Before we had children, I heard about the idea of a child having a golden birthday. A golden birthday was when a person turned the chronological age that matched the numerical day that he was born on.
For example, our son Kevin was born on July 12. (He’s birthday is right around the corner. . .) So, his golden birthday was the year that he turned twelve years old.
The idea of having a golden birthday is to do something a little bit extra special for that birthday.
Golden Birthday Ideas
- The evening before the golden birthday, blow up balloons and put them in the grandchild’s bedroom. Twist two different colors of crepe paper together and make streamers that go from one corner diagonally to the other corner. (Obviously, this idea only works if you live close enough to your grandchild so you can go to her home to do this. And, the trick is to do it without waking up your sleeping grandchild. That way, she will be surprised in the morning.)
- Take your grandchild out for dinner — just you, grandpa, and the grandchild — to a nice restaurant (not the Arby’s style). Dress up in nice clothes to make it even more special.
- Take your grandchild to a special event that he would enjoy (e.g. a football, basketball, or baseball game; a funny play; an art show; an ice hockey game; a melodrama, a jazz performance). Make sure that you know your grandchild would enjoy the event. Nothing worse than taking a grandson to a Broadway play that bores him to tears.
- Make an extra special cake — or order one from the bakery or get an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.
- Buy a special gift that helps your grandchild remember his/her golden birthday (e.g. a charm bracelet and a charm with the date on it; a special book that you write in the front to tell him how special he is to you).
- Give your grandchild a ‘mini’ adventure birthday — a ride down an alpine slide, a ride on a zip line, a hot air balloon ride, a sky diving experience (if your grandchild is old enough and courageous enough!).
- Have your portrait taken together and give your grandchild a nicely framed copy of the picture.
- Go on a two day mini-vacation to a destination not too far away. This could be going camping over night or staying in a motel. Maybe having your grandchild help plan the mini-vacation would ensure that you would do something that he would enjoy.
In a more serious vein, you could do something that would focus on others rather than on ‘self.’ You could serve a meal at a homeless shelter; do a community service project; sing songs at a nursing home; promote recycling in your neighborhood; help the Habitat for Humanity organization; write thank you letters to people who have been a good influence in your life; go to a local hospital and do something to cheer up the children in the pediatrics ward.
Make sure you fit your activities to the age and interests of your grandchild and to your time and your financial resources.
Happy celebrating!
