Seeking Advice on Half Birthday Party

I think that it is totally ok to have either an early or even a late party. I have 2 boys and their birthdays are in april and may but we are big outdoors people and being we live in Minnesota the weather is not always great that early in the year so what we do is wait til the weather warms up and we have a big party outside right at the end of school.

Hehe - when my eldest daughter was in pre-school at a Montessori school, they celebrated half birthdays for all of the kids who had birthdays during the summer months (her birthday is also in August). She's 13 now - she *STILL* tries to celebrate her half birthday!!!

I'm a bit torn on the idea myself. Part of me thinks it's a fun idea - I mean hey - my grandmother celebrated her 70th birthday (March) with a tea party in June! And my younger daughter's friend has several times over the years celebrated her birthday after the fact. So, really, does it matter?

On the other hand, does it *have* to be a birthday party? Why not just have a party to have a party?

For my elder daughter, we just keep in touch with her friends throughout the summer and have a party in August - it's such a great time to have a party anyway - there are so many options open!

Why not just have a pizza party one Saturday afternoon and invite all of her friends over? She could still do a party, it just wouldn't be a birthday party. Then, at her birthday time, have a birthday party with her friends from school and any other friends she has. If you are not sure how school handles summer birthdays, ask her teacher. Some do 1/2 birthdays (my dd's bday is July, we did that, but won't have a party until her actual bday), some celebrate all of them at the end of the school year. I would just come up with a fun get together at your house now, with her school friends. It would be a blast! It doesn't have to be a bday to get together. :)
S.

My daughter's birthday is 8/29 so her birthday month kinda stinks and it falls so close to labor day weekend. We did still do her party in August but like the beginning of the month. It was a great time to get together with the girls from school she hadn't seen all summer too.

I did this last year while in kindergarten. Everytime she was invited to a birthday party I saved the invitation so I could invite those girls in August and have some way to get ahold of them to invite them. I also saved email lists from her soccer team and daisy scouts so I could contact parents.

I did think about having a half birthday party in February but decided it was just to weird and wouldn't seem right.

T. & Jason,

My son's birthday is 6 days before Christmas and we have encountered issues with that date as well. It seems everyone is too busy or already traveling by the time his birthday rolls around. This year we moved to MN right before his birthday, so we had his birthday 6 weeks early so he could have his old friends there. Then on his actual birthday, we did a fun family date of his choosing.

We have discussed having his party early every year, celebrating on his half birthday or even just letting him pick a date. We just clarify that everybody gets ONE birthday a year.

I think you should do whatever works for you and not worry about what everyone else thinks. If it was me, though, I would wait until late May/early June before school lets out and the weather is better.

Good luck,
S.

T.,
My son's birthday is December 24th. That time of year is just as difficult because of the holidays. If we do it early, people are busy and after the holidays people are burned out. We decided to have his party with friends in the summer on his half birthday. We do a family party on his actual birthday and he gets presents from family that day. He gets presents from friends on his half birthday. It works great for us. I think you should just do what you think she will enjoy. They are young for so short a period of time.

I do this for my daughter,...sort of. Her birthday is in December, which is the school year, but winter birthdays are limited as far as activities being indoors. We also usually have limited number of kids at her birthday party because our house is small and can't accomidate a large number of kids running around. Alot of her friends are left out unfortunately.

So, last summer, we tried something new and rented a moonwalk for a day. We invited everyone we knew. We had a hotdog/bun machine going all day, chips, etc and a cooler of beverages and people helped themselves. (This was pretty easy for us because all we had to do was fill up the cooler and toss hot dogs and buns in the machine. (We even used all the extra paper plates and napkins we had from various events...halloween, birthdays, christmas, etc. We also had a bunch of her outdoor toys available so if kids wanted a break from the moonwalk, they could do oher stuff too. It was a BLAST and we plan on doing it every year.

I'd recommend it...even if it's only a month of so after school starts, but I'd stay away from the dead of winter. I've heard some of my parent friends say that their kids will suggest postponing their own party for this reason.

I thought I'd tell you this...we call our party an "End of Summer" party, so that way, kids are not obligated to bring a gift. She has her own party with gifts around her b-day. You might consider the same thing...call it, "School's 1/2 over Party". :)

That is up to you really.
We also have a daughter that is 5 and will be 6 at the end of August.
Two things to consider are cost and weather. Are you planning on having a birthday for her in August as well? That can add up and I don't know about you but our daughter has toys coming out of her ears!!! A good thing about summer birthdays is the variety of venues. You can have it inside or outside. Water parties are fun (sprinklers, slip n slides, water balloons, etc.) Can't do that in February!!! :-) Another plus about outside parties is that the mess isn't INSIDE your house!!! If it is hot you can go to a movie theater. Many of them will do parties and will include seeing a movie there. Bowling is fun too!
There is really no reason she can't invite her school friends during the summer. It would be a good way to reconnect before school starts anyway! :-)

Hope that helps.
K. in MN

I think it's a great idea, my son is a July Birthday, why shouldn't they get to celebrate too? I think it is getting to be more popular in school to do this half birthday, I know my sons preschool teacher has talked to me about it.
It might make it easier on you too that way on your daughters birthday in August you can have just a family celebration.
Good luck, have fun

T.,

My son's birthday is the day after Christmas, and with everything that everyone has going on throughout the entire month of December and sometimes through Janurary, we had decided several years ago that we too would celebrate with his friends on his half birthday. I see nothing wrong with the idea. Although some people may not understand it - those who have kids with birthdays at times when it makes having a party difficult would never question the reasons behind it. My opinion for what it's worth is to give your daughter the party she wants.

Both my girls have Summer birthdays. We usually have their birthday party the last month of school. I never really thought about using their half birthday. What a great idea.

As someone with a late June birthday, as a child I always wanted a birthday party like the other kids. The teacher would make them crowns and we would have treats and sing "Happy Birthday". I think it would be great to have a half birthday party for your daughter or a party at the end of the year. Summer kids should have their special day, too.

Have fun and I hope it makes your daughter very happy!