Friday, August 29, 2014

Treatless Birthdays????

The Headlines:


Kids aren't allowed to celebrate birthdays with treats in our school (anymore).

So here's my alternative.



This is kind of a big deal.  Some parents are really annoyed about it.  As of this year, there are no actual treat/snacks allowed in our public school to celebrate children's birthdays.  I knew it would come to this some day.  It started with only store bought treats, due to allergies.  Which I totally get since my daughter has a terrible food allergy.  Then, last year we were told to bring in only healthy treats.  We brought "pretzels and pencils" at the beginning of the year but by the end it was a free for all.  This year, we're told no food items at all.  No popsicles, popcorn, no fruit, no veggies.  No FOOD.  Apparently it's part of the first lady's healthy eating initiative.

Parents are ticked.  They feel like they're taking all the fun out of a child's birthday.  They kind of are.  Especially for busy, working parents who have no time but to stop by the market and buy some cupcakes.  I get that.  But I have bigger fish to fry - this is not a battle I'm taking on.  Plus, the less sugar in my kids - the better.  And, honestly, it gives me another outlet to be creative!  So away I went.

Here's what I came up with:

Huh? Yea, let's break it down.  For the girls I did this:


If it's to hard to see but it says:  Savy's birthday - take to Twitter… or just use this body glitter.  I just wrote the saying on normal computer paper and then I taped it to pretty, scapbook paper.  Then I put it in a cellophane bag and tied it up with some body glitter inside.

Cute.  For the boys I did this:


It says:  It's Savy's birthday… who should we call?  No worries boys, have a bouncy ball!  Then did the same as above but with a baseball bouncy.


They're 8… so we're on the brink of this stuff not being cool but I think I can get away with it, at least, for this year.  Next year may be more of a challenge.

Then for my daughter, since she's the birthday girl - I did this:


It says:  Love you Savy - you're so great.  Mom and Dad are glad you're 8.  We'll see you soon and when we do… I''ll have a treat for you too!  Then I stuck a hand written heart that says "SHhhhhhhhh it's a surprise!"

For me too, actually.  I'm not sure what I'm going to give her!


Then, I wrapped it like above.  This happened - truthfully - because I ran out of body glitter so I had to improvise.  So I think I'm going to hold onto one of her Birthday prizes so she can open it after school on the day these guys are given out.

All in all, I'm happy with this…  bummer she can't have a "treat" in her class but perhaps this is even better?  One could argue that… others wouldn't agree.  Like I said, I pick my battles.  This, is just not one of them.  Not today anyways.  Bottom line, Birthdays should be celebrated.  Especially when you're a kid.  Everyone agrees with that… what they may not agree with - is how that happens is no longer up to them.   At least in some public schools.

So good luck to you!  If this is going on in your child's school - let me know what you do or better yet - just steal my idea.  And while you're at it - tell me what you think of the whole thing?  Good, bad or indifferent?



3 comments

  1. Great idea! You picked a very creative way to deal with the new rules.

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  2. What about lunch? Do kids have to eater only what the school provides? It's usually pretty unhealthy.

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    Replies
    1. oh no no no! you can pack whatever you want for your own child's lunch. it's about the birthday treats because typically they're unhealthy or sugary things.

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