First Birthday on Dec 28Th.

I have a December birthday boy. We never decorate for Christmas until his birthday is over. This makes it his special time. We also have cake for every child on the day of their birthday along with their favorite food for dinner that night. This makes it a special time and takes the focus off of gifts.

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Man - those birthdays around Christmas are hard!

My youngest has a birthday 10 days before Christmas; my Mom's birthday is 4 days before Christmas and my Grandma's birthday is 3 days after Christmas!!

For daughter, we refuse to decorate inside the house until we've had her birthday. We may decorate the night of her birthday, but only after we've "done" the birthday thing. Not so easy for you all to do.

For Mom and Grandma well, that's harder. Here are my suggestions:

First - a first birthday IS about the family more than the kid. Make it small and take TONS of pictures.

After the first, think about these things. I know that it's hard to manage birthday and Christmas so close together. But my Mom said when she was a kid she got either Christmas presents or birthday presents. Don't do that. Also, (this isn't as easy as you think!) plan ahead. Birthday wrap is VERY hard to find around Christmas - so plan ahead for that. My Mom used to get upset when she got her birthday present wrapped in Christmas wrap. So, if I can't find something, I turn the Christmas wrap over and let the kids go at it with crayons. Anything so it's not Christmas.

I know those don't really help you this year. Just try to make sure that whatever you do for birthday doesn't have Christmas tones to it. (No green and red cakes!)

Those are the suggestions I have, hope they help some!

Can I just say at the year mark, kids have NO CLUE. You can do a small affair, get her a cake all her own, friends and family and don't worry about alot on her first birthday. Take lot's of pictures. Most first birthdays are about the parents not the child. She won't remember it, hee hee.
As she gets older and has friends from school, then you will need to make sure that the two celebrations are seperate and more about concentrating on her memories.

My friend has a son who's birthday is the week before Christmas, when he got older they had a huge bday party for him in July! That way his friends could be there (around holidays so many people are gone) and it wasn't so financially stretched doing it away from Christmas. Then on his actual bday they had a small family celebration, that day was all about him. You have to make sure they are old enough to understand so around 6 that is a good time.
My daughter got confused if we celebrated on a different day then her actual birthday until she was 6.

This wasn't bithday but a lot of fun...he day before New Years Eve, we had a mock New Years for kids. I bought Bobolia pizzas and everyone brought ingredients to top them with. The families played games while I worked with older children making pizzas. We had a good time and the guests ate in shifts as the pizzas came out (I think we had about six or eight...three to four shifts) they cooked fast as the oven was hot. I also didn't have to worry about seating with everyone eating all at once. I hd kid tyoes first and then adult ones. then we all played a charades game that preschoolers could do witha parent buddy. then we went out at about 7 pm to chime in the New Year and everyone went home. You could even plan way ahead for the second birthday and tape the count down fro this year. My father is July 3 and he said he didn't even know his birthday was not the 4th until he was older. His mom saved money by having his birthday party in conjunction with the (smal town) 4h of july events...just a thought...combine it with New Years and she would get fire works and ecitement every year.

My daughter's birthday is Dec. 23rd (as is my dad's!) and this year she will be 10. We have always taken a break on that day and had a family party, including grandparents. When she was younger, we would have her 'kid' party earlier in the month. But we decided to try doing it right after the holdays when she turned 7, and have done it that way ever since. Once the holidays are over, a lot more of the kids would be able to come. When we did it too close to the holidays, she had kind of poor turnouts. She has been fine with this. I think the main thing is that we DO give her the focus on that day as a family. When I was pregnant with her, I asked some people who had birthdays around that time what they liked and didn't like, and I mostly heard the following: Take the time out to celebrate it somehow on the day of, don't combine Christmas and birthday presents, and for heaven's sake, DON'T use Christmas paper on the birthday gifts! :^) Hope this helps!

I would suggest to not make her 1st birthday a really big deal. He's already going to be strung out from first Christmas and everybody around. I would do something pretty simple - just cake and ice cream and some presents. As mom's we tend to have all these big expectations of how the first birthday should be all great and perfect. But for little one all the hoopla can just be overwhelming and we end up with a grumpy kid and dashed expectations.

In general, I would say make sure all the decorations and cake and cards and stuff for the birthday party are not Christmas-y. Go with pink for the first couple years, then whatever she's into (Barbie, Princess, Hannah Montana lol). You might also want to start a tradition of different kinds of presents for Christmas and Birthday.

