Idea #16: Treat birthdays like Beijing's opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Like the Olympics, birthdays don't happen often. And like the Olympics, they can be celebrated with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Some countries, like China, spend years preparing and create astounding displays of beauty. That is how we should treat birthdays.

My husband's birthday is coming up, so I have been trying to figure out how to do this. I should say, first of all, that making a birthday amazing has nothing to do with money at all. It has to do with preparation. I plan to make him a surprise chocolate cake, the kind with icing so good you want to lick it all off the top. I got him a present the lines up perfectly with one of his biggest passions, beer. And I made reservations at one of his favorite restaurants, which serves one of his favorite foods --fresh oysters.

But the biggest gift is all about attitude. There will be 24 hours that revolve around him, in stark contrast to our normal family life. If only I could set off fireworks that spell out his name. Well, maybe with Photoshop I can manage it.