Birthdays near Christmas

[fairfarmhand]

Three of my kids have birthdays within weeks of Christmas (12/1, 12/11, and Jan 7)

 

Every year it is a struggle to see that they get a fair shake on their birthdays and their special day is not overshadowed by Christmas.

 

Anyone else have any suggestions as to how to do this?

[Guest Cindie2dds]

My oldest is January 13th. We (the parents) don't do a lot for Christmas, mostly because I work a lot in December. The grandparents love Christmas, so that's their thing.

 

We ask her what she wants for a party and make a big production of it. Last year it was a pizza/roller skating party, this year she wants to go to Six Flags. Very little on the present side from us because she wants to feel special, so we make a big deal out of the party.

 

I'm open for other suggestions too! :lurk5:

[KatieJ]

My daughters both have December birthdays. ( 12/8 and 12/12)

It's hard. Really, my oldest will be 34 and she says come January, she rarely could remember what she got for her birthday vs. Christmas no matter what we did!

What I did try to do was not decorate the house before the birthdays were done. Find some really great birthday paper that does not resember Christmas wrap in any way shape or form!

[MrsBasil]

My birthday is Dec 21 and I never really had issues with having a birthday close to Christmas.

 

My parents usually had my birthday party with friends earlier in the month and it was a special party. My birthday was a family day. The kitchen was always decorated with streamers and balloons when I woke up and my presents were wrapped in birthday paper and sitting on the table. Dinner was whatever I chose, either homemade or out to eat.

 

Honestly though, I love Christmas and the whole Christmas season. I'm the anti Scrooge(love carolers, bell ringers, Christmas music non stop from Thanksgiving on..) so having my birthday right around Christmas made it all the more wonderful for me. I never felt like my birthday was lost in the all the hubbub. My parents made sure it was a special day for me.

 

Even now, that's the day I have DH take us out to look at Christmas lights which is not one of his favorite things. :)

[mommyofthree]

My ds birthday is December 25th. Yep, Christmas Day. To ensure that he feels special and gets the attention, we celebrate his bd one week before Christmas. He recently told me that it makes him so sad when people would remember it's his birthday and say " oh yeah, happy birthday X, late in the afternoon"

[cmarango]

:iagree:

My bday is dec. 22 and I have always loved the Christmas season. The only bad thing when I was growing up was that it was difficult to have a birthday party since most people were away or with extended family at that time. However, I thought that it was great that my birthday was so close to Christmas because while other children were waiting for presents I got to have a few early.

 

I think that it all depends on how you present it.

[LostSurprise]

I'm a 12/23.

 

It's not as bad as you think. Most of us deal with it...and no one ever forgets to give me a gift!

 

Just make sure to make their day special. I'm more frustrated that I never got a cake unless I made it myself (I was the baker of my growing up family and I'm the baker now).

 

And parties can happen any time...early, late, whenever. We have at least one child that has a holiday party with their friends rather than a birthday party (we request no gifts anyway and this makes it easier for a JW friend to come).

[Mejane]

My son's b'day is the 19th. One year, we had a party in July so he could use the pool. Most years, however, we just have a cake and he gets his gift. The extended family tend to do the "this is your birthday and christmas gift" thing. I don't think it bothers him, but he's an easy-going kid.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin's birthday is very close to Christmas. He has most of his presents then, but the big parental present is given to him on his half-birthday in June.

 

Laura

[Nicole M]

My son's b'day is the 19th. One year, we had a party in July so he could use the pool. Most years, however, we just have a cake and he gets his gift. The extended family tend to do the "this is your birthday and christmas gift" thing. I don't think it bothers him, but he's an easy-going kid.

 

For several years when my oldest was little (12/18) we did half birthday parties, too, in June. Then on his actual birthday we would have cake after dinner, but typically no gifts.

 

No one ever gave combo gifts to him, so it's not been an issue.

