Skip to main content

Birthday Manners for Children

I tried googling for something like this for my kids to read and couldn’t find it, so I wrote one. Feel free to take it and tweak it for your personal use with your kids. :)

——————————

Birthday Manners

When someone takes the time out of their day to come to your party, that is a gift. Time is valuable and they’re spending it on you. When people arrive, greet them cheerfully and say hi. If they say Happy Birthday, say “thank you!” When they leave, say, “thank you for coming!”

It is important to be and act thankful for every single gift, even if you do not like it. 

The giver spent time and money on you and it is rude to act disappointed or bored with a gift, no matter what it is. 

Thank each person politely, with eye contact & with a smile as you open their gift. 

When a gift is wrapped in a gift bag, take out all the tissue paper first, then the gift. This way the bag is clearly empty or not, and you don’t miss anything or look like you expected more by looking in the tissue paper after taking out the first item. 

Do not compare gifts. Different families have different budgets. Be grateful and say thank you with a smile whether you get a big gift or a small one!

After the party, we will sit down & write short thank you notes to each person who gave you a gift. 

Some children may want to look at or touch your gifts and that is ok.

During the party, make sure all your guests and siblings get to be part of games if you can. If you see a child not participating, invite them to join whatever you are doing. 

If your friends don't know each other, you can introduce them. It’s simple!

Say: “Hey Luke, meet my friend Brendan! Luke, this is my classmate Brendan.” 

Things to ask friends to start conversations.
  • Their favorite movie
  • The last book they read & if they liked it
  • What they’re doing in math
  • What is their favorite park?

Be a good host by not being selfish. For example, focus on thinking “I will take turns,” or “I will be ok if I do not win the game.” Be a good winner & a good loser! Nobody enjoys a fussy, sore loser. 

Party Schedule
Lunch at park
Playtime
Cake & Gifts
Snacks & Playtime 
Leave around 3pm

If it rains or is cold we may leave earlier. 


Whenever a guest is leaving, thank them for coming!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Favorite YA Books from our Family

I'll never stop loving great older books, but I have to say that I am amazed by the creative, well written, and inventive newer books I'm enjoying now with my kids. Many of these recommendations come from Read Aloud Revival , one of my favorite podcasts/blogs - if you don't already follow Sarah Mackenzie and listen to her podcast , you're missing out! She also has a brand new book out that I cannot wait to get my hands on - The Read Aloud Family  - and I definitely recommend her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace  as well. I read it last summer and it really was a recharging and refocusing read for me. 1. Edge of Extinction (2 book series) This is a great first dystopia for kids. I read these and loved them and was so excited to hand them to my 9 year old - and I was not disappointed! He devoured them and we had great discussions about the story and characters. Dinosaurs roam the earth again, and you have to move quickly...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beautiful Birthday Butterfly Bash!

Butterflies are beautiful and ethereal - like real world fairies! What better theme for an imaginative, creative kid's birthday party? Here are some awesome finds I ran across while planning my daughter's butterfly party... DIY & low cost ideas... Coloring sheets are a great activity, decoration, and favor! String some colored versions on ribbon for a quick inexpensive decoration.  This page  has a large selection of both more cartoon style and sophisticated zentangle style butterflies! The Butterfly Site  has some pages of specific types of butterfly as well as a life cycle page. Mom Junction has a page with a lot of different species of butterfly as well as a color by number . DIY butterfly mobile! Amazon finds...  Melissa & Doug Decorate Your Own Wooden Butterfly Magnets Craft kit! Melissa & Doug Simply Crafty Whimsical Wands Kit  Butterfly necklace kit - makes 6! This Dover Butterfly sticker book would make a great favor ...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Ways to Happy Up a Houseful of Littles

This is an old never published post I discovered in my drafts - I'm guessing from around 6 or 8 years ago, when all my kiddos were really small. I've polished and edited it and added Amazon Affiliate links. Enjoy! :) Sometimes you just are all having a rough day.  Maybe people aren't feeling well, maybe mama has a headache, maybe it's just a grey drizzly day and little bodies can't go work off energy outside. Generally I can't think of anything when we're all in the middle of the crankies, so here is a list for me (and you, if it's helpful!) of things to try to shake the sads and bring back the smiles for mama and her small fry. 1. Bubble bath!  Break out the rubber duckies and enoy the soothing warm water.  Take some plastic containers for pouring and floating. (Bonus: if your kids really enjoy the water, you can recharge it several times to keep it warm and supervise with a cup of tea and a book!) 2. Snacktime!  A little something for the tum...
Post a Comment
Read more