Hospitality Hints is a monthly feature on our blog with some helpful hints for being hospitable in everyday life. Our hints may involve inviting people over, but not always! Most of the time, they will be about having a posture of hospitality—welcoming others into our lives.
It seems like we celebrate a birthday every week in the spring. We’re not sure how many of you are spring babies, but we are sure you know at least one friend or family member celebrating a birthday in the next month or so. One of the ways we show hospitality is by celebrating with others. Birthdays are the perfect time to put this form of hospitality into practice!
Here are a few ways to show hospitality on someone’s birthday.
- Add your friends’ birthdays to your calendar. Facebook is a great tool for birthdays, because usually it will remind you of your friends’ special day. You can post a greeting on their Facebook wall or send them a text or call them up and have your kids sing the birthday song. But we’ve learned adding birthdays to your iPhone calendar is even more effective. You can set it to notify you up to a week ahead of the day, so you can send a card or gift in the mail.
- Host a theme party. The only thing Heather loves more than planning parties is planning theme parties. Planning is one of Heather’s strengths (which we love about her!), so she loves using that gift to make her friends feel celebrated and loved in a way that is unique to them. And when she can get all her friends to dress up like animals for a zoo-themed party for her animal-obsessed friend? Even better. Themed parties are a great excuse for bringing a little play back into our lives!
- Go on a trip! Elizabeth Hyndman’s friends will choose a weekend in the middle of their birthdays and explore a new city, spend time at the beach, or rent a cabin in the mountains.
- Have fun with the cake. Larissa likes to write non-traditional messages on birthday cakes she gets for friends. Instead of the classic, “Happy Birthday,” she asks the decorator to include an inside joke or something personal she knows will make the birthday friend laugh. Examples include, “To the future!” and “UR 2 FINE GIRLFRIEND.”
- Give the gift of words. Elizabeth Hyndman is one of our resident word-nerds. Last year for her birthday, she stole an idea from a friend and asked each of her friends to give her words for her birthday. She asked them to write something—a letter, a memory, or even just one word colored with crayons. She loved seeing how her friends answered that request. Even if your friend isn’t a lover of words, getting a thoughtful note would be a sweet gift. Tell them why you love them and why you’re happy to celebrate their life.
- Celebrate how the birthday friend wants to be celebrated. Maybe 80s music isn’t your favorite, but your best friend wants to go see a cover band in concert. Get out your scrunchie and join in! Group dance classes may be your worst nightmare, but get ready to jump around and laugh at yourself. If you really can’t participate, offer to set up another time to celebrate and make your friend feel special.
- Be thoughtful about gift-giving. We know the Golden Rule says to do to others as you would have them do to you. Taken literally, this isn’t always the best gift-giving policy. You may want to receive books and coffee, but your friend is more of a TV watcher and Diet Coke drinker. They may not even like cake! Think about what your friend would like when thinking of gift ideas. If you’re out of ideas, check her Pinterest or Instagram—she probably collects pictures there of things she loves.
What ideas do you have for celebrating others on their birthdays? What’s the most fun way you have been celebrated on your birthday? Let us know in the comments!
We can’t wait to celebrate with our friends this spring and year-round. We hope these ideas will help you brainstorm fun ways to show your friends and family that you love them and are glad they were born!
