Every year since Lake (my oldest daughter) turned 3, I’ve been conducting a “birthday interview” with her. Etta turns 3 soon, so she will have her first one as well. While I absolutely love watching the videos, myself, I do it more for them and their memories. My hope is they cherish the videos as they grow older – and if they have children someday – enjoy showing the videos to them. Even if your child or children are older, it’s never too late to start doing a birthday interview to capture memories!
What I Do + Tips
– You can conduct the interview and record the video in any quiet area you wish. I use the same location in our home every year with a chair in front of a white door/wall.
– For attire, we also do a birthday photoshoot every year, so for the video they wear that same outfit. It would also be fun for your child to wear their current favorite outfit.
– I have recorded all of Lake’s videos vertically (portrait mode) on my iPhone. You could also record with second phone, DSLR or point-and-shoot camera if you desire to have a horizontal version of the video as well.
– I use this tripod to record the interview on my iPhone.
– After I shoot the video, I make sure to save it in at least two locations like a cloud service and external hard drive.
– After I save the video, I watch it and transcribe the answers on a Google Document. (You could also transcribe while you’re conducting the interview). I then save it on my Google Drive in a folder labeled ‘Birthday Interviews.’ This isn’t necessary but I just think it’s nice to also have a ‘written version’ of the interview as well. It can also be good to have in the event any videos get lost or deleted.
– After I shoot the current year’s video, we like to watch the previous year’s video as a family. It’s amazing to see how much your child has grown/changed and is fun to see what answers changed or remained the same.
RELATED VIDEO: Hello Iowa! TV Appearance: Questions To Ask Kids Each Year
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Below are our current list of questions. Feel free to customize based on your child’s age and add any of your own!
Birthday Interview Questions
- What’s your full name?
- How old are you?
- What grade are you in?
- What is your favorite color?
- What is your favorite book?
- What is your favorite TV show?
- What is your favorite movie?
- What is your favorite song?
- What is your favorite toy?
- What is your favorite game?
- What is your favorite animal?
- What is your favorite food?
- What is your favorite drink?
- What is your favorite fruit?
- What is your favorite vegetable?
- What is your favorite breakfast food?
- What is your favorite dessert/treat?
- What is your favorite restaurant?
- What is your favorite holiday?
- What are some of your favorite things to do?
- What is your favorite thing to do with dad?
- What is your favorite thing to do with mom?
- What is your favorite thing to do with <insert sibling(s) name(s)>?
- Who is your best friend?
- Who are some other friends you like to hang out with?
- What’s your teacher’s name?
- What is your favorite subject at school?
- What activities (sports, clubs, etc.) do you participate in?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Who do you admire and why?
- What do you like to sleep with at night?
- What are you scared of?
- Where is your favorite place to go?
- If you could go anywhere on a trip right now, where would you go?
- What would you do if you had a million dollars?
- What are you thankful for?
- What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
- What are you really good at?
- What is a goal or something you want to accomplish this year?
- What do you want to do on your birthday?
- What do you want for your birthday?
- Is there anything else you want to add or say?
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