Keeping A Birthday Journal

Today I am talking about keeping a birthday journal, as this is something that I love doing for my children.

What’s a birthday journal all about?

Every year, after I put my kids to bed on their birthdays, I sit down and write in their birthday journal. It’s a keepsake that I am creating for them, building it up year on year.

Keeping A Birthday Journal

Why keep a birthday journal?

I really enjoy keeping birthday journals. I can’t quite recall what gave me the idea, but I did think of it just before my eldest’s first birthday, so we’ve not missed any years.

It’s very easy to do, taking just ten to twenty minutes of my time once a year, but I feel that I am creating something quite special in that time. I like to think that they will enjoy looking back over these when they are older. It will remind them of things long forgotten, it might tell them things they never even knew, and what it will certainly do is make it clear to them just how much they are loved.

What to include in a birthday journal?

They each have a pretty A5 notebook and every year I write around four pages in there capturing their special day, with details such as what we did to celebrate it, who they saw, gifts they loved, their cake and so on, and then I write a brief summary of their past year including any milestones and the sorts of things that they are really enjoying at this age.

I wrote in my daughter’s this month and included her favourite films, activities and covered a few of the things she’s loved over the past few months. My journal is simply writing, but you might want to create more of a scrapbook with photos and doodles, I’m just not that creative! They are written in the form of letters each time, so I am talking directly to my children through them.

Alternatives to a birthday journal

This is a slightly different kind of journaling to many, as certainly with my bullet journal, that’s written solely for me. The birthday journal is written by me, but intended to be given to my children when they are older.

I am writing for them, to capture their moments through my eyes. Of course, it’s never too late to start one of these as I am sure they would be appreciated at whatever age they are started at, but perhaps you’re looking for something a little different.

These kinds of keepsakes need not be confined to birthday journals, you could create similar journals for different milestones such as first day of school each year, Christmas’s or other celebrations or summer holidays. Perhaps you want to create something for another relative or friend, something meaningful for them to enjoy at a certain point, moments of yours captured for them to enjoy. Whatever you decide to go for, I am sure it will be a much appreciated and loved keepsake.

What do you think? Could keeping a birthday journal be for you?

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2 thoughts on “Keeping A Birthday Journal”

  1. I love this. I have a birthday journal each for my girls and hopefully they will love it when they are older. It’s so nice just to take some tim to write them a birthday letter each year that they can look back on. I include a few photos with mine as well 🙂

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