It seems to me that the event might take place in a campground or backyard during the spring or summer months. We have not yet tried this in our family, but I would imagine the recipient of such a thoughtful and unique gift would certainly feel special and cherished. We have used B-Days as times to take on new responsibilities, complete with unique ceremonies. Bench marks at first may only be recognized by family members, but the recognition can be expanded to include more distant relatives, close friends, the church and school families, entire neighborhoods and eventually the whole town can join in. They can all be part of the ceremony, witnesses to the new responsibility the child agrees to assume, and supporters, encouraging the child in his or her endeavors.
Entire communities mark the day immigrants become U.S. citizens with public ceremonies.
First communion, confirmation, bar mitzvah and other religious bench marks are witnessed and celebrated by religious families. We can extend these occasions if we choose to do so. Another twist would be to assign the same task to the same child at different ages and see the growth in maturity and experience or the same task to all children in the family at the same age so that the entire family may benefit and learn to appreciate the different insights of each child.