Birthday Club tips for parents
The Mayor’s Birthday Club Party Tips for ParentsDear Parents,
These “tips” are almost the same as the “Planning Tips for Young People”, with a few additions.
Many parents and children across our great country are already asking friends to donate to charities in lieu of purchasing birthday presents. Through this practice, instead of accumulating more “stuff”, our children learn a wonderful lesson about sharing with children and families less fortunate. The Mayor’s Birthday Club not only helps us teach our children about charity and citizenship, it focuses local generosity and provides a means of spreading this practice of “giving to others”. Please share information about Mayor’s Birthday Club with your friends as a way to spread the word!
Plan the Birthday Party and the Donation Process Together with your Child. Compliment your child for his/her generisoty.
Make it a Fun Party!
Organize your child’s party as you would any other birthday party: Invitations, cake and ice cream, games, decorations, etc. Make sure your child knows that it will be a “typical ” fun birthday party. If you go to a special restaurant, to a movie, or have a sleep-over as your birthday event — the same idea applies - keep the event fun. The idea is not to give up having a fun party, the idea is to make generosity part of the celebration!
About the presents:
Ask your child to think about how much stuff she/he already has, and about much he/she really uses or plays with the stuff. The idea of the Mayor’s Birthday Club is to “trade” getting the usual inexpensive birthday presents (a bunch of stuff that your child probably doesn’t really need anyway) for a donation by friends and family members to those children and families who are in great need.
Reassure your child that she/he will receive a nice present at her/his birthday party. Ask your child if she/he has a special thing that she/he has really been hoping for, and pick out that gift together. Purchase and wrap this special “family present” as you would any special gift for this occasion, and include a message about how proud you are of your child.
Help your child prepare the following:
1. Encourage your child to handwrite a note about making a donation to Crisis Nursery instead of buying a birthday present, a note to send along with the birthday invitations. A personalized letter is a great way for your child to reflect on the meaning of giving, and to share her/his own thoughts and feelings about sharing with others in need.
2. Since the parents of your child’s friends will need to be involved in the donation process, a stamped, addressed envelope to the Crisis Nursery already made out by your child will really makes it much more convenient to send their donations.
Crisis Nursery - Mayor’s Birthday Club
1309 West Hill St, Urbana, IL 61801
Here are some Address Labels to print on label paper.
3. Your child may want to include an information sheet about the Crisis Nursery along with the handwritten note and the invitation to the birthday party. You may use the information sheet included on this Web site, or go to the Crisis Nursery web site and help your child create her/his own information sheet: http://www.crisisnursery.net/. Information about Crisis Nursery may help teach how the donation really does make a difference in the lives of others.
Your child may also want to list some items that party guests could purchase as gifts for the Crisis Nursery, such as blankets, PJs, and sippee cups. To see what they need at the Crisis Nursery go see their needs list.
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