The Best Birthday idea
This article was very, very popular on epinions. Jo wanted to share it with you. As life events happened over the years she thought back on other important events in our lives. This was certainly one of them.
When my youngest daughter turned 13 she became a Bat Mitzvah. In the Jewish religion that is when a child becomes an adult. The custom in the United States is a party after the service. The extent of the party varies depending on how much money you want to spend; the type of child you have – some don’t like big parties, others do; and your personal beliefs.
I wanted a fairly large party for my second and last child. We had 100 guests. For the party this is 10 tables. It is very, very common for children who have Bar or Bat (boy/girl) Mitzvah parties to have a theme. My older daughter chose not to have a theme and her party was much simpler.
This was her theme and how I did it. I have not patented it. You are free to use it!
My younger daughter had so many interests at the time that it was difficult to pick just one. Many children choose themes such as basketball or Cinderella. (I have seen children arrive in a Chariot!) What was I to do? I just picked 10. Each table had a different theme.
I started with the sign-in board which had all her interests painted around the boarder and the kids signed inside it. It was fantastic especially since it depicted the true “her.”
The place cards that told people where to sit had the theme on it and each table was designated by that theme. I will tell you the themes and how they were depicted.
*One table was the doctor table because even at 13 she wanted to be a doctor. The way people knew to sit at the doctor table was because I had found a picture of her with a stethoscope around her neck and that was part of the centerpiece. When guests arrived and got their table number the theme was on it.
I ordered everything from Oriental Trading Company (fantastic for parties). On the table I had Band-Aid boxes with bubble gum shaped Band-Aids. I also ordered key chains for each person depicting her theme. This table got a keychain with a skeleton on it.
One table was dance. She took ballet and jazz for many years and especially loved ballet class. I had a picture of her in a costume as the centerpiece. I went to a chocolate store and had them make me chocolate ballet slippers. (You can do this yourself if you are so inclined.) The keychains were ballet slippers!
My daughter played soccer. I found another candy store (Finding good party places is key to the success of something like this.) that had round chocolates that looked like soccer balls. The centerpiece was my daughter in her uniform and the key chains were soccer balls.
I’ll tell you a few more…I think you get the idea, but I’m enjoying the trip down memory lane.
Travel: We loved to camp, as did she. I had a terrific picture – I remember it clearly of her sitting in the bed in our pop-up. That was the centerpiece. The keychains were globes.
Computers: She had been computer literate for a long time so that theme made sense. I found keychains through Oriental Trading Company that had computers on them. I also found candy in the shape of computers. I had a picture of her sitting at a computer. If you aren’t a big picture taker, you can use drawings as centerpieces or use flowers with the name of the theme attached.
Florida: She spent every December vacation visiting my parents in Florida. The keychains were sunglasses and I found orange flavored candies that looked like oranges. A picture of her in the pool was on the table.
I won’t go into detail on the rest of her themes in case this is getting boring for you, I’ll just tell you to give you some ideas: babysitting, dogs, reading (books), and money.
I hope this has given you some ideas. Obviously a lot more work went into planning this event. Not a day went by for one year that I didn’t do something related to it. If you are planning something like this and would like help, advise, input or feedback, leave a comment.
This one was used for the travel table. Have a great party!
If this is reprinted, please link back to my website. Thanks!
When my youngest daughter turned 13 she became a Bat Mitzvah. In the Jewish religion that is when a child becomes an adult. The custom in the United States is a party after the service. The extent of the party varies depending on how much money you want to spend; the type of child you have – some don’t like big parties, others do; and your personal beliefs.
I wanted a fairly large party for my second and last child. We had 100 guests. For the party this is 10 tables. It is very, very common for children who have Bar or Bat (boy/girl) Mitzvah parties to have a theme. My older daughter chose not to have a theme and her party was much simpler.
This was her theme and how I did it. I have not patented it. You are free to use it!
My younger daughter had so many interests at the time that it was difficult to pick just one. Many children choose themes such as basketball or Cinderella. (I have seen children arrive in a Chariot!) What was I to do? I just picked 10. Each table had a different theme.
I started with the sign-in board which had all her interests painted around the boarder and the kids signed inside it. It was fantastic especially since it depicted the true “her.”
The place cards that told people where to sit had the theme on it and each table was designated by that theme. I will tell you the themes and how they were depicted.
*One table was the doctor table because even at 13 she wanted to be a doctor. The way people knew to sit at the doctor table was because I had found a picture of her with a stethoscope around her neck and that was part of the centerpiece. When guests arrived and got their table number the theme was on it.
I ordered everything from Oriental Trading Company (fantastic for parties). On the table I had Band-Aid boxes with bubble gum shaped Band-Aids. I also ordered key chains for each person depicting her theme. This table got a keychain with a skeleton on it.
One table was dance. She took ballet and jazz for many years and especially loved ballet class. I had a picture of her in a costume as the centerpiece. I went to a chocolate store and had them make me chocolate ballet slippers. (You can do this yourself if you are so inclined.) The keychains were ballet slippers!
My daughter played soccer. I found another candy store (Finding good party places is key to the success of something like this.) that had round chocolates that looked like soccer balls. The centerpiece was my daughter in her uniform and the key chains were soccer balls.
I’ll tell you a few more…I think you get the idea, but I’m enjoying the trip down memory lane.
Travel: We loved to camp, as did she. I had a terrific picture – I remember it clearly of her sitting in the bed in our pop-up. That was the centerpiece. The keychains were globes.
Computers: She had been computer literate for a long time so that theme made sense. I found keychains through Oriental Trading Company that had computers on them. I also found candy in the shape of computers. I had a picture of her sitting at a computer. If you aren’t a big picture taker, you can use drawings as centerpieces or use flowers with the name of the theme attached.
Florida: She spent every December vacation visiting my parents in Florida. The keychains were sunglasses and I found orange flavored candies that looked like oranges. A picture of her in the pool was on the table.
I won’t go into detail on the rest of her themes in case this is getting boring for you, I’ll just tell you to give you some ideas: babysitting, dogs, reading (books), and money.
I hope this has given you some ideas. Obviously a lot more work went into planning this event. Not a day went by for one year that I didn’t do something related to it. If you are planning something like this and would like help, advise, input or feedback, leave a comment.
If this is reprinted, please link back to my website. Thanks!
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