Are you a person that tries to make things "special?"

[LisaR]

I see the word special used in many posts around here.

1. We are going to Disney. How can I make it special?

2. How can I make my child's 5th birthday special?

3. My child is getting his license. What did you do to make it special?

4. What can I do to make prom/homecoming special?

The list goes on. I don't know anyone in real life that is like this although I did recently encounter an odd post by someone I know. After my DD received her first college acceptance letter, she posted on FB that she got into X college. Everyone replied with the normal congratulations but the mom of one of her friends said, "Great job! What are you going to do to celebrate?"

Isn't the "special" thing being able to drive, go to the dance, go on vacation, get accepted into a college, etc. Why is there a need to make everything even more special than what it is to begin with?

 

[snapppyd]

Because life is short and any reason to celebrate is a good one?

I've lived a long time and I can tell you it's a good idea to celebrate while you can; I've been to more than enough funerals and hospital beds.



JMHO

 

[Stacerita]

I see the word special used in many posts around here.

1. We are going to Disney. How can I make it special?

2. How can I make my child's 5th birthday special?

3. My child is getting his license. What did you do to make it special?

4. What can I do to make prom/homecoming special?

The list goes on. I don't know anyone in real life that is like this although I did recently encounter an odd post by someone I know. After my DD received her first college acceptance letter, she posted on FB that she got into X college. Everyone replied with the normal congratulations but the mom of one of her friends said, "Great job! What are you going to do to celebrate?"

Isn't the "special" thing being able to drive, go to the dance, go on vacation, get accepted into a college, etc. Why is there a need to make everything even more special than what it is to begin with?

Trying to make things that are already special "SPECIAL" starts to make everything seem meh. And those who always want to make it "SPECIAL" end up trying to one up themselves each time it seems. Enjoy things for what they are and stop trying to special it up for no reason.

 

[sissy_ib]

I don't really understand trying to make vacations more special as the vacation is the special thing but we do celebrate all other occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, milestones and accomplishments. I mean, we don't do anything huge for every little thing but we acknowledge most things. Yes, I try to make special occasions special.

 

[jp24]

I think we should make this thread special by planning a celebration.

 

[NMAmy]

No, I'm not. While I love celebrations, the trip, the driver's license, the prom, etc are special enough for me and my family. I think that often people put so much pressure on themselves to make these milestones into an over the top event that they don't actually enjoy the event and stress about every detail.

The one that always makes me roll my eyes is making a Disney trip special. In my world, that's pretty special in and of itself.

 

[LisaR]

I don't really understand trying to make vacations more special as the vacation is the special thing but we do celebrate all other occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, milestones and accomplishments. I mean, we don't do anything huge for every little thing but we acknowledge most things. Yes, I try to make special occasions special.

I think it is totally normal to celebrate. That isn't what I meant at all. I meant why does it need to be more than it is?

Your kid turns 5. You have relatives over, the birthday kid gets presents, they have food they like and a big cake, they get to do something fun with their friends and then the post will add, "But what can I do to make it really special?"

 

[Katy Belle]

I see the word special used in many posts around here.

1. We are going to Disney. How can I make it special?

2. How can I make my child's 5th birthday special?

3. My child is getting his license. What did you do to make it special?

4. What can I do to make prom/homecoming special?

The list goes on. I don't know anyone in real life that is like this although I did recently encounter an odd post by someone I know. After my DD received her first college acceptance letter, she posted on FB that she got into X college. Everyone replied with the normal congratulations but the mom of one of her friends said, "Great job! What are you going to do to celebrate?"

Isn't the "special" thing being able to drive, go to the dance, go on vacation, get accepted into a college, etc. Why is there a need to make everything even more special than what it is to begin with?

I'm with you! I guess I make it special by being excited about it, but nothing more really. Of course we celebrate Birthdays, sometimes big and sometimes low key, but I don't endeavor to make certain ones more "special" than others. A hug and a high five for a college acceptance letter. The usual stuff for Prom, tux, dinner, no limo. Getting to drive home from the DMV is pretty special for a license, and then drop mom off at home and go pick up a friend.

I do agree that we need to "celebrate" the big things, but it can be pretty simple.

 

[Janepod]

I see the word special used in many posts around here.

1. We are going to Disney. How can I make it special?

2. How can I make my child's 5th birthday special?

3. My child is getting his license. What did you do to make it special?

4. What can I do to make prom/homecoming special?

The list goes on. I don't know anyone in real life that is like this although I did recently encounter an odd post by someone I know. After my DD received her first college acceptance letter, she posted on FB that she got into X college. Everyone replied with the normal congratulations but the mom of one of her friends said, "Great job! What are you going to do to celebrate?"

Isn't the "special" thing being able to drive, go to the dance, go on vacation, get accepted into a college, etc. Why is there a need to make everything even more special than what it is to begin with?

Nope. Like you said, these things are special on their own. I really try to not spoil my kid.

It doesn't mean I'm not a planner or picky -- e.g., I do spend a lot of time choosing the restaurants we'll eat at on vacation, or packing clothes that I know will look great in our photos -- but I don't do anything extra to enhance the trip/event/milestone itself. My kid is overprivileged enough.

 

[Handbag Lady]

For me, it is all pick and choose.

If you make everything special, then nothing is ever special. If you make just all of the MAJOR IMPORTANT things special, then it is expected.

But, when you get a standing ovation just for showing up to work on a random day...THAT is what makes life interesting.

