Birthdays matters a lot to me. I love the opportunity to celebrate my friends and family, and it brings me joy to make a small portion of their day special.
With so many people in our life to celebrate, keeping up with birthdays can become a lot. Not to mention the process of finding cute cards, writing the message, mailing the card (Where did I put those stamps? What is their address?), and doing so in a timely fashion. Thankfully, there is a way to manage birthdays with ease, and today I am sharing the system I use to ensure I celebrate my loved ones well.
My favorite way to keep up with birthdays is to use a perpetual calendar (this is one of my favorites!). A perpetual calendar is not year-specific, but instead offers a blank template to keep up with recurring events year after year. When you add someone’s name to the perpetual calendar on their specific birth date, it is there to remind you every year. You can see at a glance who has a birthday on the horizon, and all your celebration dates are housed in one location.
To take the idea one step further, I use my perpetual calendar in conjunction with a collection of beautiful birthday cards. This is going to sound like a lot, but I swear it makes your year easier and you will never miss another birthday again.
At the beginning of the year (although you could do this any time), I update the perpetual calendar if needed and make a list of all the people I want to send a birthday card to in the coming year. Then, I purchase cute cards with them in mind. I also keep a few generic cards on hand for unplanned celebrations or last minute additions.
I store the cards, along with a good pen, a supply of postage stamps, and some washi tape, in a cute box that I keep with me at my desk. Near the end of the month, I look ahead to the coming month to check for birthdays in the coming month. I choose a card for each person, write in it, address it, seal and stamp it, and jot a reminder in my planner to pop the card in the mail a few days before their birthday.
I value communicating love to someone on their birthday. But I also know myself well enough to know waiting until the last minute to come up with a plan ensures a rushed half-hearted expression or forgetting it all together.
With my perpetual calendar filled in, my cards in place, and my supplies stocked, I am set up for birthday success in the coming year!
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