My family has a birthday tradition in which we decorate a spot in our home the night before someone's birthday with an original design (sign, flowers, balloons, presents, etc) so that the morning of the birthday the person gets to wake up and be surprised. We usually pick the dining room table or the island in the kitchen to pile the decorations and presents on.
Over the years we've decorated with themes representative of the birthday boy/girl's personality or hobbies. Past themes included under the sea, airplanes, monkeys, china, spain, morocco, skateboarding, a RV trip across the country, a magic show, and a parisian cafe (complete with a small table, chair, chalkboard sign, and awning). When the themes ran out or hobbies were dropped, we chose decorative styles inspired by a color palette, pattern, or a picture we saw in a magazine.
About 10 years ago, before we had a scanner and Martha Stewart online craft tutorials readily available in our home, we would stencil lettering by hand and use rulers and my Mom's critical eye to make sure everything we hung up was level. Now we use pre-made lettering, steal inspiration from magazine/blog photos, buy ready made birthday packaging and bows, and use decorative pieces such as hurricane lamps, tiny twinkling lights in branches, and large framed photos of the birthday honoree.
It's a tradition that everyone in my family loves. Here's some pictures from what we managed to pull together for my sister's 30th birthday this past weekend. We bought the majority of the decorations in 1 day and put everything together the same night. It's also a tradition to take a picture with your decorations before and after you open your presents, so that you can remember in perpetuity all the treats you received.
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