This year (2020) has been a challenging year for everyone. I think children have suffered the most. They can’t go to school (or at least they do a hybrid learning model), they can’t hang out with their friends, they can’t go on sleepovers, they can’t spend the holidays with family and they can’t have birthday parties. My heart breaks for all the children who are suffering the most during this pandemic.
With this being the holiday season, a lot of family traditions will also have to be pushed aside for safety. Even something as simple and memorable as getting your photo taken with Santa has been changed. Being able to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what you want for Christmas is a cherished tradition for many people and families.
There are ways you can start new family traditions, ones that can continue long after we’ve tossed aside our masks and we’re able to move back into a normal way of life.
I have a fun toy/book that can help you start a new family tradition when it comes to a child’s birthday. It’s called Happy the Birthday Bird. Happy is here to create an annual tradition for the one 24-hour holiday that every kid celebrates no matter where they live, or what is going on in the world outside their home.
Happy The Birthday Bird is the brainchild of mompreneur Monica Goodson. When she walked around the American International Toy Fair one day, she didn’t see anything that truly celebrated a child’s birthday. Since birthdays are important to children, she knew she had to come up with something special for children everywhere. Monica created “Happy the Birthday Bird.”
“Happy The Birthday Bird” is a plush toy and book set inspired by Monica’s son Mylen’s 8th birthday,” According to Monica;
Happy’s story creates a family ritual and countdown to every child’s birthday. Start a week or so before their special day to make this birthday the most memorable one yet!
Here is more detail about Happy the Birthday Bird.
Kids love the magic of Happy flying back to TuYu each night leading up to their birthdays, carrying wishes and memories back and forth. This beautiful gift set contains all you need to build a new tradition and make birthdays even more memorable! The set includes: 15-inch plush bird wearing metallic sneakers and a backpack with clip; 4-inch plushie balloon; 36-page full-color beautifully illustrated hardcover book, includes six memory pages and one pocket for storing extra photos and cards. Best of all, Happy arrives in a sturdy reusable box with a handle for safe storage year after year.
Beyond the hold-in-your hand gift set, Happy The Birthday Bird features creative multimedia extensions, such as two original birthday songs and a dance, fun animations, digital versions of the memory pages and online downloads such as party invitations.
I was send a Happy the Birthday Bird set to check out for myself.
The box it’s self is cute and very inviting. It makes you want to open it up and see what is inside.
One side of the box features a “window” where you can peek in to see “Happy.” The back of the box shows you the contents of the box.
The star of the package is certainly “Happy.” Happy is darling! He features
“Happy” has on oversized head and big feet. On his feet are his shiny sneakers (they don’t look shiny in my photo). “Happy” is a more colorful light blue. He looks washed out in my photo.
Also included is a birthday balloon (“Pop”). He’s plush as well and adorable. I wish his string was some kind of a bendable wire so that “Happy” could hold him.
I would have loved to have seen his froggy friend, “Jumper,” included with the set too. That would have been wonderful.
I should have taken a photo of the backpack that “Happy” is wearing. You can open up the backpack and seal it with the attached Velcro.
The set is boxed so that you can put everything back in the box (if you want) to store it in when not in used. That way it’s safe and sound to be used again year after year.
I think you might have a difficult time putting “Happy” away. I can see how younger children will want to keep him out year round to snuggle and play with. He’s adorable!
Included in the set is the “Happy the Birthday Bird” book, which is the story of “Happy” and his birthday. There are also plenty of pages for your child (or you) to record birthday memories year after year, as well as put photos in the book. There is also a pocket in the back of the book that can hold more photos, invitations and other momentos.
To use this book set, let your child play with Happy the day before their birthday. Before they go to bed on the eve of their birthday, read the story to your child, and let them tell Happy their birthday wishes. That night, Happy will fly home to where he’s from (TuYu) with the child’s wishes. He will return the next morning, but he’ll hide from your child. Your child needs to find Happy and when he/she does, there will be a special birthday gift waiting for them, along with Happy. Think of it as a game of “hide and seek,” but with Happy and the child’s present.
What child wouldn’t want a fun game looking for Happy and their gift the morning of their birthday? That puts a new spin on it, and I can see a child looking forward to that game year after year.
When the child’s birthday is over, simply pack Happy away until the next year, when he can come out and play with your child again.
This is a super cute idea. If your family enjoys Elf on a Shelf, then your child will certainly love Happy the Birthday Bird and this new birthday tradition.
If you are interested in learning more, visit HappytheBirthdayBird.com. You can also check out Happy on social media. All of those links are found on the top right of the brand’s website.
What do you think about this fun, new holiday tradition? Does it sound like something your family would enjoy doing?
Kimberly
*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.