I agree with the other posters, at 1 they have no clue. My birthday is Jan 2nd so I totally know how crappy it can be for kids :) Be sure to make sure the day is theirs, do what they want; be it Chuck E Cheese or something. And make sure no Christmas/New Years themed birthday cakes or presents. And later it can be hard to stretch the money for all the events so maybe buy the birthday gift early. I was told a lot that Christmas was tight so I got jipped for Birthday while my siblings had great birthdays. (Of course now as an adult I understand that concept but try telling that to a 10 year old.) Good luck, I'm sure whatever you do will be wonderful as it does sound like you are trying to think ahead and not have a birthday that blends in with the other holidays. Good job to you!!!!

My son's birthday is also the 28th! He will be six this year. Since we never have time to take down the Christmas tree before his birthday, I always remove all the ornaments, and put pictures of him all over the tree. (This has earned him the nickname "Tree".) In a way, it is really nice, since all the family is around and available. I even have put his birthday presents under the tree! I also make sure the birthday banner is clearly displayed without Christmas stuff overshadowing it. When they are this little, it doesn't matter. But as he got older, and wanted parties with his friends, I do it early in December, so it is separate from Christmas, and before his friends' moms were tired of presents. Also, because family is available, we can do something special on his birthday, like sledding, or just playing games, so he feels like the entire day is a celebration!

I have a son who will be 1 on December 18th, and a daughter who will be 5 on Decemer 19th -- so I have 2 birthdays and Christmas all in the same week. So, this has been on my mind as well. I was thinking about doing the half birthday thing after my baby gets older, but for right now I'm just celebrating my daughters birthday a month early because it's before Thanksgiving. I will save 1 gift for her actual birthday, and I thought I might freeze a cupcake to give her with one candle too (or just make cupcakes for Christmas giving and decorate a couple just for the birthday). I want to celebrate my baby boys' 1st birthday on the day, so I think we will go to Chuck E. Cheese or Red Robin, so the atmosphere is not Christmas. Decorating for Christmas after their birthday is not an option to me and I never get around to taking down decorations until the middle of January. Life is too busy.

I have that same problem...I have a daughter with a B-day ont he 17th and a son on Jan 4th. (so much for not wanting December birthdays..ooops!) I make sure I make their birthdays a big deal and a special day. I decorate a separate room with birthday stuff and have a BIRTHDAY party with everyone. Make sure everyone wraps gifts in birthday paper. One year she got all her presants in Christmas wrap and I made sure it didn't happen again. (I think it bothered me more than her..but still) I also try to make sure that she doesn't get combined gifts. I know money is tight around Chritmas for everyone, so I buy early and save it (tips for the future). Good Luck and have fun

My youngest has his birthday on the 28th too - And my middle child has his birthday on Dec. 10th. And my husband has his on December 12th. So we know all about the birthday/Christmas dilemna!! One thing we do is change our Christmas tree to a birthday tree on their birthdays - all this means is that we string a happy birthday streamer around the tree over the other ornaments and put a party hat on top instead of the star. The boys love this! We always have a birthday party with friends (separate for each boy) and make a big deal out of it. Their day is all about them - picking what's for dinner, a special decorated "birthday chair" at the table, taking turns sharing what we love about them. These are things we do for the other birthdays in our family. It can be challenging (and expensive!), but I firmly believe it's not a curse, like some people think. Also, planning early is a great thing to make sure the birthday doesn't get overlooked in the Christmas chaos! Good luck!

J.

I Would just say doing a seperate party and present :) that should be enough! For later on though (as she gets older), try doing a half birthday. Do it exactly 6 months to the day of her real birthday. Do the party and presents then (this only works if they are old enough to understand that they real b-day will not be celebrated)and when there real b-day comes around give her a hug, a small gift and a "happy real birthday." My cousins were all born with in a week of Christmas and my aunt and uncle did this for them and they love it, they do it to this day and they are in thir late teens. The like it because they feel they don't compete with christmas, and they get to celebrate their b-day in summer. :)

J.,
I too have birthdays in December. My two boys' birthdays are the 26th and the 29th. Our wedding anniversary is the 28th. So I know your troubles!! What we have done is we put the Christmas tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving and take it down Christmas evening. That way we still get to enjoy it for awhile. Also it lets the kids know that their b-days are seperate from christmas. We have four kids so presents are equal for everyone. Then the other two will get presents (that are wrapped in b-day paper) shortly after! My other kids would sometimes say "that is not fair" when we explain the whole b-day thing to them they understand!
Now that they are older they choose if the tree stays up or not.
We alos encourage family members who give gifts for b-day wrap it in b-day paper as well. it's less confusing.

