Birthdays Need Not Be Costly

Are birthdays breaking your budget?

Do you feel the pressure to throw big birthday parties for your kids? Do they or their friends expect expensive gifts? Birthdays can be joyfully celebrated without causing a financial burden. Make your own plans and traditions without feeling the pressure of social media, friends, or neighbors. Determine your budget and stick to it. Include a time to speak blessings over each child’s life. Thank God for them. Express how special they are in their own love language. This will connect you to them on a much deeper level and will be something they remember for years to come. You can discover your children’s dominant love language through simple observation, or you may need Gary Chapman’s book to go through questions with older children. Years ago, he surveyed a group of adults and found the five most common love languages include Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Physical Touch, and Receiving Gifts. You can take the free assessment online at 5lovelanguages.com.

Upon confirmation, ask the Lord for creativity to come up with a gift that speaks their language. For the “Quality Time” child, it could be a day alone with both parents doing a favorite activity together. For the “Words of Affirmation” child, you could record friends’ and family’s love and praise in a short video, or journal, and so forth. One of Chuck’s sons and his wife started a tradition where they fill a poster board with affirmations for their children to wake up to on their birthdays. It doesn’t cost much, yet can imprint their heart for life.

Are you burdened with money problems? Our budget coaching program can help put you on the road to financial freedom. Simply go to crown.org and click on the Get Help Now tab, and if you’d like to become a budget coach, contact us today at crown.org.