Birthday Musings.

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My baby is turning 7 years old tomorrow. I can not believe it. I really can't. He's very excited about everything. Last year, I got tired of the birthday planning and negotiating and just gave the kids a budget. My DH and I thought a few minutes about how much we usually end up spending for gift and party arrangements and we set that amount as the birthday budget. Last year, my youngest decided he wanted to go to the local pizza / arcade place and he spent over half his budget there (just for our 5 family members.) Then he went to Toys 'R Us and spent the rest. My daughter decided that she just wanted the money, thank you very much. She asked grandma to provide the cake (a freebie!) and spent the entire budget on herself. My oldest son followed her example. This year, my almost-7-year-old has wised up too. He's planning free cake at grandma's and then we'll head out shopping. I'm not sure if this is working out the way we'd like, but at least they are learning a little bit about budgeting, shopping and the costs of entertaining. My oldest son had the idea to have a pot luck birthday party so he wouldn't have to pay for snacks for a party. I told him 'no way!" He can't expect guests to bring a gift and the food! Maybe we're learning a little etiquette too?