Birthdays come just once a year, and you definitely want your spouse to feel special on that day. But often times money is tight, schedules are busy, and you just can’t do anything ‘big.’ My husband’s birthday is right after Christmas so often times he doesn’t need anything and we’re so celebrated out that we don’t do much. However, this year I wanted to do something special that didn’t cost a lot. This is totally doable! You just have to plan ahead.
Since my hubby was turning 28, I went to the store and bought 28 balloons. I then printed off 28 labels with OUR address (addressed to him) and slapped them and a stamp on some envelopes. Then on the back I wrote “Do not open until January 22nd” (which is my husband’s birthday – in case he got the mail before his birthday!)
I also typed up a little note explaining that it was Justin’s birthday and I wanted him to receive 28 balloon messages from family and friends. The note also instructed to blow up the balloon, write a funny/quick/thoughtful/whatever birthday message, sign it, deflate, stick the balloon back in the envelope, seal it shut, and drop it in the mail. Luckily, we saw a lot of family and friends over the holiday and I was able to hand deliver them the envelopes. But I did have to mail a few of the envelopes/balloons in a larger envelope to friends out of state. Then I waited for the balloons to come back….
****Just a word to the wise….YOU will be super excited about this and thinking about it all the time, BUT the family/friends helping do this “MIGHT” not be thinking about it as much as you. 😉 SO….be sure to send off reminder emails once or twice asking if they’ve had a chance to drop it in the mail! Start the Birthday Date off by giving your spouse this simple birthday card. Write whatever sweet/funny/sappy message you want inside. I went the cheesy route by telling him I hoped his Birthday “floated” above the rest. {Get it…balloons…rootbeer floats (to come)…I told you it was cheesy!} When my hubby got home from his busy day we began the celebrations with dinner! I made his favorite meal – steak fajitas – and then I dumped a pile of 28 envelopes in front of him. He began opening them up and blowing up the balloons to read the messages. It was SO fun to see him excited about reading what everyone had written.
Some were hilarious, some were thoughtful, some were simple…but they were all great! It made the house feel so festive (and the kids loved playing with them too!) I would have loved to rent a helium tank and had them all blown up…but it wasn’t in the budget, and they still looked great with good ol’ hot air. 🙂
Instead of a bouquet of flowers, he got a balloon bouquet made of beef jerky! I did a similar bouquet for Valentine’s Day the first year we were married, but had taped the sticks to Flower cut-outs. To make this bouquet just cut out a balloon shape from cardstock and tape a stick of beef jerky to the back. Justin loves beef jerky so this was perfect for him, but you could easily use other long sticks of candy.
To finish the night off, we had the hubby’s favorite dessert – Rootbeer Floats! It was the perfect ending to birthday evening at home and it made his birthday “float” above the rest. 😉
Looking for other birthday dates? Check those here. And check out this other “float” date idea that is perfect for summer.
