A 3 year old's birthday

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Children's birthdays seem to be full of money in our culture today:

• presents
• party
• entertainment
• venue
• food & drink
• party bags
• party clothes

And having run a children's party venue a number of years ago, I am passionate about not being drawn into the one-upmanship that seems to weigh heavily on many shoulders.

So how to celebrate being 3?

Firstly, my aim is for her to know how precious she is, and how much she is loved, not just by her blood family, but also by many others.

And secondly, it's about fun.

So the plan?

A simple party lunch at home with some of her little friends.

Some time to play together (whilst mummies eat).

Some fun things to give to her friends as they leave, which we'll have had fun making together.

And presents...that's the big question, which I'm unable to answer bravely yet.

We're blessed with so much, as she's certainly not needing anything.  And in the spirit of sharing and recycling things, she gets toys handed down throughout the year.  Do we need to have presents at birthdays (or Christmas...but that's a whole other subject!)  Will she be scarred for life if she doesn't get presents on her birthday?  Can we celebrate throughout the year when we get given things?  How can we mark the day of her birth in a rich and lovely way...

I definitely need to give this more thought and talk with others.  And I fully appreciate that at 3 I can get away with a lot, and probably as she's older and we can discuss things we can make joint decisions...perhaps the challenge is the middle years??  Discuss ;-)