Recently my Dad celebrated his 80th birthday. What a milestone! Although he has a few more aches and pains than moi, he is in great shape, drives, has a busy social life, is super sharp, and maintains a classic sense of humor. So when it came time to celebrating his birthday I had an ingenious new thought. (My days of modesty are over, people. And yours should be, too. Time to own your fabulousness! Follow me for more tips on loving your life.)
Instead of a one time present, regardless of how extravagant, being a significant number should not be limited to a one day affair. My thinking was that since he’s 80 the whole entire year, why not devise a scheme so that he can be celebrated all twelve months?
So similar to what I did with my son last year when I invented Terrific Tuesdays where I gave him little gifts or surprise foodie certificates or perks each Tuesday to brighten is otherwise challenging week, I came up with the concept of The Birthday Campaign. You’re on pins and needles, right? I know! This one is a total winner!! (To read more about Terrific Tuesdays here is the link to that post from July 2022: https://jenslittleblackbook.com/2022/07/19/terrific-tuesdays-july-19th/)
So this is what I did… I created twelve short two liner poems that coordinated with either the time of year, the weather or a holiday that would pop up that particular month. Then I added a gift card for him to spend on what the poem described, sealed the envelope and noted the month on the front. I can only share January with you since Dad hasn’t opened any of the other envelopes yet! Needless to say it’s already a big hit. January went great and he’s already looking forward to the envelope for next month.
This got me thinking about expanding The Birthday Campaign ideation. So if your child is turning 21 which we all know is the legal domestic drinking age, you could gift a new adult beverage for them to sample (responsibly of course!) each month. (You know they’ve been downing cheap beer, low grade vodka and whatever Aunt Esther could slide their way during a family Bar Mitzvah so this is your chance to introduce them to real cocktails.) How about… February Frosé! March Manhattan Madness. Aperol Sprirz April? Sangria September. Mint Julep July! You get the idea.
Fifty is one of those landmark birthdays where the greeting card companies go crazy with the “Over The Hill” theme. If you have an athletic friend or spouse turning the big FIVE OH, what if you literally scoped out twelve “hills to climb” in a monthly hiking/biking/running challenge where they had to snap a picture from the top of the specified location? Then after the successful summitting of all those terrific feats of endurance, you could even joke that, “It’s all downhill from here!”
Finding the joy each day can sometimes be difficult. Anything you can do to bring happiness to the ones you love is a great way to keep both them and you smiling. And if you can create a way to extend that fun the whole year through, look at you making the world a better place! (I’ve been watching you by the way and you’re doing great! Keep it up.)
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