Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE celebrating! I love planning birthday parties and truly enjoy watching my kids feel loved on their special day. But we don’t throw big parties and celebrate the same way every year. Some years are big, special years while other birthdays are small, family events. This doesn’t mean that we can’t make their day memorable, or even better, help them make the day memorable for others!
Here are a few ways kids can give back on their birthday:
1. Complete their age in random acts of kindness.
Are they turning 12? Come up with 12 random acts of kindness to complete on their birthday! Need some ideas?
- Take balloons or coloring books and crayons to children at a local hospital. (Contact the hospital first for approval and a good time to deliver.)
- Make cards for patients at the hospital. Can’t deliver them yourself? Send some to Cardz for Kidz and they will deliver them for you!
- Deliver treats to first responders or nurses. (As much as you may want to make up a homemade batch of your favorite treats, prepackaged, store bought goods are usually more widely excepted.)
- Use some allowance money to pay for someone’s order behind you in the drive-thru.
- Write encouraging notes on the sidewalk in chalk. Gather some friends and decorate your neighborhood sidewalks or sidewalks around a local park or school.
2. Ask for donations instead of gifts.
Ask party guests, family, or friends to give money or donations instead of birthday gifts. Many organizations have “wish lists” of their most needed items. Send this list out and have people either purchase the gifts or donate money so you can purchase some items later.
Don’t have a specific organization in mind? Have guests bring toys that can be donated to a local organization such as Toys for Tots.
3. Invite a group of friends to volunteer in lieu of a traditional party.
Grab some friends and spend an hour or two volunteering instead of having a regular birthday party. Reach out to an organization in your town and see how your group can help.
You can still hand out party favors after the event or even have fun t-shirts made for each guest to wear while volunteering and take home as a favor.
This may be a little more difficult for younger kids. If you can’t find an organization that has an opportunity suitable your younger guests, here are some ideas.
- Have guest make, color, and decorate cards to take to a nursing home or hospital.
- Make fleece tie blankets to donate. Check out this post for 16 places to donate your tie blankets.
- Put together hygiene, personal care, or food bags for the homeless. Have each guest bring items on a list (15 soap bars, 15 pairs of socks, 15 granola bars, etc.) and assemble the bags during the party.
- Contact a local organization for some ideas of things they need.
4. Donate their birthday money to an organization of their choice.
Let the child pick an organization with a cause that’s important to them. Have guests, family, and friends give money instead of gifts and let the child help make the donation online. Letting them be part of the process will be exciting and help them understand who the money will help.
5. Donate the money you would have spent on a party to a charity.
Instead of spending money on a big party, scale back and have a special family dinner or an outing with just one friend. Donate the additional money you would’ve spent on a party to a charity of the child’s choice.
6. Create a birthday in a box for a child in foster care.
Just because your child isn’t having a birthday party this year doesn’t mean they can’t help create an awesome birthday for a child in need! Many children in foster care don’t get to celebrate their birthday, and some have even never celebrated a birthday at all.
Organizations such as Worthdays, Team Celebrate, The Birthday Box and many others provide birthday boxes for children in foster care and homeless shelters. The Confetti Foundation delivers birthday boxes to children who are in the hospital celebrating their birthdays. Some allow you to create your own box full of party supplies, games, and items the child wants or needs. Others have lists of items they need donated so they can assemble the boxes. Find a local organization and start creating your birthday box!
7. Set up a cupcake stand to raise money.
If the weather is nice, set up a cupcake stand and sell birthday cupcakes and lemonade! Find an organization or a cause that’s important to the birthday child and let them raise money to make a donation. Don’t forget the sign that lets your customers know that all of the money will be donated to a charity you have chosen.
However you choose to celebrate, make sure the birthday kid is involved and part of the plan. The more involved they are in choosing the cause, collecting donations, and seeing the results of their contribution, the more they will understand just how much of an impact they can have when they give back on their birthday – no matter their age.
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