[hsbeth]

Our second daughter's birthday is 12/26. IMO it's one of the toughest days b/c everyone is so *done* as far as presents and celebrations on that day. When she was under 5 or so we'd celebrate one month later on 1/26. Once she became calendar aware she didn't want to do that. Also my third dd came along and her b-day is 2/7 so it was difficult to celebrate in late Jan. anyway.

 

DD is honestly slighted pretty much every year. Her b-day gifts are almost always given to her on Christmas by all of the extended family. More than half are wrapped in Christmas paper. Her grandparents (who buy several gifts for each of my dds at Christmas) often take one or two of those and re-designate them as birthday gifts. Cards and birthday calls never seem to arrive. Her birthday becomes an afterthought to everyone's holiday celebrations. Blessedly she has always handled this with amazing grace. I don't think any of my other daughters would be able to manage so well, I know I wouldn't have as a child. She's just a really peace-loving, eternally grateful, and generally happy sort of child who's always been quite mature for her age.

 

Interestingly, she several of her closest friends are also late December/very early Jan b-days. It seems to be a coincidence, but it's been a blessing. This helps as they often celebrate together. They are a sweet bunch of girls and they all understand, so work hard to remember one another's days in a special, though not extravagant way.

[Sherry in OH]

Discourage joint birthday-Christmas gifts, especially for younger children. Do something special, but not Christmas-themed for their birthdays.

 

As a child, my next oldest sister and I frequently felt slighted. Other children would receive birthday gifts on their birthdays and then at Christmas get another gift. My sister would be told that her birthday was so close to Christmas that instead of a birthday gift, she would get a "nicer" Christmas gift. My birthday is in early January, I would be told that I had received a "nicer" Christmas gift in lieu of a birthday gift. The "nicer" gifts somehow never felt nicer.

[JoyfulMama]

... DD is honestly slighted pretty much every year. Her b-day gifts are almost always given to her on Christmas by all of the extended family. More than half are wrapped in Christmas paper. Her grandparents (who buy several gifts for each of my dds at Christmas) often take one or two of those and re-designate them as birthday gifts. Cards and birthday calls never seem to arrive. Her birthday becomes an afterthought to everyone's holiday celebrations. Blessedly she has always handled this with amazing grace. I don't think any of my other daughters would be able to manage so well, I know I wouldn't have as a child. She's just a really peace-loving, eternally grateful, and generally happy sort of child who's always been quite mature for her age.

...

 

This is what my MIL dealt with when she was a child. She and my youngest share a birthday in January. She has been adamant about separating Christmas and birthdays for my youngest, which has been a benefit to us, as they make the effort to visit our house soon after the holidays.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

My goddaughter's birthday is Dec. 26, and so I always have separately wrapped gifts just for her birthday. We usually plan a birthday "date", too, sometime away from the Christmas season, where we spend to whole day doing fun things. Last year, we went to the zoo, lunch, paint your own pottery place and then to a movie.

 

My sister's birthday is Dec. 29th, and she always got gypped. Other kids were away for the holidays, so a party was hard to plan. My mom always made her a birthday cake and had birthday presents for her, but it always seemed rather lame after the magic of Christmas.

[LibraryLover]

We have b'days Nov to Feb. No matter the season, I make sure to have a cake and a b'day supper (child chooses food) on their actual b'day, no matter. We invite family and *very* close friends. I don't care if the b'day is on a Mon, we do it. It's not a huge party, but it is a special time for that child. I put the b'day banner in the dinning room etc. My parents always come for cake, as do the closest friends. We tend not to do large b'day parties (although we have at times), so this is standard for all of our family, no matter the season. If anyone has wrapped gifts in Christams paper, I've never noticed.

[GoVanGogh]

Our second daughter's birthday is 12/26. IMO it's one of the toughest days b/c everyone is so *done* as far as presents and celebrations on that day.

:iagree:

DS was born premature on the 26th. The doctors initially were going to deliver him late in the day on the 24th, then decided to push it out a bit longer. He was born early on the 26th.

