Birthday & Christmas

i do it every year for my december baby and my january baby. They are 8 and almost 10 now. We just made a cake and took my daughter out to dinner and to spend some of the money she got from long distance relatives in the mail. we will do the same for my son on his actual birthday at the end of january, and then sometime once the weather warms up we will have a real party, more cake, with family and friends and generally a few of the closer friends will stay for a sleep over.

my kids have never complained and it keeps them from getting gifts only once a year.

My b-day is 4 days before Christmas. When I was younger, we celebrated with my friends when it got warmer out...I liked that idea! It was like I got 2 b-days! On my actual b-day my parents would cook dinner and my grandparents would come, then I got the party later with my friends too!

Lots of people celebrate half-year birthdays so I think your July party idea is great!

For what it's worth ....

My youngest, who's just turned 20, is December 17th. We always did a birthday party for him on or near his actual birthday. His was one of the most well attended parties as it gave parents a kid-free afternoon for Christmas shopping! LOL!! He never wanted a 1/2 birthday party.

I also never allowed combination BD/Christmas gifts for him from friends and family. I was pretty vocal about that! We always spent just as much on him and his party as we did our other kids' birthdays. He always felt special to have his birthday during the holidays.

HTH!

Why not ask your kids what they think? They might like the idea or hate it. Either way let them feel included in what they want to do, and they might even have some creative ideas on what would be really fun for them to do.

I say let them have a big party in the summer (not a birthday party) if you want but still do their birthday party closer to their birthdays.

My son was born Dec 21st, so I know how it is! He just turned 11- over the years we have offered to do a 'half birthday party' in July, but he has NEVER wanted one! He says he likes having his birthday in the winter.

Usually school lets out for the holidays on the weekend before his birthday and that is when we do the party. When he was little, we had more kids (it's hard not to invite everyone when the kids are little and the classes are small) but the last couple of years, it has been just a few good friends- I think we had 7 boys total this year.

We have just taken the boys for pizza and a movie, have gone to a local ice cream parlor, had a Nightmare Before Christmas theme party where we played Halloween games and everyone wore their Halloween costumes (that one was a huge hit) and this year- a sleepover with movies and the Wi.

Over the past few years, my son has been invited to some lavish parties. We just can't afford it and I talked with him about it, and he was really ok with it. We have always had a GREAT time with our homemade parties. Next year, we are thinking of taking him to a local ice cream parlor where they have a giant 12 scoop sundae called THE TROUGH and letting all the boys eat their way through it.

Lol, boys are easier to please than girls in some way! But doing the party the weekend right BEFORE his birthday lets the kids celebrate being out of school and gets the party done before Christmas is really geared up. That's how we do it- good luck!

I have a niece whose birthday is Dec16th. She always felt cheated.
So I do her 1/2 birthday - Each July I give her $20 and tell her it is for her birthday because her birthday is so close to Christmas. There are so many christmas/ holiday parites etc.
She is now 27 and said that was her favorite because she knows her 1/2 birthday is her special time like other kids get on their birthday.
On her actual she would get a phone call and when she was small a small gift.
I think it is a great idea

My son's birthday is the 15th and his birthday tends to get lost in the Christmas shuffle. We did a party for him with his class earlier in the year and then did something special for him on his birthday. It worked very well, but we just started it this year as he turned nine -- he noticed that he didn't get as many gifts as his sister who had a birthday party on her birthday, but because he is older he didn't care as much.

I think it's a fantastic idea. I am a foster mom, and the two girls I have right now both have December birthdays. The older one asked if we could celebrate something in the summer. We had a birthday party for her this year, because she has never had one before. I know it's hard right before Christmas. So many people are so busy! So I think we are going to do a Chuck E Cheese party for the little one and a laser tag party for the other one sometime in June or July.

My daughter's b-day is 12/5. My nieces are 12/25 (yep, Christmas Day), & 12/27. I have my daughter's b-day party on or near her b-day ~ she wants it that way. My nieces have their parties during Christmas break ~ because they want to. We have a family friend who has a child with a b-day on 12/25. He likes to pick when he has a party. For example, he's picked October & had a Halloween b-day party. He still celebrates with his parents & siblings on his REAL b-day because it's his special day. I think it all depends on your kids. Either way, it's a great idea. I'd for sure remember to do something little on their birthdays though even if they pick different days. Good luck!

I'm in the same boat - but in my case, my daughter's birthday is on Jan. 2nd. What we decided to do was to give her small presents on Christmas (tons of presents = happy kid) and the big stuff on her birthday. She still has her own party.

I thought about that idea myself, then rejected it because if it were me, I wouldn't like it very much. I would want to celebrate my birthday on my day, not six months away from my birthday! Kind of sucks, even though it does make it easier for the parents. So I decided to do the above solution - small stuff for Christmas, big stuff for her birthday. It's actually easier that way, IMHO.

My friend has a daughter born on Christmas and she does July party for her. It allows her to have her own special time. I also have 2 kids born in March and January. WHen they were younger we would do campouts in the summer to make up for their winter birthdays. (they are now 15 and 17). I think it is a great idea.

Hi there! I also have a birthday right around Christmas and my parents did a half-birthday for me in the summer. I got presents from family on my actual birthday and a small dinner with a cake but most years had the "real" party in the summer because so many kids would be busy with family events around my actual birthday. My parents were good about wrapping separate presents for Christmas and birthday but not all my family did. Having a separate day for a party in the summer helped me feel like I wasn't missing out on what the other kids got to do.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a 1/2 birthday party. You could have the party and they would get gifts from friends and maybe family in the summer and then just have a small family dinner and gifts from you at their birthday time. I'd leave it up to them when they are old enough to decide.
My birthday is Jan 3rd and my parents were great about making sure all the Christmas stuff was down after New Years so that my birthday didn't just seem like an extension of Christmas celebrations. But it was a downer the rest of the year since I got all these gifts in 2 weeks and then nothing else for another year:(

I was born in July and my birthday always got overlooked because it was during summer break. One of my teachers had a tradition of giving the kids with summer birthdays an "unbirthday" that we got to choose. I picked a day in May, so I was able to celebrate my birthday during the school year and bring cupcakes to class. It was a really great memory, and a brilliant idea by the teacher!

My son is a December baby, and we almost had to cancel his party this year because of snow. A lot of family & friends didn't come because they were worried about driving in bad weather, plus it's so close to Christmas that everyone is busy anyway. I may do an "unbirthday" for him when he's older so his birthday won't get overlooked every year.

I have a friend who has a daughter born ON Christmas. Her mother gives her the choice ever year when she wants to have her party. This year she picked New Year's Eve. Last year it was at the beginning of November. Sometimes, it is during Summer Break. Her family always gives her birthday presents on Christmas, since it is her actual birthday. They just wrap her birthday presents in birthday paper.

I think for some kids it is important to have the party near their actual birthday and for others, it isn't that important. So, I would think you could give them the choice. My son's birthday is 2 weeks after (which isn't as big a deal, because the holiday stuff is done by then) and he always wants his party as close to his real birthday as possible.

I agree with asking the kids what they would like to do, and let them decide, even if they choose the opposite. Two of my neices have birthdays close to Christmas as well, a few years ago, I started giving them their birthday gifts in the summer. We make it special by shopping together and letting them choose. They get so much for their birthdays from friends and relatives that it makes it more special. If you decide to continue with Dec parties, perhaps your gift could come in the summer, there are so many things to choose from that you can't buy and/or do in Dec that apply in July. Then still give a birthday card on the actual birthday.