December Babies

my family and friend circle has lots of birthdays at this time (twins dec 30, my son dec21, and friend dec25 are the closest) we have all agreed that it seems really important to NEVER allow yourself or others wrap b-day gifts in Christmas paper =) also, as they get older, they can choose what day they want to celebrate it on. my friend born on christmas always got the afternoon when they did it the same day, so then all "christmas" celebration was put on hold to let her "get her time" too... my son is only turning three this year and we are traveling to CA on his b-day so we're not sure what we'll do yet either.... and to refrain from buying "combo" gifts, i try to buy the bigger ticket items WAY earlier =) another friend's family has two kids within that week, so they celebrate quarter and half b-days celebrating in like June.... As long as you let him know his day is special it won't matter when/how he celebrates it, i'm sure =)

If I was in your boat I would try and celebrate the birthday a week before Christmas. Let them have their special day before the craziness of Christmas.

My birthday is Dec. 21. My birthday was always celebrated seperately from Christmas. Both are special days and each should be celebrated individually. Usually my parties were held before my birthday or later. We always had a 'family' celebration on the day but with other family/friends a party was usually a week earlier. As long as you make it special and seperate from Christmas, it will be great! I got a lot of the combo birthday/Christmas presents, which was a bummer. Especially when as a kid you like lots of presents!! One year I even had my party in the summer exactly 6 months later and celebrated a 'half' birthday, but come Dec. I wanted another party so that didn't exactly work! As for this year, don't worry about it. This year's party is for you more than the 1 year old! Good luck. I'm sure you'll make it special whenever it's celebrated!
L.

I too am facing the birthday on Dec 22nd, but I also have a twin thing on top of that. In our house we celebrate winter Solstice. Most years it falls on Dec 21st. So what usually happens is: Solstice gifts on the 21st and the twins b-day gifts on the 22nd then Hubby's family on the 24th and my family on the 25th. It makes for a crazy week of partys. I think that I will offer them a "friend" party either a week or two before or after as well as a choice of a pary in the summer. Knowing them they will each chose something different, very good. : )

My son's birthday is on the 23rd and we always celebrate it the weekend before Christmas. We make sure it is separate from Christmas becuase my other 2 children have special birthdays and we want to make his just as special. When he gets older I may do his birthday a little earlier becuase of Christmas vacations, but not until school starts.

My birthday is actually Dec. 27th. It has been hard to have a party on the day and or make it feel extra special when it comes after such a big holiday. It's all how you handle the day. Make it all about him not the holiday. Make sure you do all the things a birthday should be. It's easy to skip certain things with all of the extra's Christmas gives out. Never use holiday wrapping paper. Decorate for the birthday & take down some holiday decorations if you can.
Regardless though, it's about being with family & celebrating a very important day. Whether it's on the 22nd or with Christmas it's just as special.

My birthday is Dec. 31 and my family always celebrated my birthday separely from Christmas. As I got older, we didn't always celebrate on my birthday but sometimes a little earlier or later. It didn't matter much when, but it did matter that my mom always made sure it was a distinct birthday celebration for me separate from Christmas. I never got cheated on birthday presents either. As the mom, you get to set the stage for the tradition and make sure Max gets his special day.

My daughter's first birthday will be this year on Chrismas Day. We'll do something at home that morning and she'll receive a gift special from mom, dad, and brother...and we hope to get together to celebrate with close family within those few days but we'll have her actual birthday party in mid January.

My niece's birthday is Dec. 23rd, and her mom always just threw a party the week/weekend before so the two were kept seperate. Good luck!

Hi. My friend has a son born on Christmas Eve, ironically also named Max (although this one is now in high school). They always host a family dinner on Christmas Eve to celebrate Max's birthday and Christmas. Then they have a kids birthday party in the summer on his half birthday so that he gets a special day outside of the holiday hoopla. It has worked well also because his friends weren't always available around the holidays, so summer seemed to work better for a kids party anyway. Just one idea.

Some of my friends celebrate their childrens half birthday with a big party and they have a nice meal and a small present on the day. On the reverse, my sons bday is in July and at school they celebrate his half birthday so he can have a special day during the school year like all they other kids.

Jeanna,
I myself celebrate my birthday on Dec. 23rd. All I can say is that birthdays should be special and treated as so. My mom did a really good job of keeping my birthday seperate from Christmas. So that ment we were with family three days in a row... it was a lot but now that I am older I think it was the best thing ever.

The harder thing was when I got a little older and all the friend parties. Because Christmas was two days later I was never able to have a friend party in December. I always waited until a weekend in January for that. That way all my friends could be there.

There is nothing fun about sharing your birthday with a holiday or with another person. Make it special for your son, let him know just because Christmas is a few days away his day is just as important as the holiday.

I hope this helps. If you want to talk more just email me, ____@____.com.

K.

My birthday is on December 7th and my brother's is on the 30th. We frequently got x-mas/birthday presents as one gift in never bothered me but it did bother him.

But, what I think was most difficult for him as a (school aged) kid was having his birthday fall during the school break. People were usually on vacation and/or had too many things going on, so his party was never very well attended. I know this bothered him a lot. I wish my mom would have tried to throw a party for him after the kids came back to school.

My birthday is December 25th, my daughter's is the 22nd and my husband's is the 8th, it makes for a difficult December! However, especially with our daughter, we don't put up the tree or any decorations for Christmas until after her birthday, we have a regular birthday party for her (I call parents and ask if their kids are bringing gifts to not have them associated with Christmas or winter), and we just seperate the two things. When I was a child, my mother would have a small celebration (just a nice breakfast of my choosing and a really small gift, like a book, a hair bow, or somthing) on June 25th, just so I could have a day that was special to just me, not to 75% of the U.S. Also, especailly until he's older, don't ever combine his gifts (i.e. here's your birthday/Christmas gift), it makes the child (I speak from experience here) feel that because their birthday is so close to the holiday, they don't count as much. Good Luck, I promise when he's older, it won't be a big deal.