trail: Birthday

Special Birthday Traditions

Everyone in the world certainly has some special birthday tradition that they hold dear and that they've practiced in their family for as long as they can remember. In the United States, birthdays are certainly a special occasion and are made so even more by the family and friends that we celebrate them with. Youngsters always have special birthday blowout parties, while older adults find themselves doing something special on their birthday as well. However, have you ever wondered about some of the birthday traditions and how they got started? Why do people get "spanked" on their birthday, for example? What's the significance of the birthday cake and how did it get started? There are actually many things that we do on our birthdays, especially in America, which we may be totally clueless as to how the tradition started. Well, if you are wondering why we get "spanked" and how the birthday cake became popular then keep reading as we will debunk these mysteries as well as tell you about some of the other interesting facts about birthdays. Why do we get "Spanked" on our Birthday? Children are the ones that typically get spanked on their birthdays as adults are much too old for this kind of ritual. However, if you have ever wondered why children get the number of spanks as they are for each year they've turned, you may be interested to know that this tradition started a long time ago with some early folklore. Children would typically get spanked on their birthdays because people were actually afraid of death. People believed that spanking would toughen your body up so that you wouldn't die. Now how's that for an interesting story? How did the Birthday Cake originate? The birthday cake did not originate in America as most people would have thought. In fact, most people don't even give a second thought to the people who actually started this tradition. As it turns out, in the early times Greeks made round cakes (which later became called "Birthday Cakes") to symbolize the moon and the candles on the cake would symbolize the moon's brightness. Even more interesting, though, is that they were actually praying to the goddess of the moon when they did all of this on their birthdays. So Americans can thank the early Greeks for contributing to the tradition of the Birthday Cake. Another interesting Birthday Tradition Religious traditions are always interesting to read about, but one of the most interesting of all traditions comes from the Pagans. Paganistic individuals actually celebrated people's birthdays but not for the sole purpose of having a good time. These people thought that parties full of celebration and laughter kept evil spirits away, which is why they celebrated birthdays! All of these little known facts are pretty interesting stories about birthday traditions and folklore. So the next time you celebrate your birthday just think about all the small traditions that you continue to do and how they actually got started.

Special Birthday Traditions

Everyone in the world certainly has some special birthday tradition that they hold dear and that they've practiced in their family for a...

Star Wars Birthday Party

Even though there hasn't been a recent film release, Star Wars remains a popular favorite among fans new and old. Kids of all ages from 2 to 52 find the world that was created by Star Wars creator George Lucas to be an infinitely fascinating world in which to allow their imagination and fantasies to take flight in that galaxy far, far away. If your special birthday girl or boy is a fan of these films this is the can't miss party theme to add to your perfect birthday party list. There are many ways you can go that will bring the theme to light in a way that allows everyone to have fun. First of all, you could have a classic Star Wars event with the original Episodes (IV, V, and VI) showing one after the other throughout the party. This is perfect for an overnight or all day sort of party as it allows breaks in between the showings and plenty of time to incorporate some serious snack making or pizza ordering without interfering with the DVDs being played in the back ground. If you want to take things a step further you can also have your guests come dressed as their favorite Star Wars characters from all six films. If you are truly adventurous you can do a back-to-back showing of all six films though this makes for a very long weekend sort of event. Perfect if your birthday falls on around a 3-day weekend such as Labor Day or Memorial Day. Otherwise it's a great idea but you may want to break it up into two years' worth of celebrations. If you are friends or your child's friends are a creative bunch you can have a session where guests speculate and create tall tales about what happens between Episodes III and IV as well as what happens to favorite characters after Episode VI. This is a lot of fun and creates a sort of role-playing atmosphere for the party that can be a huge amount of fun. If this isn't enough activity and you want a little something to wear the kids (big or small) out you might want to invite your guests to a Jedi training academy of sorts. Set up an obstacle course for everyone to follow and a series of exercises similar to what Luke went through in The Empire Strikes Back. The winner can get some Star Wars themed award for giggles and a little added entertainment. Most bakeries are likely to have a great form cake on hand or in inventory for Star Wars because the theme remains so popular. If not however. There are great cake ideas online that work beautifully for a Star Wars theme with home made birthday cakes. It's really great if you can try one of these because it will be something a little different from what everyone else who does a Star Wars themed party will have. Of course you could always go with a background of stars and the original Star Wars logo painted in yellow. Simple and yet completely appropriate. If a Star Wars themed birthday party is anywhere on your wish list for your birthday or your child or significant other's birthday by all means make your best effort to make this a fun and memorable event. May the Force be with you.

Star Wars Birthday Party

Even though there hasn't been a recent film release, Star Wars remains a popular favorite among fans new and old. Kids of all ages from ...

