Celebrating 2 Year Old Bday in Daycare

For my son's 2nd birthday, I took the day off work and spent the morning with him and then sent him to daycare so that he could have a celebration with the kids. They made him a little crown to wear (which apparently he hated) and sang him happy birthday. I sent rice krispie treats that I made myself. The daycare provider had said cupcakes were okay without frosting, but I chose to send something different. I wasn't there for the celebration because I know my son doesn't do well when the routine is altered so I didn't want to mess with his normal day. Unfortunately, he had a difficult day anyway probably because we had breakfast with him and sent him in late. The weekend after his birthday we had a regular party for him with family and kids from daycare.

That's a little over the top for a daycare birthday unless that has been the norm for all the other kids.

Not sure how your child's daycare works but many will only accept store bought, so keep that in mind. We have sent in mini-treat bags and store bought cupcakes.

I was not with my kid during the day on his birthday while in daycare.

First of all, talk with his teachers. Learn what policy they have regarding birthdays. At my son's old daycare, they wanted me to fill in a from where I wrote all the ingredients to whatever I was bringing, and they got permission from all the parents to serve their child the treat.

I would not go with a regular cake at that age (too much sugar and cream). Pizza and cake would be just too much, IMHO. I would not be happy if a parent brought those two not-so-healthy food items on the same day for 2 year olds! If you are able to bring in healthier versions of pizza and cake, it may be OK (homemade "pizza" on bread slices and fruit cake, for example).

In my case, I chose to bring banana bread with chocolate chips sprinkled in as a treat. Carrot cake may be another option. One parent brought fresh strawberries and cupcakes, which is a good idea, I think.

I could not be there for the celebration, so I gave his teacher my digital camera and she took pictures. I was able to see how they celebrated from the pictures ;-)

We always ask the teacher what they think we should bring. For my son's 2nd bday they asked us to bring juice and a fruit platter and the kids would have it for their morning snack. For his 3rd, they said we could bring cupcakes with no frosting. Apparently the kids don't really like frosting. For his 4th, we brought cookies and brownie bites. Lots of parents would send goody bags starting at 2 but most of them had items that were not age appropriate and we didn't start goody bags until this year (coloring book, cookies, and crayons). We did not go to his school party.

I was not there, but I just sent in iced smiley faced cookies from a local bakery. They served them for snack and sang to him. I don't think they make it a huge deal, they have kid's b-days all the time.

If it's okay with the center then they pretty much have the say so about what you bring. In Oklahoma you can't bring anything that is not sealed by a factory or store. Cakes must be store bought and still sealed, you really don't know what is lurking at some other kids home in the kitchen, it has not been inspected by the health department as a facility for food preparation for the public.

If they say it's okay then let them guide you as to what to do.

We brought in a cupcake cake, and no we weren't there. Actually, when she was in daycare, I would take the day off of work & spend it with her. We would do the cupcakes the day before the birthday.

Aren't you doing something for him at home? Normally people just supply cupcakes at the daycare/school & then do their own family/friends thing at home.

My son's preschool birthday was lovely. (I do the same at my preschool as well). We brought some fresh fruit cups to share (just some cut up fresh fruit in cupcake cups-- festive!) and shared some pictures/stories about our child. I was there, and it was delightful.

As a teacher, just my two cents: do not send cake. I would not be a happy teacher if you sent cake, because then I will be dealing with a room or house full of unhappy, sugar-crashed children. Some children don't tolerate large amounts of sugar well. Many parents, myself included, *want the choice* if their child is fed sugar. Most children are sensitive to corn syrup/high fructose corn syrup and many store-bought cakes contain this ingredient. I don't allow sweets at my preschool for this very reason. (We do fruit, which has plenty of natural sugar in it.)

Lastly, kids at this age don't really 'understand' birthdays too much. What one family did that I loved, years ago, was brought pansies for the children to plant in the schoolyard in honor of their child's special day. It was very fun and the children each were able to feel a part of something, instead of it being focused on one child.:)

You'll want to check with the teacher or reference the daycare's policy. My daughter's daycare/preschool allows you to bring in cake/cupcakes or whatever during afternoon snack time but the parent is expected to clean up.

I take in cupcakes that they then eat at snack time. (Check about allergies in the class before hand...)
I do not go back to see them eaten.

That said, I also do a 'real' birthday party on one of the weekends close to the child's birthday. Sometimes with kids from daycare, sometimes just family. The kids find it fun to stretch out their birthday, and have never complained about having multiple celebrations. :)

Honestly, you don't really need to do much. Maybe send in cookies or cupcakes, but be extra careful that there aren't any nut products in them (read the labels carefully ... you'll be shocked to find nuts in there), since most places have anti-nut policies. Ask the daycare, too, about any policies about birthdays. They may not want you to bring in sweets at all.

We never did anything for our kids' birthdays in daycare. As they got older, we distribute pencils per school policies against food.

I went in at 3:30 on the day of my son's bday. I am a teacher, so that is my normal pick up time. I brought in munchkins and we sang happy bday.

My child's daycare will only allow you to bring in cake or whatever the last day of the month when they celebrate all of the birthdays for that month. As a result I didn't do cupcakes or anything for him when he turned 2 last month, but I signed up to bring snack that day and made all of the kids airplane shaped graham crackers that my son helped me with. He was very excited to be able to share "cookies" with all of his friends and his teachers told them all that they were special graham crackers for his birthday.