Need Some Ideas for My Son's Christmas Birthday.

I have no suggestions, just condolences. My birthday is the 19th and to this day, in my 30's I still hate it. My biggest peeve was when people wrapped my birthday gift in Christmas paper - please don't do that to him! :) He will grow to understand and appreciate the effort you've put in to make his day special, anything you do will make him happy!

M., how possible would it be for you to have little celebrations in that entire week, so that he feels special...and although there is a huge holiday that falls on his bday, he'll still know his birthday is special, he is special.

cupcakes one day, he gets to wear a crown on another day, whatever he wants to eat for dinner on another day,etc.,

it's a crazy idea i know...but i would love it and i would do it for my child if he were to have a bday on xmas.

Have a cake for family on Christmas and then have a Un-Birthday or half birthday in the spring of summer!!

As someone who has a December birthday, it was nice to celebrate the occasions separately. I like the idea of celebrating his birthday on the 21st.

Hi M.,
I understand your situation slightly. My son is born Dec. 8th luckily early in the month but I have so many family memebers born in Dec and friends too! Dec 4,5, 8, 14, 15, 20 21 and 25! I would say planning 21st should be fine. I think it's nice to have the party close to their real BD and have just your immediate family around for his real BD. I had my son's party this past Sat. on the 5th with the whole family because we love to get together so weekends are best. Then today we are just doing fun stuff with our family for his BD. This is his BD not the family member you tried to include, it is nice to make it so most people can make it but don't go too far to accomadate everyone. (then is is not about your son BD anymore)I think it is absurd if people can't make it the 21st. Family always comes first and I believe you always need to make an extra effort when family is involved. Unless that person is coimg from far out of town, I see no reason they shouldn't come. Yes the holiday season is busy but that is why I love it so much. I love all the get togethers. What else is there to do in winter? How hard is it to go to a party. You are the one doing all the work!
My cousin that is born on the 25th, my aunt would have his party in summer and he later told his mom he hated that because he really felt like he had no Birthday. No day that was special because so many people would say well it really isn't your BD.
So I would say don't abandon it, I think is on of the fun parts of childhood to have a family party(maybe because that is how I grewup) Just let people know that this is important and they should make every effort to come.
M.

My daughter's birthday is Dec 18 and you would think that it would be easier to plan something for her since it isn't actually on Christmas Day, but with friends and family having other holiday parties it always seems like a struggle! Last year we waited until Feb to have her friends over for a party! (She was a preemie and we had it the weekend of my due date for her, which she loved!!)

This year she is turning 10 so my mom and I are taking her and her best friend on the train to Chicago for a day trip during her school break. We have invited the family to come celebrate with us on her actual birthday but she is more excited about the Chicago thing.

Also, she spends a lot of time with my parents over the summer so they have started celebrating her "half" birthday on June 18.

Even though my family doesn't have any Christmas birthdays, we always celebrated the actual birthday with just our parents and sibs, then had a friends party on a different day.

I'd abandon the idea of having anyone extra join you on Christmas Day for the birthday, it's just too hard to coordinate, and starting the new tradition while he's 4 will make it easier for him as he grows up, to avoid any disappointment of no-shows as he gets older.

I would say give up on it! Have a special cake and candles on the day but postpone his party until the holidays are over, around the 2nd week of January. My brother was born on the 23rd and even then, xmas overshadowed his bday.

My 4 year old is a summer baby and we are always away during that time. This year we had his big party with all his friends a month after. He didn't care a bit and it was a huge success.
Hope it works.

What about still doing your 4pm but just with you. Then maybe have 1/2 birthday partys. Maybe in June you could throw a birthday party with family.

M.,

Christmas birthdays are fun for newborns. After that first year, they are just a pain. My son's birthday is coming up a few days before Christmas. Some years we had his birthday in November. Once we even had it in October because we were in the middle of a cross country move. Kids think it's way cool to get your birthday early - it's late that is a bummer for them. I would start to do it no later than the first or second week in December. My husband and I have even talked about our son getting to choose his birthday party date, even if it's in the summer time and just go out to dinner or eat cake for dessert on his actual birthday. It just needs to be made very clear that everyone gets ONE birthday party per year.

Good luck,
S.

By the time you get around to a "half-birthday" its so far removed from the child's actual birthday that it may not seem that it has anything to do with the day that they are born. Doing things this way could also fool your guests into believing the birthday kid's special day is nowhere near when they thought it was. Imagine growing up believing your best friend's birthday was 6 months after it actually was?

I know I would have hated holding my birthday party MONTHS after my actual birthday.

I like the idea of a New Year's party but, again, you're planning around a holiday. Luckily, most preparations for New Year's Eve are for the night time so you could still hold a daytime event. Or, another idea would be to host a New Year's sleep over. The kids would get to stay up late and the parents might appreciate the free babysitting.

