Hold on tight it's birthday season!

May is a super busy month in our house. Zahara turns 2 on May 6 and Layla turns 4 on May 14. As well as that, we also have my birthday (but no party for me!) plus Mother's Day.

Over the last few years we have created several birthday traditions which are very meaningful but simple in nature.

On the actual day of the birthday, the birthday girl comes downstairs to a beautifully decorated kitchen table, with a birthday banner, monogrammed birthday crown, and birthday ring. A special breakfast is eaten, a little story is told about the birth of the child through the use of the birthday ring, and presents are exchanged. I also prepare a birthday book which is a photobook of the year leading up to the birthday. This is also laid out on the table (and these are reread often).

The birthday girl gets to choose their party theme but parties are kept on the small (ish) size and several friends are invited, plus cousins. Decorations are made by all the girls in the weeks leading up to the party. Ditto the take home bags (we made homemade glittery playdough for Yasmin's magic and witches party, and decorated the house with cut out, glittered paper bats). Birthday cake decorations are chosen from our trusty Women's Weekly birthday party book.

This year, Layla has asked (again!) for a fairy birthday party and after asking her ever so nicely if perhaps she would prefer something else for a change, we are continuing with this theme. The good news is we already have a lot of the fairy decorations from last year's fairy birthday party.

The invitations became a little project for us. I purchased some fairy stencils a few weeks ago and they've been a hit for Yasmin and Layla as they have traced, coloured and pasted many fairies on their artwork. So, using some Japanese origami paper, as well as scrapbooking paper bought from Ikea, I traced and cut out fairy shapes. These were glued on to pink cardstock, and then I hand wrote the invitation details. For a bit of a surprise factor, I wrapped each invitation in pink tissue and ribbon and off they've gone in the mail.

Lovely. A fairy has been booked and the menu will be simple. Fairy bread of course, birthday cake and sandwiches and fruit. We have lots of ceramic little fairies from various $2 shops to adorn our birthday table.

We are in birthday party mode people.