Every year, I play this "What if..." with his birth date. I just think the 26th is so dreadful - because everyone is "done!" by then. My own birthday is 2 weeks later so I am sure my feelings are from my mother always saying, "Ugh. Christmas is over. Now it's your birthday!" :tongue_smilie:

Currently, DS thinks it is awesome to have a birthday on the 26th, as he gets two days of presents and great desserts in a row. :lol: Hope he keeps up that spirit!

We are very emotionally committed to celebrating his birthday ON his birthday, since he was premature, so I just "grin and bear it."

I do get very overwhelmed with shopping and wrapping this time of year.

 

Interestingly, she several of her closest friends are also late December/very early Jan b-days. It seems to be a coincidence, but it's been a blessing. This helps as they often celebrate together. They are a sweet bunch of girls and they all understand, so work hard to remember one another's days in a special, though not extravagant way.

That's funny. Same thing here. Four of DS's best friends have birthdays within 2 weeks of Christmas. Holiday babies much have some secret society. :lol:

[LaissezFaire]

My Dh's birthday is Dec 18 and my DS's is Dec 13. My Dh says to tell all parents of kids born near Christmas to NOT buy them a jacket for their birthday. LOL. Apparently his parents always gave him a jacket and we have talked to a lot of other parents of December babies who do the same thing!

 

We usually have a big joint birthday dinner for the two of them and my dad (Dec 11) and make the whole say special. I don't think they feel lost in the Christmas shuffle. Never wrap birthday gifts in Christmas Paper.

[fairfarmhand]

My Dh's birthday is Dec 18 and my DS's is Dec 13. My Dh says to tell all parents of kids born near Christmas to NOT buy them a jacket for their birthday. LOL. Apparently his parents always gave him a jacket and we have talked to a lot of other parents of December babies who do the same thing!

 

We usually have a big joint birthday dinner for the two of them and my dad (Dec 11) and make the whole say special. I don't think they feel lost in the Christmas shuffle. Never wrap birthday gifts in Christmas Paper.

 

 

my birthday is at the beginning of September and I have memories of getting new school shoes every year for my birthday..:001_huh:

[BikeBookBread]

LLL's birthday is December 30. She was a planned caesarean (for medical reasons both of my girls were planned Cs), and my DH was deploying on January 2nd. Her "due date" was January 4, so he took her the earliest possible day that Tricare would allow a planned section was the December 30.

 

We put the tree up quite early in the season (probably by the end of this week) so that it doesn't feel so sad to take it down before the New Year, this way the tree is gone on her birthday and it feels less "Christmassy" around the house.

 

We don't use any Christmas wrap for birthday presents

 

The only hard part is figuring out when to have a birthday party for her little friends... we haven't had one successfully for her. I think this year we'll do it the first Saturday after New Year's, so that the holidays are done for families.

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

I'm the 24th. Never got slighted though! My parents made it special! I always had a party if I wanted one. It might have been the week or weekend before but it was for my birthday and that alone....no Christmas decorations, no Christmas wrapping! I always felt honored when friend and people outside my family made it a point to separate the two! I love the winter and I love Christmas (the nativity scenes, the lights, the music, the joyful attitudes of people) and wouldn't want to celebrate it another time!

[bluemongoose]

Well, DH and all 3 kiddos have their birthdays between Thanksgiving and MLK. Two of them are very close to Christmas (one is Christmas Eve).

 

One thing we do is we have the Sat after the Christmas weekend (this year it is the 1st) as our reserved day. We throw a big party for all the kiddos at a place they choose. We cannot afford to do separate big parties for them, so we do it together. This has a side benefit...other people are more likely to be able to "handle" just one more event after Christmas. They are less likely to accommodate 3 parties around Christmas. I have hinted that Christmas paper shouldnt show up at the birthday party, and our house Christmas decor is down before the party.