It might make your son not feel as special having his party on another holiday, though, so then the next best thing might be having it early. You could have it late, but then its technically the next year already and it seems to me like it should be counting toward his following birthday age.

This is pretty complicated. Good luck finding something that works for you.

How about a New Year's Eve party? Most families don't do anything special early in the day. The kids could have their own little New Year's celebration as well as celebrate your son's birthday. (I know the senior citizen's center where I used to live had their New Year's celebration at noon on New Year's Eve.)

My husband's birthday is the 28th. We have Christmas and then we usually celebrate his birthday (along with his twin brother's) on New Year's when we get together with family again. I know he said that he always wanted to keep the two separate. So try to keep that up with your son. Either doing his birthday before Christmas or after.

My husbands birthday is Dec 26 and he always hated christmas for over shining his birthday.. his sisters is in August and it made it special for her. One thing you can do is have a family birthday for him Christmas evening but have a full blown birthday party in June for his "half birthday". That will make it easier for you to get everyone together for a fun filled time... and it gives him a day just for him.

Because my son's birthday is in February and I don't want to pay to rent out a place every year for his birthday party (our house isn't really large enough to house many kids at once), he has his birthday parties for his half birthday in August. You cold do that with your son too...that way he'd celebrate his birthday with his immediate family, and then have another celebration with everyone else mid-year. Just an idea!

I know one family who celebrates their child's Christmas birthday in June--making a bigger deal of the half-birthday. She's an adult now, and it has worked well for them. Mine is Dec. 22, and I liked getting some presents without having to wait all the way until Christmas, so if you want to stay in December, your idea of a few days early could take care of it. Maybe it's a matter of adjusting your expectations about how big his celebration needs to be. He will take his cues from you, and whatever you think is normal will be OK with him. Be happy and enjoy him.

My daughter's birthday is in December also.
This year we are having her party just after the Sunday School program rehearsal. Everyone is just coming after the rehearsal. It is going to work out great. Maybe you have a similar event everyone could come to the party after or before. That way they don't have to take out another day during this busy time of year.

It isn't just the Christmas thing, it is winter birthdays in general. People just don't show up for them as often as other times of the year. They are strapped for cash and don't like leaving home when it is cold and dark (assuming you live where there actually is a winter). My husband has a December birthday and I have a January birthday and as children we rarely had parties that were anything like our siblings' summer parties. That's just life. You can try to have your child's birthday party either earlier or later, but chances are it isn't going to be a big old bash. And realistically most people are not going to stop their Christmas celebrations to attend a birthday party, especially so late in the day. People get up early and by 4:00 PM just want to relax and/or play with their new toys. I would suggest you have it either in the first or second week of December or the second or third week of January. I know it doesn't seem fair to your child but that comes with being a winter baby.

Hi M.
I was born on december 30th along with my brother who is four years older than me and we never got to celebrate our birthdays. because they where so close to christmas. so if it were me I would celebrate his birthday just as close family on his birthday and then with his friends 6months later so that he can still feel like he gets a day all for him.

My son Nick, will turn 7 on the 24th. What we have found that for us what works best is to have his "birthday party" the weekend before his actual birthday with our friends and family. Then on his actual birthday I will bake cupcakes and give him his birthday gifts from us in the morning. When we go to my MIL house for Christmas eve I'll take the cupcakes with and we have a special treat. :) My Nick loves the fact that he gets to have his birthday celebrated twice...sure the 2nd time it's not so huge, but I think it's important to acknowledge the actual date of his birth. He also loves the fact that his birthday is at Christmas... it's such a special day!
Hope your son has a FANTASTIC birthday :)
P.S. You really don't have to get him less presents or skimp on his birthday, for all of our kids, we buy their gifts when they are on sale during the entire year. So when their actual birthday hits, I already have most of their shopping done. For example, my eldest daughter's birthday is in May, and I'm almost done with her birthday shopping.

I think you should definitely have a birthday party for him some other time, because otherwise he will basically be cheated out of a birthday FOREVER. I bet most people would attend a party in the first week of December, and maybe the 2nd week [although even that may still be too close to Christmas]. Or the 2nd week in January. It may not seem as "special" but I'm sure he will appreciate it over the years, and you can still celebrate his birthday with mom, dad, and siblings on the 25th. Two birthdays are better than "none" for sure!

I think you could have a small family birthday party for him on his birthday. When he is school age and wants to have a party with his friends, you might want to push it in to January. People tend to be busy with holiday parties,etc. in December. You would probably get a better turn out if you waited until after the holiday's. That's just a fact of life for someone who has a birthday on or near Christmas.

Yes. Dec. 25th is mainly their Christmas, and it will be hard to expect them to change their longstanding traditions for this birthday.

Celebrate his party with family an entire week early -- or late -- and then celebrate his actual birthday with him at home that day, the second half of the day.

My brother was born on Dec 26. He always felt cheated out of presents since people tended to combine Christmas/ Birthday and give him one item. I think I would wait until mid-January to celebrate his brithday.