Erin and Ben Napier have strict rules when it comes to celebrating their kids’ birthdays.
The couple revealed they are “anti-giant birthdays” in an interview with Today.com published on Tuesday, September 9. “Our rule is, until they’re old enough to plan it themselves, it’s supper at grandparents,” Ben told the outlet, noting that his daughters’ school requires every kid in a student’s class be invited to each other’s birthday parties.
“If your 4-year-old’s birthday party looks like a wedding, what do they have to look forward to?” Erin added. “Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I think there’s a lot of moms out there who feel the same way I do.”
The HGTV stars share 7-year-old Helen and 4-year-old Mae. Before becoming parents, Erin and Ben said they agreed that their kids’ birthday celebrations would be family-only occasions, as opposed to having “100 kids running around, losing their minds.”
“It’s stressful and loud. I was like, ‘We’re not doing this,’” Ben recalled.
An example of their smaller celebrations, Erin and Ben threw a Christmas-themed gathering for Mae’s 4th birthday in May, per her request. The get-together was attended by the kids’ cousins and featured holiday tunes and a homemade strawberry cake.
Erin has continued on her mother-in-law’s tradition of making homemade birthday cakes. The tradition is so meaningful to Ben that he made Erin a cake stand with leftover wood from Helen’s baby crib.
“Ben’s mom always made homemade birthday cakes,” Erin shared, noting that she sometimes will elevate a box cake mix with some extra ingredients.
Erin and Ben maintain their children’s privacy on social media by not featuring their faces in photos. Ben did so while sharing several new snaps of their little ones in honor of Erin’s 40th birthday last month.
“40! Celebrating my girl! The queen of the blonde beach babes!” he captioned his August 30 Instagram post, which featured many photos of Erin with her loved ones. “The one my girls look to and look like! Happy birthday @erinapier!!”
Courtesy of Ben Napier/ Instagram
Erin made another parenting revelation earlier this month. In a since-deleted post, the Home Town star shared that she and Ben decided to homeschool their kids.
“Homeschool was our dream from the day Helen was born, but work was busy, then Mae was born and we just kept saying ‘someday we will,’” she wrote, per EntertainmentNow. “After 3 years at an amazing little school, the dream wouldn’t leave me alone and we weren’t ready to let this summer of being together and having fun end. So, here we go. My painting studio became a classical school overnight.”