But no. Celebrating a college acceptance? Nah. If that child overcame incredible odds and worked on top of everything to get into the ONE college they wanted against the odds, then yes.

 

[momto2girls]

Because life is short and any reason to celebrate is a good one?

I've lived a long time and I can tell you it's a good idea to celebrate while you can; I've been to more than enough funerals and hospital beds.



JMHO

 

[LauraEadon]

The last vacation I went on with my Nana was, knowingly, her last. I planned a "special" scavenger hunt around Magic Kingdom that ended in her finding a tinkerbell doll (collectable baby doll one).

I didn't want to just go to Magic Kingdom, I wanted to make it special.

Special= Meaningful, loving, memorable, unique

 

[Tinkermommy]

I try to make things, even ordinary things special.

For example. I pack my son's snack in a lunch bag. I always draw a little picture on it. For his birthday, I drew a birthday cake with six candles. He was so thrilled with that one little thing.

So I do try to make things "special" but it doesn't have to be big or elaborate. Most times it's a small thoughtful thing.

 

[minkydog]

I like to make every day things special. Like, maybe I'll put out a pretty seasonal tablecloth or bake a pudding in little red ramekins instead of my usual Corning dish. My family LOVES when I make little individual Key Lime tarts. Sometimes I'll take DD19 to get our pedicures done, a little Girls Night Out for us. At Christmas, the kids requested that we NOT have the traditional dinner--they just wanted sandwiches, fruit & cheese, chips & dip, and pies. That was special to them and it was such a hit they've already asked for it again!

When my kids were younger, I used to let them eat off the red plate--yup, a red stoneware plate. Made an A? You get the red plate. Memorized your Bible verses? red plate. It's your birthday? red plate. They loved that red plate and we used it until it was so chipped up it had to be thrown away.

BUT...I do NOT make vacations special. I figure if we're paying to take the kids to WDW or on a cruise, we've already made it pretty special.

 

[kimmar067]

....OMG, I thought, for just a split second, that THAT was a REAL BABY!

[...don't EVER do that to me again....!]

 

[eliza61]

Because life is short and any reason to celebrate is a good one?

I've lived a long time and I can tell you it's a good idea to celebrate while you can; I've been to more than enough funerals and hospital beds.



JMHO

See I'm the exact opposite. I think life is short so there should be things that separate the normal for the extraordinary.

I hated when my sons played t-ball, why because everyone got a "trophy" even if they came in dead last. huh? If everyone gets a trophy, then what's so special about first place.

Graduation is the same thing. Now in my area, you have preschool graduation, kindergarten graduation, 4th grade graduation, 6 grade graduation, 8th grade graduation. by the time kids and parents get to h.s. most are asking can the reuse one of the cap and gowns to save some dough and I know a number of grandparents who sat out their grandkids 8th grade celebration. It was no big deal.

Another thing I see happening is that since we've gone so "over the top" for non events that when a true event comes along, you darn near need Cirque du soliel to show up at your event for anyone to be impressed.

I started to see that with my kids at disney. we were going so much (annually or 2x a year) than now it's routine and boring. Disney is now the place we go when we have nothing else to do and can't afford where we would really like to go.

Some one on this board, I can't remember who has a tag line that I really like, it goes some thing like, "life should not be measured by the number of breathes we take but rather the times that take our breathe away".

Well if nothing is "special" anymore because we do it all the time, imo there are no more breathe stealing moments.

I remember watching an episode of "say yes to the dress" and the bride was a former beauty queen, she was having a really hard time finding a wedding dress because she was so use to be in spectacular gowns for pagents that nothing moved her.

 

[superme80]

The last vacation I went on with my Nana was, knowingly, her last. I planned a "special" scavenger hunt around Magic Kingdom that ended in her finding a tinkerbell doll (collectable baby doll one).

I didn't want to just go to Magic Kingdom, I wanted to make it special.

Special= Meaningful, loving, memorable, unique

Just beautiful. If my Grandma had lived long enough I would have loved to have done something like this for her.
I am all for celebrations and making things special. My grandma could take the ordinary and make it special. She took the special and made it extraordinary. We celebrated a lot growing up, but it is memories I will always have with me.

 

[Buckalew11]

I packed DD dinner tonight and DH took it to her at the college. I threw in some chocolate milk because she LOVES it. I thought that made it "special."

When she was little and we did a character breakfast with Donald in AK, a client sent her an email with pictures of Donald and wrote it *from* Donald. He thought that was "special." She loved it!

So, while we'll do little things, kinda like Minky, we do not do anything big/expensive or "crazy."

When we did her HS graduation dinner it was just family but I had a banner made with her college's colors and had it personalized with her name etc. on it. It was pretty cheap to do and she loved it and I know she will always keep it.

 

[eliza61]

and I really don't understand the "celebrating" getting a drivers license trend... It's a licensce to drive, not to practice medicine.
and for a lot of parents it also means kicking out extra money in some fashion...
for this I should throw a party?

 

[disykat]

I'm with you OP!

Now, we will go out to celebrate sometimes. But we are happy going out, THAT makes it special. To me, the "make it special" people would be doing MORE than that. They'd be saying "we're going to his favorite restaurant, how do we make it special?"

Of course people celebrate birthdays, of course people want to make the people in their lives feel special. But when we've gotten to a point where a trip to WDW is just too ordinary, that makes me kind of sad.

Maybe I'd have an easier time if people recognized that they were "making the special extraordinary", like someone said above. Claiming those things aren't special all by themselves makes me crazy!

I hate it when people post "how can I make WDW special?" What?