There was a time when I could "theme" the heck out of any occasion, or plan a party, while battling my through "to do" lists, worthy of a global invasion - think Martha Stewart meets Atilla the Hun - which included cleaning the house, preparing the backyard and shopping (sometimes, for days) to the point of exhaustion.

Then, I had children.

[slams on the breaks]

Then, more children.

[hides the glue gun]

I quickly came to the conclusion that, if things didn't change soon, I was either going to lose a limb, or suffer some sort of permanent damage, tripping over myself to get things done.

Is it me, or do other children's birthdays take one, two, or sometimes as long as three days, to celebrate?!?

Treats for the classroom, a birthday dinner, followed by coffee and cake with the grandparents, or - in our case, having three out of four of my children born, during the winter holidays - having to cancel and decalre a belated birthday, due to illness and/or bad weather, can suck the fun right out of anyone's...you know...happy.

My husband and I try and help our kids keep their (and our) expectations realistic and - especially, now that they're getting a lot older - adjust to the idea of, you know, stuff happens and that keeping it simple [read: require as little money and planning, as possible]  sometimes really does work best, for our family, like:

• "Hand-deliver" an invitation to a couple of their closest friends (we invite no more than 5) for a movie (out) and pizza (in) for "a very private party"   helps keep birthdays simple, with just a smidgen of rockstar, to make it special.

• Conduct a traditional "weigh in" on the growth chart - we mark our kids height ,each year, on a wall in the kitchen, with a sharpie - and then compare the results to past years, "My, how you've grown!" and with his/her siblings, "Look, you've just about caught up to your sisters!"
  

• Host a "birthday hunt" first thing in the morning and leave clues [example:  Good morning, welcome to your special day - look for your first clue, in a place where you like to watch tv and play]  written on post-its, all over the house, and their siblings love to watch (yes, and often times help) as the excitement builds and is guaranteed with a big pay-off, no matter what size present.

It's very simple, but very helpful, and my kids look forward to our family's birthday traditions, every year.  Works for me!
 

------------------------------------

Works-for-me-Wednesday is a blog carnival (that concept is explained here and here) and brainchild of a good ol' Southern girl and her blog, Rocks in My Dryer.

Basically, the idea is that on Wendesday, you post a little tip you've learned -- whether on parenting, or cleaning, or computers...basically, anything that has "worked for you" in making your life easier.