Celebrate With A Birthday Bucket List

I have always loved birthdays! I mean, hello…cake, presents and people celebrating with you. What’s not to love?! Now I know there are people out there who don’t enjoy birthdays, but I am definitely not one of them. However, there was one particular birthday I dreaded: the big 4 0. It seems silly now to feel so much angst over a number. My solution was to write a birthday bucket list. I figured if I had a fun list of things I wanted to do or dreamed of doing, I might find turning 40 a little easier. And I was right!

So what is a birthday bucket list? As I’ve written before, a birthday bucket list is a fun list of things you might want to do during your next year of life. Perhaps there is something you’ve been meaning to do, but keep putting it off. Or perhaps you’ve always wanted some fun wellies to cheer up a dismal rainy day. Mine have polka dots by the way.

Or maybe you have a huge life changing event on your list like moving to a new area. This particular one is in process right now. We are waiting to close on a new house here in a few weeks.

Tips for writing a birthday bucket list:
1. Choose the same number of items as your age, Turning 30? Make a list of 30 things.
2. Add a variety of items from easy to accomplish up to one or two big dream items.
3. You can look at my previous lists for ideas. I linked them throughout this post.
4. Above all, only add things you would enjoy doing. This is supposed to be fun. It’s okay to challenge yourself, too.
5. You can add ‘read x number of books’ which also corresponds with your age.
6. Keep your list where you can see it often to inspire you to finish things on it.
7. Challenge your kids to make a birthday bucket list, too.
8. If you enjoy your first birthday bucket list, make it a new tradition.

No matter the item, I always make it something I look forward to. I also recognize that life comes along and some years I might get a lot of things crossed off my bucket list, and other years, I might only accomplish a couple of things. That’s okay. The birthday bucket list is simply a fun way to celebrate who I am today. Each year I’m different, somehow changed from the year before, but I’ve noticed that my core hopes and dreams and likes and dislikes and passions all seem to be reflected in my list. I see similarities, I see changes, and I even see how I’m growing deeper and more confident in who I am as a person. And what I want out of life. Pretty deep for a bucket list, huh?!

Did your birthday already pass? It’s not too late to start your list now. Birthday coming up? Perfect, get your list ready to go. But what if your birthday is half a year away? Add only half as many items to get you to your next birthday.

I just celebrated my 45th birthday on October 29th, and of course, I had to write my birthday bucket list: 45 Things While 45 List. I look forward to the next year, and all that it brings. I’ve had some pretty major setbacks, but I am determined to still live life as fully as I’m able for as long as I can, and this is just one way to accomplish that.