Birthdays Near Christmas

[RedAngie]

Anybody have a birthday near the holidays? What were your experiences growing up? Or now? Did you get separate gifts/parties/acknowledgements or one combined present? I've heard from some December babies who complained their birthday was overlooked and/or they got one combined gift that was no better than anybody else's standard Christmas gift.

Older DD's birthday is December 19. We've always been careful to have a separate celebration for her plus birthday specific gifts. She will be 29 next week, on a Wednesday, so we don't always celebrate on her birthday itself anymore, but close to it. We've having it on Friday the 21st.

Growing up there were five birthdays near Christmas in my extended family. We'd all gather at my grandmother's house on the Saturday or Sunday before Christmas for a birthday party for those five, and then again on Christmas Day.

 

[barkley]

my brother's is right before christmas and i remember lots of bday/christmas gift combos he got. my parents always made an effort to separate it out when he was growing up though. i'm sending off his/his dw's holiday box this week-it will have both their christmas gift and a separate bday gift (in bday wrapping).

 

[AgentMama]

Mine is near the holidays, I never felt like I was slighted because of the proximity, and when I did get a gift that was considered for both, I felt like it was a fair combination.

 

[Brett Wyman]

My son's is on 12-23. Poor guy. He's only 2 now so hasn't figured out his bad luck yet : )

Mine is very early January and I got TONS of combo gifts as a kid. I think a b-day close to but after Christmas is worse, because they can just deem a present under the tree as your birthday gift!

 

[soccerdad72]

A lot of it depends on how much importance the person puts on birthdays. My sister, for example, has an early January birthday. She's always had issues with people giving her 'combo' presents (Christmas/Birthday in one) and wants a big deal made out of her birthday, so my mom has always made sure that she had separate presents for the two occasions and separate birthday parties as well.

Others I know who have December/January birthdays don't really care if people make a big deal of their birthday and it doesn't bother them if folks just combine the two.

 

[AP1209]

Both of my kids are near Christmas (dec 9 and dec 16). We keep the separate. We usually do more for birthday because they end up getting a lot a stuff for Christmas because people wait to give them stuff on Christmas. December is always crazy with both kids birthday plus my wife's parents birthday are both in December as well as my mom's birthday

 

[Southernmiss]

Our daughter's bday is Dec 17. When she was young, we gave her a gift on her birthday and had a small family celebration that day. But delayed her party until January.

I often combined her party with her brother's whose birthday is February! I know bad mom. But at the time I was a coordinator of youth at our church and planning events for the church and my kids' birthdays often got overwhelming. Much like the cobbler's kids always need new shoes.

This year, DD will be 17 and she asked last week if she could have a tea party with friends. So we are planning a tea party for Saturday for her friends. I am excited as she's never been a girly girl and I've always wanted to have a tea party for her friends!

We got out her great grandmother's china that DD inherited last night and washed it all. I will shop this evening for the rest. The girls are excited, too and will come in dresses and fancy clothes.

So glad we finally get to do "something" good for her birthday before her birthday!

Oh, and her presents have always been distinctly birthday or Christmas, never combined and never cheaped out for either occasion.

 

[barkley]

My son's is on 12-23. Poor guy. He's only 2 now so hasn't figured out his bad luck yet : )

i had a friend whose mom did the family bday thing around the date but she always had her kid party 6 months from the date (her 'half birthday') largely b/c she got a better turn out (people travel so much around christmas).

 

[Brett Wyman]

Others I know who have December/January birthdays don't really care if people make a big deal of their birthday and it doesn't bother them if folks just combine the two.

Thats me. After just doing Christmas and my birthday usually falling on the first or second day back to work after the break, I just don't care.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

DD's birthday is in January so we try to keep the two holidays separate and NOT do combo gifts. Maybe when she's older she might want it differently, but she LOVES Christmas and she LOVES birthdays so we celebrate both separately. I could imagine a scenario in which we went to WDW for Christmas AND a birthday celebration, but really I think we prefer the crowds in January over the Disney holiday parties, events, etc.

 

[amberpi]

i had a friend whose mom did the family bday thing around the date but she always had her kid party 6 months from the date (her 'half birthday') largely b/c she got a better turn out (people travel so much around christmas).

The boy’s bday is 12.29 and we’ve talked about doing half birthdays. This year he’s getting a “trip” instead of a party at his request. He’ll have plenty of gifts for both Xmas and bday, but honestly, we have the couple of days after the holiday to buy those and we’ll know then what grandparents and family will have gotten him. The only thing I need to do is to find an r2d2 cake. So much easier to make some reservations than do a whole big party. I’m scared of the Pinterest moms judging!

 

[jdb in AZ]

DH was born on New Year's Eve -- a tax deduction by six hours. His adoring mommy always spoiled him with separate b-day gifts. I was hatched in January and wish there were more time between celebrations, but haven't ever felt deprived.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Mine is the 17th, and my folks always made a huge effort to keep them separate, and also let relatives know that if they wouldn't give my brother, who's birthday is in April a combined present, they shouldn't give me one either. I have had some friends who did the combined gift thing, but I'm older now so I don't really worry about it. My husband, however, knows better than to try and combine the presents!

As I got to be a teen I found that having a birthday 8 days before Christmas was actually a benefit, I got birthday money, that I could use on Christmas presents for friends and family, and then I'd get more Christmas money to spend on me! No worrying about budgeting for that time frame!

 

[emmybee]

My husband has been lobbying to combo my bday & xmas for years. It has always been a hard No from me until this year when he got me Sig Plus passports to DL. He gets a one year dispensation.

What really annoyed me when I was younger was how my dad would combo my birthday with my brother's. He's early Nov, I'm early December.

 

[BLAZEY]

My best friends birthday is Dec 12. Her mum explained when we were kids that lots of people (especially relatives in England wanted to combine her gift as they were being mailed. Her sister has a birthday in July) Its unfair that her 1 gift in December should serve as both birthday and Christmas for her, but her sister got 2 separate but equal gifts. BFF's Xmas gifts were not more bigger or more expensive that the sister. It stuck with me and I always made sure to acknowledge her birthday as something separate from Christmas. Making sure to use birthday wrap and such as well.

 

[iivye]

Husband's birthday is 12/25. He said growing up he always got the shaft when it came to presents because people combine them. I give him two separate gifts and usually get him a cake but we still celebrate his birthday on the 25th.

 

[amcnj]

A nephew’s is the 26th. When young there were two celebrations, though maybe not all birthday ones were right on the 26th, but somewhere in the vicinity. As he got a little older, they did mix in some half birthday celebrations, for example, beach or waterpark parties for the kids during the summer. When he reached adulthood extended birthday parties stopped, and we started giving two separate gifts when we saw him on Christmas Eve.

 

[DisneyHardin]

The daughter of the family I used to Nanny for had a birthday on Dec. 26. They always did a little something with family on the 26th, but then she did her big friend party in the summer on her "half"birthday since people were often out of town and stuff during Christmas break to try and fit in a party.

 

[kimblebee]

My birthday is 25 days after Christmas so it’s far enough that they have always been separated but close enough that I don’t know what to ask for for my birthday lol

I always wished I had a summer birthday.

 

[Southernmiss]

My birthday is 25 days after Christmas so it’s far enough that they have always been separated but close enough that I don’t know what to ask for for my birthday lol

I always wished I had a summer birthday.

Similar dilemma here-my birthday is at the end of November.