An Egyptian Themed Birthday Party

Ancient Egypt is a fascinating place all these years later. From mummies and pyramids to pharos and scarabs there is plenty of fuel for the fascination pyre. Keep in mind however, that the goal here is for the kids to have a great time, not to be frightened so keep the scary stuff to a minimum if possible (even if your child is brave to a fault that doesn't mean that some of the guests won't be frightened and you want the experience to be pleasant for everyone). Decorations for this are not as difficult as you may think. In fact, some of these decorations will double quite nicely for Halloween or may already be in your Halloween stash. First of all, if you have a canopy or tent lying around this will make an excellent substitution for a pyramid. You can fill your canopy or tent with relics that are authentic looking for what would be inside an Egyptian pyramid. Use skulls (leftover from Halloween decorations) on the floor, gold coins (or doubloons, which can be purchased rather inexpensively at many party supply stores), sequins that look like jewels, and fake jewelry that might have been worn during the period. Of course the piece de resistance will be the mummy wrapped in the corner (if this isn't part of your Halloween stash it should be after this). Now, what self respecting mummies home doesn't have a great curse to go along with it? Before allowing the guests into the "pyramid" you need to make sure they are aware of the curse that goes along with it. It's a fun little addition to the theme and a lot of fun to watch their eyes as you tell the tale of the mummy inside and why the tomb is cursed. If you are still looking for excellent activities you can bury treasure in your sandbox (if you have one) and let them all take turns digging up treasures and/or artifacts that they can take home with them. Make sure everyone has at least one turn and gets one thing to take home from the digging. You can either barbecue dinner or order pizza or something simple for dinner. I recommend letting the guests eat inside the pyramid for fun (if it isn't too terribly hot) and allow for a showing of The Mummy afterwards (provided the audience is old enough and interested). You could also allow them to play in the tomb for a while or make it an overnight event and allow them to camp in the tomb if it's a tent. Great goody bag gifts include flashlights, glow sticks, spiders, chocolate coins, stickers, and other candy jewelry. One great game for an Egyptian themed birthday party would be wrap the mummy. Divide the kids into groups of three and have them take turns racing to wrap the mummy (a member of the team) in toilet paper. Do this so that everyone has the opportunity to be wrapped - just be sure to use the cheap brands of toilet paper for this particular project and plan on having plenty in case they get a little overzealous. Most importantly you want to plan an event that is fun to participate in and that will have all your guests eager to come back for the big birthday bash next year. Just remember you'll be expected to top the current theme and might gain a reputation for throwing the cool parties.

An Egyptian Themed Birthday Party

Ancient Egypt is a fascinating place all these years later. From mummies and pyramids to pharos and scarabs there is plenty of fuel for the ...

A Birthday Party at the Scene of the Crime

Television shows such as CSI (and the subsequent CSI Miami and CSI New York), NCIS, and Cold Case Files have made crime scenes and crime investigations the new murder mystery parties. They are a great deal of fun when properly planned and well executed but leave a lot of room for failure if poorly planned or inflexible. If you are considering a party such as this, a great party for teens and adults alike be sure that you either have an actual mystery to solve as the evening progresses or that you simply use the theme as a backdrop. There is no real right or wrong way to do a birthday party but if you want to throw the party that everyone will be talking about you'll need to create a crime for the scene you're investigating and leave clues all around to help with the investigation. Decorating your crime scene party can be a lot of fun with crime scene tape and chalk outlines on the floor. Be sure to make them realistic in size by having someone actually lay down for you to draw the outline. You can leave fake footprints, fingerprints, and clue cards throughout the room (not too well hidden unless you want people snooping). You can even enlist plenty of help when leaving the clues and decorating because of the novelty of this sort of party. You do not have to limit the festivities to one room and you can, if you are feeling truly adventurous, have a different case going on in different rooms and have the kids draw numbers for teams and race to solve the crime first. You might also do well to set up a lab, complete with microscope and tables dedicated to sorting out the evidence and make notes for the shocking conclusion of the crimes in question. Of course you will want to make the crimes simple and solvable by leaving clues that the kids will have no trouble finding or deciphering without making it too easy. Use your favorite episode for inspiration if you must and throw in a red herring or two to keep things fun. Young and old alike, the kids will have a good time arguing over the clues and trying to determine who really committed the crimes (and of course making up their assumptions and stories as to why the crimes occurred in the first place). For food you can have an actual CSI cake or go with cookies that are shaped like footprints or thumb print cookies for an excellent play on words. Of course by the time kids are old enough to enjoy a party such as this they probably would be happy with good food rather than themed food and pizza, sloppy Joes, finger foods, chips and dips, and cookies and cake will make an excellent food addition to the party without needing to fit in with any one theme. Be sure to have plenty of pop and bottled water on hand though because crime solving is thirsty work. In real life it is best to leave the jobs of solving crimes up to the men and women who were trained to do so. In the world of birthday parties however, crime solving and crime scene investigating reign supreme as the next great thing in birthday party ideas.

A Birthday Party at the Scene of the Crime

Television shows such as CSI (and the subsequent CSI Miami and CSI New York), NCIS, and Cold Case Files have made crime scenes and crime inv...