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My 9 Things: What I packed to celebrate my child’s birthday at an All-Inclusive resort

Family travel expert and social media maven Diana Blinkhorn shares her nine essential items she packed to celebrate her daughter's birthday at an all-inclusive resort. | By Diana Blinkhorn | July 15, 2022

When family vacations and children’s birthdays collide, it requires one to get more creative than usual with party planning. Luckily for Diana Blinkhorn, aka @mrsblinks, that isn’t a problem. Says the mom of three, “We love birthdays and usually go all out! After all, it's the one day a year that you can feel truly special. That's why we make a point to keep up with our birthday traditions, even when we are traveling." And that’s exactly what Diana did when a recent family trip to the Dominican Republic coincided with her daughter’s 8th birthday.

Step one? Stay somewhere that’s designed to have something for everyone. Says Diana, “Hilton La Romana, an All-Inclusive Family Resort checked all the boxes for us. They have so much to do on property like a water park, snorkeling and nightly entertainment. Plus, it was the perfect way to celebrate our daughter’s birthday. The staff made her feel so special — from baking her a special birthday cake to leaving the cutest decor on our room door.”

Which begs the question, if the resort does all that, then what do you need to do? Read on to see what Diana packed to celebrate her child’s birthday at an all-inclusive resort, as told to Hilton.

Plates

We usually only travel with a backpack each, so space is limited. These seashell plates added the perfect touch for our tropical birthday celebration without taking up too much room in my bag.

Swimsuit

Packing an unexpected extra, like a new swimsuit, is an easy way to make the birthday girl feel special. I decided to play up the tropical-ocean theme with this fun mermaid swimsuit.

Decor

Our trip to Hilton La Romana Family Resort included a lot of pool time (see aforementioned swimsuit). This fun mermaid balloon was easy to pack and allowed us to keep the party going poolside. Attaching it to our chairs was the perfect way to make our daughter feel special as it got a lot of attention from passersby.

Button

This birthday button made a small but mighty impact on my daughter’s day. She wore it on her swimsuit and out to dinner and felt so special when staff (and other guests) stopped her to say "happy birthday!”

Balloons

Balloons in bed are our birthday tradition! Balloons are a great way to celebrate a birthday on vacation because they don’t take up too much space in your bag.

Sun hat

No traditional birthday hats for this trip! We made sure to pack a big sun hat to protect the birthday girl from those harsh rays. Sunburn on your birthday? That's a big no-no.

Fancy party outfit

What better way to feel special than to pack what my daughter calls “a fancy outfit” for her birthday dinner? She picked this two-piece set out herself and specifically chose it to tie in with the tropical destination.

Water shoes

The beach is our happy place and birthdays are meant for exploring! These water shoes were perfect for our trip to the beach and meant the birthday girl could walk around on the sand and in the water to find that perfect shell to remind her of her special day.

Candle

I couldn't pack a whole birthday cake in my bag, but I could bring a candle! Add in a delicious cake kindly made by the resort staff (who also sang!) and we had a pretty sweet ending to cap off the day.

Diana Blinkhorn, otherwise known as @mrsblinks, is a talented family-travel content creator who strives to inspire families to take on new and exciting adventures. She shares real and raw moments of her journeys with her own three children, and stands as a trusted travel resource to her faithful followers.