Heppy Turned 7! Keeping Birthdays Simple, Special and Low-Waste

Heppy turned 7 this past week. Seven!! It feels so big. And as if to mark the moment, her first wobbly tooth appeared the next day…AH!

I love birthdays—especially the kids’ birthdays. I love talking about them, dreaming together, and making plans. There’s something magical about wondering what the surprise cake might be, letting them choose their birthday menu for the day (lemon and sugar pancakes, tomato soup for lunch and mac and cheese for dinner for Heppy! (a partially burnt mac n cheese but let’s forget about that)) And you bet I’m there at 6am on the birthday morning buzzing with excitement.

But even with all the excitement, I try SO hard to resist the hype. I want birthdays to feel authentic, simple, and us. Like my heart with other celebrations, I want us all to stay humble and thankful. It’s easy to scroll social media and feel like you need this or that, or even Vinted! For me, I LOVE detail and love thinking something extra could elevate, but the thing is, it’s not necessary and can quickly become expensive, wasteful, and a bit overwhelming, and if we really think about what our kids need, it’s probably not the cutesy bunting I’m pining after.

So here’s how we keep birthdays joyful, grounded, and low-waste.

A Note on Expectations

A lot of this works for our family because it’s the rhythm we’ve set from early on. The kids haven’t been to loads of parties, and if they have, they’ve mainly been within our home-educating circles and I think that makes a difference.

We don’t have the Argos or Littlewoods catalogues lying around like I did growing up, circling every toy and jacket I could possibly imagine. We shop for almost everything online, so the children aren’t particularly exposed to seeing things they might like, and we rarely watch screens so they don’t see adverts. (In case you were worried they’re not having a childhood….they are haha!) The closest thing would be the charity shop to dream of their possibilities or the local post office where their world has been opened up every time they see the TY beanies and Sylvanians available. So in that sense, she approaches birthdays simply. I know this isn’t the case for everyone, and there’s no right or wrong.

We also talk about what we hope for, rather than what we want. This year, Heppy mentioned one thing: a secret diary. I waited for her to bring that up herself, rather than saying, “What do you want for your birthday?” I try to keep the language open and light.

She did, however, know that she’d like a few friends over to celebrate—so we made a little plan together. She was completely involved. We’ve always hosted parties at home, and for now, that still feels right. So that’s what she expected.

We are not afraid to use words or phrases like ‘that won’t be possible this year’ ‘or that’s not in budget today’.

How We Kept It Simple.

1. Buy Second-Hand Where You Can

Buying second-hand takes a bit more planning, but it’s so worth it. I always check:

• Facebook Marketplace

• Charity shops

• Vinted (I always get a number balloon from here!)

• Freecycle or local swap groups

The children know we primarily shop second-hand. So Heppy’s gifts came from there. And those coming to the party knew from our invite that we were very happy to receive second-hand gifts too!

2. Use What You Have

In my head I dreamed of sweet, quaint teacups and plates, and it was lots on vinted, but I just didn’t need it.

We already had everything we needed:

• Plates, bowls, cups

• Bunting and banners from past celebrations, some made, some bought

• I’d been given some flowers during the week, so I cut lots down to put them into little vases to fill the table.

When we were planning the party, I tried to come up with ideas and work with Heppy on what we already had, otherwise it could end up needing lots of new things. I knew I could dry petals out, and had lots of leftover things from making bath bombs which would work perfectly for our loose flower garden theme.

We’d even planned (but didn’t get round to) dyeing some old fabric for DIY napkins. Maybe next time!

3. Make What You Can

Homemade doesn’t have to mean complicated…although, I do love a challenge. Heppy made her invites, and lots of the decorations for fun which provided a really great focus in the weeks leading up to the party. I made all the food here to keep the cost down and because it’s important to me. The cake is always a fun surprise to make and we felted a number 7 on a birthday crown we already had.

I love how something handmade feels suddenly elevated, even if it’s simple!

4. Borrow Instead of Buy

This year we borrowed everything from cake tins, funnels, tuff trays, and food colouring. Soooo many people are wanting to give and love and share! It’s always worth asking even to people you don’t know. I asked on a Freecycle site this year.

5. Keep the Guest List Simple

A brilliant tip from a friend when Heppy was small was:

“Invite as many children as your child’s age.”

So for a 7th birthday, seven guests. It keeps things calm, manageable, and really lovely—especially at home.

6. Host at Home (or Borrow a Friend’s Space)

We’ve always done parties at home, and trust me we’ve gone through lots of homes. Some have been more suited to parties than others but it’s always felt special and I think so intimate to invite friends round to your home. We haven’t ever given them another option, so as of yet they don’t expect to have a party elsewhere.

Menu: Simple, Fun, and Thoughtful

We made the food feel a bit more special by using cookie cutters to create fun shapes. Here’s what we served:

• Sausages

• Homemade wraps

• Beetroot hummus

• Veg platter: carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber

• Fruit platter: watermelon, blueberries, pomegranate,

The kids drank water and we did cake after!

No Party Bags – and No One Missed Them!

Instead, each child made a necklace during the party and got to take it home. It felt personal, creative, and far less wasteful than a plastic-filled party bag.

We had such a fun magical morning!

Check out my other post here on what the morning actually looked like and the few things we did buy for the morning!