How to Have a Fun Birthday at Home

Birthdays; we’ve all got one and we celebrate them in different ways. Today I’m going to share with you some different ways to have a fun birthday at home. Whatever the reason, keeping your birthday low-key can be a lot of fun. Let me guide you through these eight ways to celebrate at home.

When You Have Time

This one might be a little different than you’d expect, but I think it’s important to celebrate your birthday when you actually have the ability to enjoy it.

Picture this: You’re in the middle of a big project at work or school. Stressed out about all that needs to get done and exhausted from working so hard. But it’s your birthday, so you feel obligated to do something. The entire time you’re ‘celebrating’, your mind is stuck in big project mode instead of enjoying yourself.

Instead, put off any major celebrating until you [can make] have a day off. Remember, it’s a day about celebrating that you survived another year. It won’t matter if that’s a few days before or after your actual birthday. Plus, if you wait until you have a day off, you’ll have a lot more time for festivities instead of the few hours between when work/school ends and bedtime.

The More the Merrier

I know that technically it’s a birth-’day’, but why not do bits of celebrating for a whole week? We do birthday-week in our household. Little things spread out over a week means more fun for longer. It’s also a good way to get around needing to be decisive. Instead of cramming everything you want to do/eat into one day, now you have a whole week to spread out the fun (no need to binge).

One year for my birthday, we spent the weekend with some friends. They took us out to a different ice cream joint every night because ice cream is one of my favorite things. It was so much fun getting to try so many new ice cream places, and I couldn’t have done that if we only celebrated on my actual birthday.

Pamper Day

One of my favorite ways to have a fun birthday is to have a pamper day. What does that mean? All of those little extra special self-care things we’re too busy to do regularly. For me, that looks like an at-home spa day (with Hubby). We’ll make a deep conditioning hair mask, face mask/scrub, and foot scrub. Put on some calming music or a favorite movie and maybe light a candle.

We always apply the hair mask first so it has lots of time to soak in. Rub the mask onto the scalp starting at the back and working towards the front. Coat the lengths after the scalp is saturated and wrap hair up into a showercap or plastic bag. Then cover your head with a thick winter hat or towel to keep things warm. This helps the hair soak up the mask better/faster.

Depending on the face mask/scrub we have determines when we use it: before, during, or after the shower. If it’s a moisturizing mask, we’d put that on before the shower so it had time to soak in. A combo moisturizing/exfoliating scrub is used during the shower to wash away any mess easily. A tightening/exfoliating mask is used after since it needs to be applied to clean skin and given time to dry.

After showering, we’ll take turns giving each other pedicures. Soaking our feet in a large bowl of warm water, massaging the feet/calves with the foot scrub, rinse, dry, massage with lotion until fully absorbed, and cover with socks to allow for maximum moisturization.

These pamper day things make me feel special and nice. I’m happy and relaxed when we’re all done. Whatever makes you feel the same is the right thing to do for your pamper day.

Eat Something Special

Food is a source of great joy for me. I love to cook and try new recipes; see the joy on people’s faces as they savor what I made. It doesn’t need to be elaborate or fancy, just made with care. If you aren’t someone who enjoys cooking, order-in from one of your favorite spots, or see if a loved one can make something for you.

Growing up, my parents always made us whatever we wanted for our birthday at home supper. I soon had a meal that became my go-to, even to the point that I gave that supper as an answer whenever someone asked “What’s your favorite food?”. Other kids would say things like: pizza, chocolate, or grilled cheese sandwiches. I would say ‘roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy with a crescent roll’ all in one breath.

Nowadays I’ll have things like an Indian curry, seafood alfredo, or sushi. For my birthday last year, Hubby and I made this yellow butter cake with this German buttercream and strawberry puree. I’d never had German buttercream and wanted to try it, so we made a cake to go with it. It was absolutely delicious and now I have some great recipes to add to my collection!

Create Something

Creating something is a great way to show you care. Whether you’re making something for yourself on your birthday or for someone else on their birthday. It means you spent time thinking about what would bring the most joy and you’ve put in effort. That means a lot, it shows you care.

I made a blanket fort as a surprise for Hubby on his birthday after work one year. It was a great fort with lights, a television, lots of pillows, and a tray for snacks. He was psyched and we spent the whole night in that fort watching movies and playing games.

I’ve also spent many a birthday at home working on a project that I was excited to complete. A scarf to knit while watching my favorite movies. Painting while jamming out to some fun tunes. Cooking/baking up a storm because I wanted to make something I’d never tried. Creating something can be a great way to spend time with yourself. And if you need more inspiration on how to create something, check out my post on teaching yourself a new craft.

Reach Out to People You Miss

Holidays (even personal ones like birthdays) can make us miss loved ones more than usual. You wish these people could be with you on a day that’s special. So, take the initiative and call them. You could video chat or call them on the phone. Text or DM them. You could even write them a letter. How fun would it be to open your mailbox and find more than junk mail and bills?

I remember when I was a kid, I wrote my grandparents a letter on my birthday because they lived far away. They had sent me a stationary set after I told them we learned how to write and mail letters at school. It was also so much fun getting mail of my own a little later when they wrote back. They kept my letter for years.

Movie/Game Marathon

Grab your favorite movies or games and have a whole day of just that. This is one that Hubby and I will do more often than just for birthdays. If we have nothing else planned for a day-off, we’ll pick a genre or series and have a marathon. Some favorites for movies would be Disney/Pixar, Harry Potter, Marvel, or Lord of the Rings. The movie marathon is especially fun if you do a handy craft. I can sit for hours watching movies while knit/crochet or draw/paint.

Whether it’s board games, video games, or even puzzles, grab what you like and make a day out of it. We gravitate towards video games. Some go-to’s would be Terraria, Stardew Valley, or any of the Lego Games. Co-op games are our favorites, and we’ll often play online with friends so it feels like a party. Everyone coming together to beat a single foe is very satisfying. It’s a fun communal activity and a great way to bond, even from a distance.

Get Messy

Have a dance party with yourself and your family. Pick up that guitar you have in the back of your closet and practice. Plant the herb seeds you have leftover from last year. If it’s nice out, go outside and have a water fight in the yard. Is it raining? Go play in the rain. If it’s snowy outside, build a snow fort. Have you seen how happy a dog gets when it rolls around in a big mud puddle? Try it yourself and see what all the fuss is about. This is time to let your inner child shine! Do something that will make you smile or giggle uncontrollably.

We don’t give ourselves permission to get messy on purpose as adults. Maybe it’s because we have to clean it up ourselves, maybe it’s because it seems frivolous, but maybe we need a little more frivolity in our lives. Getting messy can be freeing. So make a physical mess by painting a picture with your feet, or an auditory mess by playing the saxophone for the first time, or a culinary mess by baking without a recipe. Give it a shot, have fun with it, and make a big old mess.

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of ways to have a fun birthday at home, but the biggest tip I have is to be creative with it. Make that blanket fort, call your mom, watch some movies, and bake a treat. Spread out what you want to do/eat for a whole week or just celebrate when you have the time to enjoy yourself. It’s your birthday, and it can be as fun as you make it while being at home.

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