DH's birthday was last weekend and we did our best to celebrate without spending much. It is our tradition to "take Daddy his birthday" at work, so on the appointment day the girls and I woke up and baked a cake. We used a mix, frosting, and decorations from what we had on hand. Then the girls got busy at their craft table and made Daddy birthday pictures. Next we packed a lunch. Finally, we all got dressed up in party dresses. For the girls, this means poofy goodness. For me, this means any dress that fits.
We headed to the party store first for a balloon bouquet. I was pleased that we got a nice bunch including one mylar and six basic, colored ballons for $7.99. The Dollar Store sells mylar balloons, but time was short and the Dollar Store was out of the way so we ended up at the party store on the way to DH's office. We arrived on time (amazing!) and enjoyed lunch and cake at Daddy's office. Daddy also got to show off his girls to his co-workers while they were cute in their party dresses. His girls, not the co-workers. The balloons stay in Daddy's office for the day. DH is pretty reserved and wouldn't really talk about his birthday. I like to bring balloons so at least a few people will notice and wish him a Happy Brithday.
Over the weekend DH invited some friends over for a guys night in. We had the balloon decorations and the girls and I baked cupcakes for the event. I had three tubs of old frosting languishing in the fridge so we used those up and used a variety of sprinkles from the cupboard to make lots of differently decorated cupcakes. The girls were happy for a) cupcakes and b) messy sprinkles, & I was just happy to get all those frosting remnants out of the fridge.
![](http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Lilo---Stitch-disney-67471_1024_768.jpg)
As for gifts, Eve & I hit up the thrift store to see what bargains we could find. We were happy to stumble across a used DVD of Lilo & Stitch for $4. DH loves animated and children's movies and we have many, many of them. However, this title has been missing from our collection so we snapped it up. DH was pleased with the find and that I didn't spend much. =^)
I should note that we regularly purchase gifts for eachother that have been used - primarily books and movies purchased off half.com. Neither of us minds and both appreciate that the other didn't spend retail prices.
Finally, DH is signed up for the birthday club at Red Robin. That means he gets a coupon via email for a free birthday burger each year. Usually we would go together and buy another burger. Money being tight this year, DH is heading over with Joanna, our 9 month old, for some quality time and his free burger. The only money out of pocket is for a tip.
If you want to sign up for the Red Robin eClub, click
here. Your email coupon will arrive one week before your birthday and is good for 14 days.
Click here to sign up for your annual free Red Robin birthday burger:
http://www.redrobin.com/eclub/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Enjoy your burger!