 

Another thing I do is make sure I am done with Christmas and Birthday shopping by Nov 1st and all wrapped by Thanksgiving. This assures that my attitude with be festive instead of stressed from trying to come up with the next gift for the next party. The other thing it assures is that I dont attempt the joint Christmas/Birthday gift to just get the shopping over with! Other family members have not figured out the trick of spreading out the buying of gifts. They always complain about my kids birthdays and how they cannot afford the Christmas and Birthdays right next to each other. I have a hard time not going off on their lack of preparedness (since it bugs them), it is not like the birthday changes every year and comes as a surprise! I also am bothered when they complain about it in front of my children!

 

Another thing I do is try to make a special dinner on their actual birthday. One that I know they will really like. This is hard though, they dont really like to eat dinner:tongue_smilie:.

 

Another thing I have stored up in the back of my head is to allow them to celebrate on their half birthday (in the summer) if they decide they would prefer it that way. They are young right now, and the joint party is still a major treat to them, so they are happy!

[Amira]

One of my children was born two days after Christmas. We give him the option of choosing whether to celebrate with a party and presents on the 27th or at a different time during the year. Since he was born on a major holiday of another religion that uses a different calendar, we celebrate on that day which changes every year. He usually chooses to have the presents at a different time of the year, but we always have another birthday cake on the 27th. His brother who was born in the spring thinks the Christmas birthday son gets the better deal.

[mom31257]

Dh's is very close to Christmas. We don't celebrate it at half year because that is right before our anniversary. He always felt bad as a kid because relatives gave him a gift for both. If I had kids at that time, we would celebrate half birthdays or let them pick a special day a year like during their favorite season.

[elise1mds]

My sister's birthday is 12/15. She got married two years ago, and her husband's birthday is 12/6. When my sister and I were little, my mom always put the tree up and decorated for Christmas on my sister's birthday as her "special thing." I hated waiting so late in the month, and as she got older, my sister hated that it meant she could never have a party ("Not that anyone could ever come, anyway," my mother always said. Optimist, that woman. :p). My sister did always get separate gifts, though, so that was nice.

[joannqn]

DS8's birthday is New Year's Eve. I always planned on having Christmas decorations down before his birthday so we could decorate birthday-style and have a party. Surprise, surprise! He wants the Christmas decorations left out for this birthday.

 

We've always had a small party with our closest friends. Sometimes, it's just one other family. We often do a sleepover and let the kids play Wii to help them stay up for the New Year. So far, he's happy with his birthday.

[myfunnybunch]

Oh my! That's a lot of holiday birthdays!

 

I have a Christmas boy. His birthday is ON Christmas Day. Dh and I discussed this when he was born and we decided that the last thing we want is to teach him to feel "cheated" somehow, so we totally don't focus on trying to make up for the fact that his birthday is on a major holiday. I think the key for us is just to treat it like any other birthday. :) He gets to choose what he eats for dinner (we just add it to our Christmas dinner), and after dinner is Birthday Time: We make him construction paper birthday cards, we have balloons and a special birthday cake, and he opens his presents. It helps that we have a family birthday dinner tradition.

 

I make sure to wrap all of his presents in birthday paper. He gets as many presents for his birthday as he would if he had a June birthday. Everyone else in my family "gets it" and treats it like any birthday. They call him to say Happy Birthday, and we get a separate birthday gift wrapped in birthday paper for him to open the evening of his birthday.

 

I also make sure to greet him with a big "Happy Birthday" and a birthday hug first thing in the morning.

 

Cat

[KidsHappen]

Mine is one the 1st and my dd's is on the 6th of Jan. She was due on the 23rd but I guess she didn't want to be that close to Christmas. To tell the truth, it has never really been that much of a problem due to the facts that our paydays (both my father and my hubby's) fall on the first of the month so our birthdays were always closer to paydays than holidays. There is enough of a break between the birthdays and Christmas that it was not too overwhelming. My poor cousin was born on the 24th of December and my granddaughter on the 25th. I imagine it was much harder for them.

 

For us, Halloween is much harder. We have several birthdays in a row, then Halloween, then one more birthday and finally one on the 3rd of Nov. and HAlloween is a big holiday in our family. So we have more like the 12 days of Halloween. Luckily, there are always enough activities to do something different every day for a week.

