And did you feel the same way as a kid?
And did you feel the same way as a kid?
7 votes
grapefruit / 4144 posts
I do not have a Dec birthday; however, my DH does (the 8th) and loves it. He can easily tell one ALL about how it is a special day (historically) because "on his birthday, Lincoln drew up the Amnesty Proclamation and plan for Reconstruction of the South" and in "1941 US & Britain declared war on Japan as the US entered WW II while President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered Day of Infamy speech to US Congress a day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor." Yeah, he is one of THOSE people. LOL. (But I still love him. )
My DS (born on Dec 31st) is always excited for his birthday as well. He will be 4 this year so, of course, all birthdays are exciting. We keep his birthday and Christmas very seperate and make certain family knows that Christmas gifts do not double as birthday gifts. I tell them I would rather they send cards or gifts for his birthday (the same as they do for my DD) than a plethora of gifts for Christmas. It seems to work out well.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
My second daughter was born a week before Christmas and it’s not my favorite. She’s almost 3 so she has no clue. Gifts are hard especially since she’s the second girl, so coming up with double the ideas at once is tricky (meanwhile I can always think of more for my older daughter since she outgrows toys and clothes, where the younger one gets the hand me downs). Plus we haven’t had birthday parties for her yet but when we do, it’s going to be really hard to find a weekend, I guess the week before?
But those are hardly major problems to have. It’s just not my first choice. I told her to be born a week early but she wouldn’t listen.
persimmon / 1064 posts
@Foodnerd81: hahaha this is exactly what I envision a December birthday to be. Like, trying to make things work so they have a birthday AND Christmas but logistically that time of year is soooo busy.
We are talking about the timing of our next baby and it’d be nice to have the whole pregnancy in one year so we only have to pay one health insurance deductible (such a dumb reason, but hey...I’m a logical person . And who knows if it would actually work out like that!)
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
My son has a December birthday and it was the month I wanted to avoid, but it didn't work out that way.
My son is 8, and yeah, while it's a busy time of the year, the rest of the year is too and there is no lack of gift giving occasions throughout the whole year.
persimmon / 1064 posts
@Kaohinani: yes some family members would have to be explicitly told (several times, I’m sure) about making Christmas different than birthday. If your DS still gets excited about his birthday, you must do a good job of keeping it special for him!
apricot / 430 posts
12/28! As a kid, I both liked and didn't like it. I had very few birthday parties, except for a couple of 1/2 birthday parties in the summer and then some when I was in Jr high and high school, but my parents always made a point of celebrating it separate from Christmas and my family members did too. Later in adolescence and teenage years, we traveled with family friends to ski, so I was with a house full of kids and having a blast and didn't care! It was nice to be able to have an extra long-xmas list, but my parents never combined xmas and bday gifts until I got older and asked them to. Now, I LOVE it! I can always take the day off on my b-day, and I choose some day between xmas and NYE to celebrate - I don't really care what day, and often I celebrate with different people on different days! It's easier to plan an outing or make the day special (if I choose) because it's sandwiched between the holidays, so most of my family isn't working.
Interestingly, my maternal grandfather was 1/2 and my paternal grandmother was 12/27, so we would often have birthday cake(s) for dessert on Xmas, but we also did another cake on my actual birthday.
As a parent, I realize my parents lucked out that I wasn't super into big birthday parties. We did a lot of small 3 friends sleep over, or go into NYC, or ice skating birthdays. The two 1/2 birthday parties I had in June were big and fun though!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
@bees_knees: the insurance thing WAS nice! And since i live in New England, December was better than January or February in terms of the risk of a huge snow storm keeping me from getting to the hospital in labor! It would have been nice to be able to hunker down and just stay home and cozy with a newborn baby in the winter, but I had a 2 year old who would go nuts if we didn’t go out, so that was less fun.
I have a friend who had the first baby born in her hospital on New Year’s Day, so that was pretty cool, but sucked for insurance purposes.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
Also another friend had a baby thanksgiving week and I think that’s better. She gets to celebrate the bday with family for thanksgiving but it doesn’t get overwhelming the way Christmas does. But we don’t get to choose everything, so we?
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I have a Nov birthday, and always a little bummed b/c I loved summer and hated being cold, but it has never caused me actual grieve or anything!
BOTH my girls are Dec babies, 12/4 and 12/20. Honestly, I think it's what we make of it! We are not huge presents people/party people, but I absolutely plan on making sure they both feel special on their birthdays. Sure, joined celebrations are going to be the way until they vocalize not wanting it. Gifts will always be separate (and I imagine as they are older they can request for a bigger combined gift of greater value lol). I imagine we can go on trips at this time of the year too so maybe one day we'll have a tropical getaway for their birthdays/Christmas! I also try to do something fun for their 1/2 birthdays in the summer.
