Catholic Activity: Birthdays

Giving birthday presents should pose an opportunity for each child to make use of his individual talents, whether it be painting, writing, music, or sculpting.

DIRECTIONS

There are the birthdays. I suppose there are as many ways of celebrating a birthday as there are families, or even as there are individuals. In our family some of our children, pointing out that the big feasts in the year have a vigil, insisted that their birthday should be celebrated the evening before so that they could have the full day following in which to be the center of attention in the house. Some prefer their birthdays to be celebrated at breakfast; others, during lunch. That should be up to the individual. For days, sometimes for weeks, the preparations are going on. If everybody, as it should be, is supposed to make something for everybody else's birthday, this — and I cannot stress it enough — will bring out hidden talents in the family. We only found out by chance that one of our children is gifted in leather work that another one makes beautiful woodcuts. One of the boys turned out to be a good silversmith, and one of the girls is working in clay. If the children are given a chance to try this or that handicraft, they are sure to discover some special gift. And the most gifted cook, of course, is entrusted with preparing the birthday cake.

Activity Source: Around the Year with the Trapp Family by Maria Augusta Trapp, Pantheon Books Inc., New York, New York, 1955