(other leaders share)
BIRTHDAY SPOTLIGHT: - - In my ward, we did something different as to not cause expense. When it was each girl's birthday, they came to the front of the room and stood. I had the Laurel conducting opening exercises write on the board, and another write on pretty stationary with the girl's name written in calligraphy on top, and one by one we went around the room and said her best qualities. Everyone had to participate with no duplication. At the end the girl received the paper to take home. In later years, one young woman said how that paper pulled her through her darkest hours. Things said were like, beautiful smile, friend to everyone, fun laugh, always there when she is needed, responsible, dependable, spiritual, etc.
BIRTHDAY TRADITIONS: - - In our ward, we have a birthday party at the beginning of each month to celebrate everyone's birthday that month. By doing this we never miss anyone's birthday or give other people special treatment.
RECIPE BOOKS: - For our YW birthdays this year we, as leaders, made them recipe books. Each leader, (we have 9) submitted 2 recipes each, for 5 categories; Main dish, soup & salads, breads & rolls, desserts, & misc. I copied them on the computer or they were hand written on recipe cards. We then put the recipes on a page, 3 to a sheet, and copied enough for each girl. We made a front cover and division pages for the different categories and then put all the pages together and bound them with a spiral binder. We personalized them by coloring the front cover and writing a special birthday message from all of us inside.
UNBIRTHDAY PARTY: - We did an "UNBIRTHDAY PARTY" where we brought an already baked cake, cut up big pieces for the girls (I have a class of 9) and brought frosting. We let them decorate the cake any way they would like and then we sang Happy Birthday to "us" and had a white elephant gift exchange. After that, to get more serious, as a "nice" gift, we passed around a piece of paper and wrote something nice about each person. It was really revealing and made us each thing about each other in a different light.
BIRTHDAY CARD: - (This was written up on stationary that folds up into its own envelope with a balloon inside it. On the balloon is written "Happy Birthday, ______(name)! Have a BLAST!!!!!") (on the card is written) "Instructions: Place balloon in mouth (we used a balloon blower upper), give about 4 to 5 puffs. Then read message. To bring about the "blast", may we suggest a pin!!!"
MATTED "LOVE": - Last year we made a 5x7 matted picture that said: "I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me." (We just did those on the computer) and then we had a quilted heart which we glued on to it too
PERSONAL POTS: - We got a little terra cotta pot (5" tall), painted white, then simply decorated with dots or triangles or hearts, and the girl's name. Different colored markers based on the girl's favorite colors. Then we put floral foam inside, covered it with moss, and stuck 7 short skewer sticks around in the foam. I had gotten a bunch of 1 1/2" wooden hearts, which I painted value colors. I glue gunned 7 hearts onto each girl's sticks, then tied a little ribbon bow under the heart (because it kind of looked bare standing up on that skinny skewer stick!). We used bows in the same colors as the value hearts, but it could have been all white.
CROSS-STITCH: - We make a hoop cross stitch that says "Families Are Forever" or bookmarks with the YW's name on it for their scriptures.
ROSES & COOKIES: - In our ward, we present the YW having the birthday with a rose (red,laurel...pink,mia maid....white,beehive) and a plate of cookies (homemade of course) and a mylar ballon tied to it. Then we sing Happy Birthday to them on the Sunday before their birthday in opening exercise
UNIFORM BIRTHDAY GIFTS: - At the first of the year, I put together a little something like note pad/pencil or stationary/envelopes and then we present this to each YW on or close to her birthday in opening exercise on Sunday. Each girl receives the same thing, so nobody feels like they were slighted. Then we sing Happy Birthday to her. Then each class adult leader(s) also does something, on the girl's birthday and usually also has treats in class.
ALL AT ONCE: - We had a big birthday party in July for all the girls' birthdays. And it was a pool party (to make sure everyone showed up. We did a big birthday cake and handed out presents, and they had great fun just playing together.
MORMON-AD POSTER: - We acknowledge the girls the Sunday before their birthday and they get to choose a Mormon Ad poster. We keep a stack of them on hand for this purpose. I am the Beehive advisor, and I also send them a personal card in the mail with a special note to either welcome them to Beehives or tell them how much they mean to the class!
SPOTLIGHT/TREASURE: - The way my home ward recognizes the birthdays of the young women is with a
spotlight and a small figurine. There is a series of six questionnaires (one for each year they are in yw's) that the girls answer. The type of questions on each questionnaire grows in depth with each year. They complete the questionnaire the Sunday before their birthday and choose someone from their class to read the questions and the answer that has been given. The YW being honored (or spotlighted) and the friend reading the answers stand in front of the room during opening exercises. The birthday girl also receives a small figurine of a woman, which is different, each year. When they leave YW, they have 6 questioners to keep as a history and 6 figurines.
FAMILY WREATH: - This year we gave the girls a grapevine wreath for their birthday. We wrapped the wreath with ribbon and wired a bow on it. Then we painted wooden hearts and wrote the name of each member of her family on a heart and hot glued it to the wreath. We did this to go with the theme of "turning hearts to the family". The round wreath symbolized the eternal nature of families and the hearts with family names represented the love for family.
SCENTED CANDLE: We are giving the girls a Glade candle with this poem: �We scent you this candle to light-en your day, And tell you we�re Glad(e) you had a Birthday!�
ITEMS FROM THE DISTRIBUTION CENTER: �Daily Requirements� Poster ($1), Mormonad Posters (each set has 12 posters for $6), Hymns Made Easy ($2), CD�s from OT, NT, or B of M Media Series ($1), Cassette Tape from Hold to the Rod series ($1), A Song of the Heart music book ($4).
CANDY GRAMS: We make birthday candy grams on poster board with a cute personalized message using candy bars. Ex. �LOOK who is finally 16! UNO we are excited to have you in our class. We hope you will have MOUNDS of fun in the Laurel Class. We hope you will be CHEWSY (gum) about the boys who ask you for a date. Remember your example can be a real LIFESAVER to others.
HUGGING LINE: We came up with a unique idea that the YW really enjoy. The YW who had the birthday in the past week goes through a Hugging Line during opening exercises. The line is made up of her classmates and leaders. East of us gets to hug her, wish her a happy birthday and tell her how much we love her.
THREE TREES STORY: We made each girl a set of three wooden trees the tallest being about 4� tall. We tied the trees together and gave them out with a copy of the story about �The Three Trees.� The story goes that each tree had a dream to become something special, i.e. a treasure chest, a mighty ship, and the last to just stay on the hill and be the tallest tree around that would always point to heaven. Later, each tree was cut down and then made into something not quite so grand, a box for feeding animals, a fisherman�s boat, and the other just into beams. The it tells how each still accomplished his goal, the manger where baby Jesus was placed, the boat that carried Him across the sea when He clamed the storm, and the beam that made up the cross where He was crucified. The girls love this and so did their leaders.
PARTY IDEA: One year we celebrated all the yw�s birthdays by having a really fun party. We divided the girls into 5-6 groups of about 3-5 girls and played about 6 childhood games�Jacks, jump rope, old maid, etc. in a timed round-robin of about 5 mins. each. At the end of each game, the winners of the games were rewarded with play money�1st place got $20, 2nd $10, 3rd $5 and the rest each got $2. At the end of the evening, we auctioned off the gifts (each girl had been asked to bring an inexpensive or white elephant gift and the leaders brought some extra ones). Everyone went home with at least one gift.
BREAKFAST IN BED: Donuts, instant oatmeal, instant cider, etc. in a shoebox decorated like a bed and a pillow with a poem about enjoying breakfast in bed.