Birthdays

Can I be honest? Planning birthdays can be overwhelming! As the oldest sister, there is nothing I love more than planning something special for my family. I want everyone to feel loved on their special day. As I've gotten older, I've kind of become the glue in the family who keeps the events going. I always want to do something big, but sometimes I end up burning myself out or getting disappointed when things don't go exactly how I planned.

This weekend, two very important people in my life celebrated their birthdays, and I decided to keep things simple, stay within a budget, and let my little village help. For my bonus sister's birthday, friends brought pizza, we made tinga, and we catered Cane's. I picked a color theme, grabbed some balloons and streamers from Walmart, and worked with the decorations we already had. Our iridescent tinsel backdrop even split in half, so my brother and I put it on either side of the "Happy Birthday" sign. Honestly, it looked intentional. Haha!

We played Jackbox, had cake from Sam's Club, and spent the night laughing. It wasn't extravagant, but everyone had a great time. The next day, my youngest brother turned 16. I spent around $20 on decorations, my mom helped with food and his cake, and we put together a small birthday setup with blue and green decorations. He wasn't expecting it at all, which made it even more special.

I couldn't have done either celebration without my family/friends. You don't have to do everything yourself, and you definitely don't have to spend a ton of money to make someone feel celebrated. Finger foods, a box cake, some balloons, and a few decorations can go a long way. Sometimes even the smallest celebration can mean the most. So don't let birthdays overwhelm you. Pick a color, keep it simple, ask for help when you can, and remember that a small celebration is better than no celebration. You don't need a Pinterest-perfect party to make someone feel loved.