. The guy brought his girlfriend to a birthday party for someone else and was incensed that they didn’t sing for his girl, who happened to share the same birthday.

In trying to find this Birthday Song story again, I also came across other articles about shootings at birthday parties. Before this I might have thought the girl who’s 16th birthday invite went viral and ended up with rioting in the streets was the worst I’d heard.

There are also many social media videos posted of people’s hair catching fire while blowing out the cake candles Or of the candles causing other decorations and the entire room to catch on fire. Another top ten list will leave you grimacing.

This is just depressing to see all this bad associated with birthdays. So, to turn it around, here’s a fun birthday video from Mr. Bean who celebrates solo but in style.

Birthday cake candle

Photo credit: fmgbain / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Birthday Monster

Leave a comment

MTV published a list recently of nine birthday behaviors that make you a monster. Apparently now “birthdayzillas” is a thing.

BOOOOOOOOO

Here are the nine no-no’s:

  1. Not calling your parents (or answering their call)
  2. Caring too much about who does and doesn’t come to your party
  3. Not saying thank you
  4. Turning your birthday into a multi-day celebration
  5. Repeating that it’s your birthday over and over again
  6. Wearing accessories meant for royalty
  7. Drinking too much
  8. Expecting presents
  9. Thinking no one else can have the same birthday

I’m going to say it again: BOOOOOOOOOO

Birthday Crown

Photo credit: Francine Clouden / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Certainly I agree with the premise of a birthday not being a day on which you can forget your manners and lord it over others in an awful way. But I’ve done too many of the things on this list in my lifetime (and, yes, I’m admitting that this will even have been after I became an adult) to accept they’re all full monster behavior.

Some we can’t control. Or, in the case of #7, realize only the morning after that we should have better controlled…

But what if we get a tiara as a present (#6)? That would make it rude not to wear it (see #3). Or maybe our birthday is spreading out over several days because one group of friends wants to take us for dinner and then a friend from work wants to get together the next day and then a gift arrives late and, before you know it, it’s been a birthday week.

Let’s not go around making a list of NO’s connected to the birthday. There are so many NO’s already every other day of the year. Your birthday is a day of YES! That’s one big reason it’s so great.

Birthday Balloon Binge

1 Comment

ballonsTwitter has announced its going to help its users celebrate their birthdays. You can now share your birthday on your profile and twitter will provide the virtual balloons.

I was excited at first. Then I read Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy on celebcafe.org saying, “Twitter will do anything to twist a few more pennies from its advertisers, including using information about our birthday and who celebrates it.”

This is one more way to make a birthday a horizontal event (ahem…horizontal marketing event)! GRR.

Yet, I’m still excited about the virtual balloons.

I love balloons. I’ve said I want those instead of flowers at my funeral. But there are some negatives to consider. First, there’s the impact on the helium market (learn why there is a shortage). Then there’s the environmental litter and the danger to animals to worry about (check out the cleverly titled balloonsblow.org to learn more about the reality of letting go of balloons).

birthday

Photo credit: frankieleon / Foter / CC BY

Since I can’t bring myself to call for a ban on balloons entirely, I’m going to endorse responsible balloon usage. If you use balloons:

  • Use your own hot air. Or check out buzz feed’s cool salt and cola method!
  • Don’t let them go — pop them afterwards and put them in the trash.

If you’re entirely anti-balloon, consider these interesting observations about some advantages of working with balloons.

#yummybday? Yes Please.

9 Comments

One of the fun parts of writing about birthdays is definitely the curating of #yummybday. There are so many creative bakers out there coming up with delicious recipes to share with the world. In thanks for their mouth-watering work, this week I’m highlighting some of the ones that have made me wish I had more birthdays to bake for!

A summer birthday party would become even more special with these uber-cute Mini Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops by Endlessly Inspired.

yummy bday

Source: Endlessly Inspired

Or how about Host the Toast’s Birthday Cake Remix Brownies? These look scrumptious and festive at the same time!

yummy bday

Photo source: Host the Toast.com

For a full-on cake birthday batter experience, I’ve been wowed by The Busy Spatula’s Funfetti Cake Batter Cake.

