The Birthday Board

I should have guessed from the name of her blog (Secrets of a Super Mommy) that this lady's crafting is way out of my league.   But I love, love, loved her idea of a Birthday Board.    We've always informally celebrated a birthday week, especially since parties don't always fall on the actual birthday and she's so right, "There are too many fun birthday things to do for just ONE day, especially when they are gone at school for 7-8 of their waking hours!"  I agree, Super Mommy!

So I set out to make my own birthday board.  I shopped, I browsed, I perused  the aisles of Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Joann's, Home Depot, Goodwill, Dollar Tree...I knew the right pieces would jump out at me when I stumbled upon them.  Not being skilled in woodworking, I opted for the plastic posterboard, I used my homemade mod podge and some scrapbook paper instead of copius amounts of paint and ribbon.  I got cute pre-paintred wooden pieces for the name plates.   I did buy one long piece of wood for the name plates, which I hand-sawed and sanded...and that was enough to turn me off of woodworking forever.  And you can see that Elly's plate, with 2 cut edges is a bit wonky!

All in all, I think it turned out cute and since my oldest has a birthday this week, he gets to try it out first.   He has Autism and some cognitive delays, so it's easy to overlook some of the pomp and circumstance for him, as he doesnt exactly *demand* the attention like his sisters.   I still throw him parties, but I love the idea of something visual that he (and the whole family) will see every day for a week to remind us all that it's *his special time*.  

So here goes...

I bought this mini chalkboard months ago and it was perfect for this project!

Birthday kid gets to pick 5 dinners.

A special birthday-kid-centric activity each day.

I made up 7 acitivties, like Special Dessert Day or Special Book Night, plus added cards for the day we bring treats to school and the day of the actual party.   Also laminated a few blank ones in case I come up with new ideas.

A little bag to hold a small present each morning.

This little box from Dollar Tree is perfect to hold extra cards, chalk, etc.