Presence not Presents

I remember when I was younger my mom would let me go to a friends house for a sleepover for weeks at a time (ok, maybe not weeks, but the idea that trust was all around ok-I survived)These days it’s super hard to say yes to sleepovers because you just never know the background of the family, unless you truly know them personally. I had this conversation with a couple of friends lately when asked what they wanted for their birthday and I responded by saying “Nothing. Just your presence will suffice” These days, it seems kids are happiest most when they have the people who love them in their lives at their special events. No gifts needed, just special quality time doing something fun and entertaining! We celebrated all of the kids birthday parties by having a paint party at sweet frog. Saved money by not making/buying a cake and had them get ice cream. The painting kept them distracted and quiet so there really wasn’t much chaos going on.We told everyone no presents because, well, really, the kids were already having so much fun painting that presents would only be a distraction. (But were very grateful for the presents they did receive)Im in favor of having all of the kids party at once and just celebrating small birthdays with immediate family with a cake. We will be doing this again next year, for sure!Here are some fun photos from the fun festivities.xo