#yummbday

Source: Busy Spatula

My husband would love these Red Velvet Brownies with Oreo Cream Cheese Mousse and Chocolate Ganache from Domestic Gothess.

#yummbday

Source: Domestic Gothess

Whereas I’m more interested in a straight-up chocolate option such as Sprinkle Bakes Chocolate Therapy Cake.

#yummybday

Source: Sprinkle Bakes

Or chocolate paired with salted caramel too — such as Sugar Hero’s Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse.

#yummbday

Source: Sugar Hero

One more awesome option I can’t resist sharing? Cookie Batter Salted Caramel Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

#yummybday

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

You know you want to get in the kitchen now, right? Or at the very least you want someone to ask you to taste test some of these recipes. Enjoy and check out #yummybday from @birthdaysbest while you’re at it.

Gods Have Birthdays Too.

2 Comments

I am reading this fascinating book about celebrity culture and Hollywood called Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame. I’ve enjoyed reading about the history of our attentiveness (obsessiveness, really) with Hollywood stars. Perhaps this is why Nicole Kidman’s thoughts on her birthday really jumped out at me.

She turned 48 on June 20. Before that she was quoted by Tribute News saying, “I don’t really celebrate a big birthday thing. I always say I get enough attention so I don’t need any more. I just like to have my family really close and snuggle.”

Perhaps the constant presence of paparazzo (a negative I don’t envy) and being able to dress up swank and be feted on red carpets (that one I do) would make a birthday seem a little less special. Quiet time alone and with family would be a treat. Burr’s book talks about star stalking and even gives examples of people literally ripping the clothes off celebrities (such as Mary Pickford or Charlie Chaplin).

Still, it doesn’t seem that every celebrity is on the same page as Kidman. She said she was planning to spend her day backstage at hubby Keith Urban’s concert and maybe go out to dinner with him afterwards. Then there’s those that take all that money they’re making and have a massive event.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Richest reports a Top 10 of the craziest bashes with Justin Beiber spending $20K on a circus-themed event for him and 20 friends or Perez Hilton having a Madonna-themed party he showed up to in drag, dressed in a cone bra and corset with a blonde wig. It all makes Nicole Kidman seem more like a normal person, right?

Check out celebrity birthday bash pics at E Online!

What’s Your Birthday Feast Favorite?

Leave a comment

Have you ever played the car game in which you and your fellow travelers imagine what you’d select for your final supper? You can have anything, cooked perfectly, and by someone else. My menu is the same I’d request on my birthday. Although there may be variations based on my mood on a given day it’s likely going to involve champagne, tomato sauce, pasta, and a chocolate mousse so rich and thick you can stand your fork up in the ramekin.

I encountered a particularly unappetizing birthday menu feast recently. Apparently, the Greeks used to celebrate a birth feast on the fifth day after the infant was born with the following:

…Custom, sooth requires

Slices of rich cheese from the Chersoneses,

Toasted and hissing; cabbage too in oil,

Fried brown and crisp, with smothered breast of lamb,

Chaffinches, turtle-doves, rows of merry guests

Pick clean the bones of cuttlefish together.

Gnaw the delicious feet of polypi,

and drink large draughts of scarcely mingled wine.

(Athenaeus, cited from a third century A.D. anthology, by Linda Rannells Lewis).

This list of cheese, cabbage, lamb, cuttlefish, and “scarcely mingled wine” along with some birds and “polypi” (which I don’t even know how to characterize) makes my lips purse in a “not-for-me” way. Finding a picture of a cuttlefish only pressed my lips together tighter:

Birthday Cuttlefish

Photo credit: PacificKlaus / Foter / CC BY-NC

Worse still, I don’t see a dessert at this Grecian shindig! What kind of feast doesn’t offer guests a dessert? One of the great things about Birthdays are Best has been tweeting all the #yummybday recipes I find.

Care to share your best birthday menu, I’d love to know it. Or, is there a particular food that gets eaten on birthdays where you live or in your family? I want to know those too. Comment below!