We all know the famous saying “It’s the thought that counts,” and when talking about birthdays I find this to be especially true.   Now that I am a parent, I find myself looking back to my own childhood and our family traditions more often. One of the fondest birthday memories I have were these little funny packages my Grandma would prepare in honor of your special day. The contents themselves wouldn’t cost more than a dollar or two but it wasn’t the gift that was so special. As clichéd as it may sound, it really was the THOUGHT  and care that went into wrapping each trinket that made this family ritual so special.

Each package was wrapped with a clever clue or riddle that described the contents.  The birthday celebrant would read the clue aloud and usually give the package a good shake while trying to guess the contents. The age of the birthday celebrant determined the level of difficulty for each clue.  This celebration always proved to be fun for more than just the birthday celebrant.  We were a competitive, but fun, family so the hard clues only meant more time for heckling and hijinks by the rest of the family. I seem to recall quite a few family renditions of the Jeopardy theme music or Hermione-like shouts of “Oh, I know, I know!”

Care to Play?  CLUE: A pirate says R and travels the C, but could need one of these when he gets poked in the I?  (Answer found below)

Unfortunately, my Grandma is no longer with us and sadly didn’t have the opportunity to meet her 10 Great-Grandchildren. I thought my “baby” brother’s 33rd birthday was as good excuse as any to introduce this birthday ritual to the next generation along with a little craftiness and some heckling!

I downloaded the 1 cake slice box design from Lori Whitlock on the Silhouette Store, and I started to cut and fold 12 times!

  

I selected a basic white cardstock to serve as the base of my cake with plans to then add some color frosting and embellishments. I dressed it up with stars and some polka dot ribbon and numbered the cake slices 1-12.  Just like I remembered,  as the birthday celebrant guessed his clues the rest of the party guests waited with anticipation and enjoyed the suspense. It was fun to watch the excitement build as all the kiddos were talking about when it would be their turn!

And as you can see (C) below the funny package prize for the clue above was a Pirate Eye Patch!

Thanks for the fun memories and a great tradition to carry on!

Music: The lovely hum and cutting sounds of my cameo silhouette, over and over and over, as it cut twelve 1 page cake slices!

Drinking: Wine Spa—ritzers on a nice Spring day!