Birthdays when you were young- and now

Inspired by The Child's birthday today I went down the memory lane to my own birthdays as a kid in the early 70's.

My Mum always brought a birthday breakfast tray (trays were only used for very special occasions) to my bedside where I had been pretending to still be asleep for hours

The tray had my milk and samples of the baking we had prepared the day before in preparation for the onslaught of the relatives who would cram into our home for the celebration later that day (any excuse for a visit was embraced in those days, everyone came even when the occasion was as grand as a 5th birthday of a child of the second cousin)

Oh, and the presents! The small ones were on the tray and the disappointingly soft ones next to it. The whole family sat on my bedside watching me opening the presents.

Fast forward to the 21st century, I continued the breakfast tray tradition for years with our Child when she was young. When she became a teenager I transferred the ceremony onto the dining table and we still continue the miracle of a birthday morning when the star of the day appears and finds the treats and the parcels waiting for her.

Very touchingly, my Child now carries the tradition on for me, and prepares a Birthday morning surprise table for me

What were your birthdays like when you were young?

 

Wasp-ridden Oh how they loved cake, jellies and lemonade kindly provided in the garden in August
They haven't improved with time. Everyone pees off on holiday for the month over here

 

Don't really remember them, 18th (1977) was spent in a minibus on a tour of Newcastle on wet, cold January morning; followed by university interview in the afternoon.

 

Family and friends gathered at our house for my birthday party. Nobody hired a venue in those days. Not even the posh family down the end of the street.

Birthday bumps was probably the oddest tradition for me. Basically four of the biggest people there grab an arm or a leg each and fling you up in the air loads of times. Once for each year old you are, then 3 more being one for good luck, strangely, one for bad luck, and one for all.

 

Not memorable, Sis and I were shuffled about between States and Countries. Used to come on holiday to Portugal for years ... Go out for a meal to somewhere nice with friends now.

 

I never had parties for birthdays when young either, used to get cards from a few relatives and the odd £1 note inside, i was rich for a few weeks.
I've never had a birthday since I was 21 so basically I will always be 21 and a few months, 564 or so.

 

I used to love the old half crown coins, they had that heavy feeling, like you really had some money in your pocket.
Thinking back it was a strange amount of money to bother making a single coin for, but then I guess it was an eighth of a pound.