Tomorrow it’s my 35th Birthday! I’m not even sure how that happened, it feels like only yesterday I was celebrating my 30th with a fancy dress party. Saying that, whilst the time has flown, a lot has happened in 5 years. I’ve quit my job and started my own business, moved house (and renovated it), and of course, had a baby!

I really looked forward to and relished in my 30th birthday, it felt like an exciting and welcome shift. However, if I’m honest I do not feel the same way about turning 35. I feel a lot older officially being in my mid thirties and knowing the next big milestone is 40. In addition, I was just feeling totally ‘meh’ about my birthday in general – we did have things going on which meant I wasn’t going to be able to mark it properly – that has since changed though as I’ll explain!

Anyways, while I was scrolling through Pinterest feeling sorry for myself I came across this fabulous post from Jessica Dimas about creating a birthday self care ritual and it completely inspired me to look at things differently and create a special birthday for myself!

As Jessica describes in her post, when we take responsibility for our own joy on our birthday we reclaim it for ourselves and no longer make that enjoyment dependant on others, which is actually a lot of pressure when you think about it! I’ve always loved having the day off on my own for my birthday, but Jessica’s post really made me think about it in a different way.

I’ve planned out a few things ready for tomorrow and my special Birthday Self Care Ritual as follows:

• ♥ Bought myself my perfect birthday gift(s) and wrapped them beautifully
• ♥ Planned out my perfect day, including a bath ‘to wash away last years regrets, mistakes, guilt and pain’
• ♥ I’ve already thought a bit about what I want to call in for my 36th trip around the sun, and I’m going to journal on that question more deeply
• ♥ I’m also planning to do a tarot spread to give me some insight into my coming year

My gift to myself (well partially paid for by James) is just the best thing ever! I really thought about what I truly wanted and then treated myself without compromise. My gift includes a Diptyque candle, chocolate, my favourite coffee, a book I intuitively picked up in a book shop in the spiritual section (so much fun!) on Goddess Wisdom, some new tarot cards – The Wild Unknown Deck which I’ve wanted for ages, a gorgeous massive crystal and a bath bomb from Lush. I’m also going to pick myself up some flowers on the day.  I’ve wrapped all the gifts up in pink tissue paper and placed them in a gorgeous gift bag. I can not wait to open it tomorrow!

I’m also really looking forward to having the time and space to really relax and get my head around what is next for me. Our birthdays are like our own personal New Year, so I think it makes a lot of sense to do that whole review and planning thing. I know that this coming year may be my last as a Mama of one (potentially we might be thinking of trying for baby no 2 in 2019) and it feels that now Finley is getting more and more independent, this year is going to be an opportunity to bring some focus back on myself. I’d love to call in adventure, travel, success and definitely more of me being me if that makes sense!

One of the funny things that has happened since I started looking forward to my birthday is that James was suddenly given the Friday off work so now we can actually go out and celebrate it properly! Funny how things manifest when you start feeling the way you want to feel!

So, to recap, your birthday self care ritual might look like:

Buying yourself the perfect gift(s) and wrapping them beautifully > planning out the perfect day > having a luxurious bath > journalling what you want to call in for your next trip round the sun

What are your thoughts on having a birthday ritual? Would you buy your own birthday gift?