 

What is really rough though is that almost all birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and such (that effect us) all happen from the last day of July until the last day of Jan. as well as the beginning of the school year and sports so almost all of our expenses are at the end of the year. In just the immediate family we have:

 

July 31st - birthday

 

August 11 - birthday

 

August 22 - birthday

 

Middle of Aug. - School Starts

 

September 4 & 5th - 3 birthdays and Labor Day

 

October 2? - about 5 birthdays and Halloween

 

November 3 - birthday

 

November 11 - birthday

 

November 28 - birthday

 

December 1 - birthday

 

December 12 - Anniversary

 

December 25 - birthday

 

December 25 - Christmas

 

January 6 - birthday

 

January 30 - birthday

 

I do have one born on May 15th so she kind of has it made. By the way, 4 of my 6 were due on the 22nd or 23rd of the month. They came on the 29th, 30th, 31st and 6th. My cycles were regular, my kids not so much. One was due on the 9th and came on the 15th and the final one was due on the 10th and came on the 5th. All three SILs (or future SILs) have birthdays in Feb. as does my mother in law, father in law, my brother and several brother in laws.

 

I have met ladies with several children all born on the same day or within a day or two of each other, none of them planned that way either. At least, they know when to be extra careful with the BC.

[JeneralMom]

I am Dec 5th, as is my older brother. My parents always gave us b-day and X-Mas gifts, but our relatives usually gave us a token gift for our birthday and a gift for X-Mas. We just assumed it was all out g-parents could afford, and it wasn't until we had cousins (all born in April and May) that we realized they all got huge b-day presents and X-Mas gifts. I asked my g-ma once when I was older and she said it was just to much bother to find two gifts for each of us so close together...nice, eh?

 

I loved it as a teen/young adult because all my closest friends have b-days in Dec or early January so we did b-days, Hannukah, X-Mas, New Years....

 

My DH's dad had a New Year's Eve b-day and everyone always forgot it, so as an adult he made his family make a big deal of it. DH's nephew is Christmas Eve...my BIL and SIL got a call from the adoption agency on X-Mas day and had him in their home by New Year's Eve (he was born in Hawaii and they had to wait for someone to bring him to them).

 

However, DH's family does not make a big deal out of X-Mas as my FIL passed away on X-Mas morning, so it is a sad time for them.

[jplain]

My birthday is Christmas Day. I was the first grandchild on both sides, so it was easy for my parents to convince my grandparents and aunts and uncles that it would NOT be okay to roll my birthday and Christmas gifts together. Combination gifts were strictly forbidden.

 

My mom would throw an evening family birthday party with cake and presents 1-2 weekends before Christmas, and I'd have a daytime kid party around the same time. When I was a teenager, we dropped the separate birthday parties and everyone brought birthday gifts to our big family gathering on Christmas Eve. I'd have a little gift opening session either before or after everyone opened Christmas gifts. My mom would also get a birthday cake. By that age I really didn't enjoy being the center of attention for gift-opening, but I endured it. However, the cake was fun, because everyone else was already stuffed with Xmas goodies, so I pretty much got the cake to myself. Yum, lol.

 

As an adult, I LOVE having a Christmas birthday, because I can always be with my family on that day, but I don't have to be the center of attention. I usually make a birthday cake for myself, because I'm gluten-free and I eat low-carb and I don't trust anyone else to bake for me. ;)

[justamouse]

We just do the same thing every year and we have two before Christmas.

 

1. They all get a budgeted amount for their birthday-period. This amount is the same every year and goes up occasionally to account for inflation.

2. Birthday presents are wrapped in birthday paper, never Christmas paper.

3. All birthday children get what they want for dinner and the cake they want. Every year. It's not like I don't know the date so it's easy to schedule around it. :)

 

I have the two the week before Christmas and I have 4 in January, then my MIL, FIL and step father in January, too. Christmas is just the *start* of the insanity for us. I have one out in August, all by his lonesome. :D