Good luck!
C.

My birthday is on the 20th of Dec. my parents didn't have huge parties for any of our birthdays, but it was a family time. The birthday child chose the dinner, the cake, etc. Mon would tell us the story of the day we were born, as well as any related stuff. I always felt special, because I was their "Christmas Angel."
My one strong suggestion, is never ever say, "This is for your birthday and Christmas." Decide what present is for which day. And don't do the 6 month birthday thing. My sis-in-law says she's going to for her boy every year, but then everyone is on summer vacation and he never had a birthday party until he was 12 - then he said, "Mom, I don't care if I don't get any presents, I just want to have my friends over on my birthday like a normal boy."

my third child, a boy, will be one on December 17. I had big huge 1st birthdays for my other two, but since his birthday is so close to christmas, I have been agonizing over the same thing. We have decided to just have 4 other families( with kids all the same age as ours) for lunch the sunday before Xmas. Even though he doesnt have any clue what is going on, I want to make sure his birthday is special too even though it is right before Xmas. Other people I know who have kids born around Xmas choose to have their kids parties after the holidays or in November due to the hussle and bustle....Once my son gets to be school age, I will probably have his parties after the first of the year to make it easier on myself and our guests. For adorable birthday decorations, try www.birthdayexpress.com- they have great 1st birthday party supplies- Good luck!

Hey there J.,

I also have a child who's birthday is December 28th. He will be three this december. Thus far we have not done too much for his birthday since he is too little to understand it anyways. We have however gotten him a cake each year and had him open gifts for his birthday too. just a small family affair so far. I hope this helped.

M.

Hello J. I'm R., My son who will be turning 15 on Dec. 23rd, it has been fun because family is always from out of town. I always made a special day for him with a birthday party with his friends gifts and decorations in birthday not Christmas. I does make for a busier holiday but you are smart to plan ealry. When your daughter is young the parties are more for you it is when they get older and have their school friends that they want a special day aside from the holidays. I work from home and have for 13 years, I take my kids to school and I there to pick them up I have been able to see the first milestones I love what I do, with my homebased health and wellness business I have even more time with my family. I also have twins that are 10 and an older child in College. Good luck and don't worry it all works out. God Bless!

My daughters birthday is Dec. 29th. I totally get your concern. I was extremely concerned that Christmas and Birthday would be difficult. Then I looked back at my childhood. My mom died when I was 14 and the things that I missed is that my mom would take us out for lunch, make our favorite dinner and whatever cake we wanted. Presents weren't a big deal. So do the same thing that you would do for all your kids and the things they remember will be time oriented. So for me with my daughter I decided that I would do the things that I loved from my childhood. I didn't worry about the decorations. I just made the day about her. The same thing that I would do for any other child I have. The best present at this age is to not be stressed. The first birthday party is about pictures. So when she is older ask her how she feels. Good Luck.

J....

My daughters b-day is just after Christmas also! I always make a point of taking down the holiday decorations ASAP so it doesn't feel like a RUN-ON holiday! I know we are busy and stapped for time but I have always made this a priority for our home! That way we can celebrate her birthday...and only her birthday!

Last year we did a ice and snow themed party! It was so fun and mystical! I even was able to leave my holiday decor up that was snow or snowman themed! We made snow globes out of confetti - water - and round plastic bottles I purchased from Hobby Lobby. The kids and adults alike enjoyed it!

Good Luck with the party! They do grow up too fast! My baby will be seven this year! Enjoy every minute because we can't get them back!

Happy Holidays!

Hi J.-
My daughter's first b'day will be Dec. 15th. I am planning to have a party for her, just like I did for my son. I will celebrate her b'day every year as close to her actual b'day as possible. No switching dates, etc. I think that it only becomes a big deal if you make it one. The way that I look at it is, if you didn't get what you wanted for your b'day then you only have to wait 10 days for Christmas!! In your case it will be the other way around. It is a busy time of year, but what time isn't when you have kids??? Good luck, and whatever you do - take a ton of pictures!

The best thing you can do through your daughters live is make sure her birthday is totally separate than Christmas. I would have a birthday party and celebrate her day. I say this because my birthday is the 21st and my husbands is the 26th. Both our parents made sure they had our birthday presents before they went shopping for Christmas. They made our birthday special just like anyone elses that might not be around Christmas. Good luck