remember my Instagram post on how I Decided Once on alllllll our gifts?

(ps: it’s the best.)

by popular demand, here’s the three traditions (and gifts) we do for each of our birthdays.

you’ll notice the formula works for any age (whether it be my birthday or my toddler’s), and works for any season of life (as in, I can definitely manage to do this full list while in the throes of having a newborn, no problem). it’s beautifully, wonderfully flexible!

we give three gifts

a magazine subscription or two
- the gift that gives all year long. the best, monthly dose of joy in the mailbox! everyone gets a magazine subscription (or two) for their birthday. it’s the perfect thing to do during our Evening Quiet Time, or to throw in my car (or diaper bag) when we have a few minutes to kill. like, I recently brought one of KK’s magazines to a doctor’s appointment and it was a saving grace.
- magazines are also our favorite thing to bring in our Airstream - it ensures we always have new reading material and new activities, but I don’t have to worry about anything getting lost or damaged. win, win!
- and in this season, I love tangible, printed magazines. so that my kids see me reading (as opposed to reading on my phone).
- I give a printed voucher for “a year subscription to _____ magazine,” tucked inside a current (or past) issue - either I order the subscription early so that I have the first issue come in time, or I pick up a single issue somewhere.
  - my favorites: real simple + all recipes
  - baby/toddler favorites: high five + ranger rick cub + babybug

a set of personalized stationery
- hear me out, but I use birthdays as an excuse to indulge in stationery. personalized stationery brings me so much joy - but it also comes in handy all year long. I usually don’t do this for Brett’s birthday, but I always do it for my birthday, and usually the kids’.
- when someone’s birthday is coming up, I peek around to see if they’re low on something or what they could use - cards, gift tags, notepads, address labels, etc - and I choose one to grab as a birthday gift.
  - I especially love to make sure we have plentyyy of personalized gift tags for my simplified gift wrap stash.
  - I also love the idea of a fresh stack of kids cards each year to have on hand for thank you notes and teacher gifts.
- my sister usually makes me whatever I need (here’s her gorgeous Etsy shop), but Etsy has a lot of cute, cute finds, too.

and an item we’d love to have
- andddd then we pick one gift of something we’d love to receive. we had to do this growing up and it’s a great lesson in prioritizing, but also learning that important kid lesson of you can’t have everything.
- as my mom would say growing up, “If you could just get one gift, what would it be?” these days, my answer is usually a good facial. my favorite gift to request!
- right now I decide for KK and Joey, but I’m excited for them to take over as they get older.

we grab a fun dessert from a local place

consider this our annual reminder to try all those precious bakeries around us. and the birthday person gets to pick whatever they want. it’s the best!
or, or! we make something very special at home. all depends on our budget, our cravings, and our energy.

and we go on a new-to-us adventure

could be local, could be far. just depends on our current season of life (and budget). for KK’s first birthday we road tripped to White Sands National Park, for her second birthday (and while very sick/pregnant with Joey), we tried a new restaurant with a great playscape. it’s beautifully flexible! and so much fun to plan.
this year for my birthday, we’re trying a new-to-us brewery as part of our year of beer Christmas gift, for KK’s birthday we’re going to a nearby Exotic Zoo, for brett’s birthday he and I are going on a weekend getaway just us two to Chicago.
if we want to do somewhere nearby, I love referencing My Local Places list for ideas.

ta da! the end. I love the intentionality this brings to our birthdays, but I also love that it decreases my mental load. all in all, a system that really, really works for us.

and of course, like any of our systems and routines, this is just what works for us right now. we’ll definitely adapt this as our needs change!

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