mom vs chaos

My oldest boy Carl turned four last week and we didn’t have a party. Well, we didn’t have a party in the traditional sense of the word. If we lived near family, we totally would have had some people over, but we don’t so we did a Skype get together. It worked out swimmingly.

We also didn’t buy him any traditional gifts. Even before starting this minimalist journey, we never went crazy with birthdays. I feel like a person should be made to feel special on their birthday, and I don’t think commercialization and tons of gifts should be what does it.

Things were slightly different this year, because it was Carl’s first Minimalist and Paleo Birthday. Of course, it’s just a normal birthday to him, and I don’t put those labels on our life when I explain how or why we do things differently than a lot of other people, so I certainly didn’t label his special day as a Paleo Minimalist Birthday either…but, it totally was. And it was great. Here’s what we did to celebrate:

1. The Birthday Kid Gets to Pick All Meals…and gets to eat on the red “You Are Special Today” plate!

Breakfast: Paleo Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Primal Whipped Cream

Lunch: We walked to his favorite local restaurant where the kids had chicken and Daddy and I had bunless burgers.

Dinner: Gluten-Free Paleo Pizza with Primal Spinach Pizza with Feta Topping

Dessert: Paleo Pumpkin Cupcakes with Primal Cream Cheese Frosting

2. Open Gifts from Family:
While we don’t typically buy birthday gifts (I’m more likely to get something special on any-ol’-day because of great behavior or something “earned”), it makes most people feel good to buy gifts. This is especially true for long-distance relatives. Both sides of the family are usually really good about this and try to buy one nice thing or a few fun educational toys.

3. Talk to Family on Skype
My parents are in California and my hubby’s are in Massachusetts, so a Skype party is perfect! Short and sweet and everyone is happy.

4. Family Play Time
My husband works a lot. Birthdays are a day he makes sure to reserve completely for family, with little-to-no-work. We played with a few new toys as a family and just enjoyed each other.

That’s it. Nothing crazy. Nothing stressful. Nothing could have been better.