Birthday Balloon Countdown

I saw this fun idea on this blog for a birthday balloon countdown and decided to make one for Jack.  I blew up ten balloons and numbered them, and filled each with a note or a special treat to count down to his birthday.  He loved it and most days the balloons were a big hit!

I hung the garland Tuesday night after Jack was in bed, so Wednesday when he woke up he said "Hey! Who did this?" when he saw the balloons.  I explained that each night when we got home he would pop one and would get a surprise.  He wasn't overly excited initially; I don't think he quite understood it until after he popped that first balloon.

Here's a recap by day:

Day 10:  Spiderman Pez dispenser in the balloon = big hit!

 Day 9: His choice: ice cream or a sno cone.  We did this one at Grandma & Grandpa Lang's house so Daddy could work on the patio, and Jack was pretty disappointed when all that came out was a piece of paper promising a treat after dinner.  We had a little talk and I explained that something wouldn't fall out of each balloon and that the surprises would vary.  He recovered, but I learned starting with the Pez dispenser was kind of a tease.

 Day 8:  $5 to spend at the Toy Store

 Day 7: This one I stole from the blog with the original idea.  She played the hot & cold game which led her daughter to Reddi Whip waiting in the fridge.  Her daughter, however, is a little older than Jack, who didn't quite understand how that game works.  He liked the Reddi Whip though.

 And so did Charlie...

 Day 6: A surprise waiting in Mom & Dad's room (Toy Story figurines: Buzz & Woody)

 Day 5: Pop Rocks - his first experience with those crazy candies.  He enjoyed it and made a big mess!

 Day 4: A surprise under his bed: a quarry for his train table (I love Jason's face in this first picture)

 Day 3: A surprise where he does his cooking (in his toy grill): a fire engine choo choo (my face is not any better in this picture)

 Day 2: We actually didn't pop one that night because I went to the Cardinals game and Jason took the boys to Grandma & Grandpa's for dinner so the balloon was forgotten.  We did pop it a day later on his birthday and it was the second dud of the series: Watch your new movie while you're eating dinner (not usually allowed at our house).  The movie was The Lorax and he took one look at it and said "I want to open my last balloon now."

Day 1: Birthday gift waiting in the garage: new golf bag and clubs!!!

We had a lot of fun with the balloons and it was a fun way to get him excited about his birthday and give him a few little gifts in the days leading up to it.  I'd like to say I'll do this every year, but time will tell.

More on his birthday in the following posts.