My sister's and my birthdays are 2 days apart and as adults, we actually love celebrating together!
kiwi / 598 posts
Growing up and into my early 20s, I wished I didn’t have a December birthday. It was hard to get people together to celebrate, because so many people have work and family functions, plus it was very difficult to book restaurants for large groups, etc. I also was envious of people with summer birthdays for having so many more options - pool and beach parties, parks, backyard barbecues, patios, etc.
Now birthdays aren’t a big deal anymore so I don’t really care, and just leverage it to get bigger combined gifts from my husband.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
@snowjewelz: my youngest is 12/20 too!
I don't have a December birthday but my best friend growing up did. She didn't like it as a child, but loves it as an adult.
I think you just have to make it a point to celebrate their birthday separate from any holiday event. My youngest is only going to be 2 in December so I have some time to figure out what we are going to do once school starts.
Also, my original due date was 12/29, my OB was going to let me be induced on the 27th if I hadn't gone into labor yet just to make sure I have him before the new year since I had already met my deductible.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@KT326: Aww twins! I wasn't due until Jan haha, she came at 37 weeks!
kiwi / 568 posts
We have a lot of December Birthdays in my family. I have two younger brothers and one is Nov. 10 & other Dec 22nd. We combine their birthday in November and on Dec 22nd we do just an immediate family birthday cake and dinner for him so he still had something on his actual birthday. It doesn't seem to bother them.
Two cousins have Dec 21st & Dec 23rd and we do a birthday the weekend before and it's always decorated as a birthday party. (Saturday & Sunday) He's always been fine with it. It's a little tough for some because its the last minute holiday shopping, but we always make it work.
My step mom & grandma are Dec 24th & 25th. We all give them a gift wrapped in birthday paper and sing happy birthday with cake before we do the "Christmas" part.
My DS is Nov. 17th and we always have a birthday party the weekend before Thanksgiving. My current pregnancy (DS2) will be born the first week of December, so we will be combining their birthdays for the family. As they get older, if they want separate friend parties then I'll accommodate.
I think you just have to take a little extra time and effort to make them feel like they still had a Birthday AND a Christmas.
nectarine / 2018 posts
DD was born in December (12/11) and it's definitely not my favorite thing, especially since she was due in January. She was born on DH's brother's birthday and I know he hated it as a kid - but now he's pretty indifferent.
For us it has been really hard so far because we lived away from family, so finding a weekend day that everyone was free long enough to drive to us, stay for a party, and drive home was really tricky. This year we live near family so that part will be a bit easier. But there is always the concern of a big storm ruining all plans. We are doing one more family only party this year but I worry next year when we invite DD's school friends that a lot will have other plans.
It's hard to come up with gifts for two events only two weeks apart. We also try to think of things that will interest her for a whole year since we don't buy much throughout the year.
All that said, it is what it is and we make the best of it! We don't decorate for Christmas in our dining room until after DD's birthday so that room can be completely decorated in whatever theme her party is. We make sure to have distinct paper and treats for her birthday that are completely different than Christmas ones.
persimmon / 1286 posts
Early December and I love it. My dad has a Christmas bday and always disliked it so he was very conscious of making mine special and not lumping it in with Hannukah (which falls on my bday every 3rd year). It’s such a fun and festive time of year anyway so I still love it.
cherry / 125 posts
I'm 12/11 and dh is 12/17.... I wouldn't prefer to have a child in December, but I wouldn't actively avoid it either.
persimmon / 1367 posts
DH is 12/24, and he's always liked it. He's one of 7 kids and they didn't have a ton of money so he liked being able to get better presents than his siblings by combining birthday and Christmas, lol. He also liked that he could celebrate with friends the week after Christmas when everyone was off from school.
persimmon / 1345 posts
My bday is 6 days before Christmas. Growing up, I hated it. I would always get a Christmas card with Happy Bday written on it as an afterthought. I would also get "combined" bday and christmas gifts but my brother got two, etc. Once older like in college, it was also hard to get people together bc of finals, people going home after school's over, etc. Once, my college roommates and friends threw me a surprise party December 1st. 20 days before my bday I was def surprised and thankful but when I asked why this date afterwards, they said it was the only day that worked before ppl got busy with finals and traveling.
Now, as an adult, I don't really care either way but I do leverage it to get a "bigger combined gift." Also, my husband always tries to take me out for dinner just the two of us but increasingly it is getting harder with all the kids holiday schedules.
persimmon / 1064 posts
Thanks everyone! All of my friends who have December birthdays *haaaaated* them growing up. I would love to have a Thanksgiving-ish baby if I could pick but we all know that's exactly how it works
nectarine / 2521 posts
@bees_knees: I'm a December baby and I have a close to Christmas baby. I loved it and still do, BUT nobody in our family are worried about celebrating on the actual date, so my parents always did it early in December while school was in session. I do the same for my son and then a small party closer to his birthday with family.
My kid so far thinks it's awesome because it's the entire week of Christmas is just one big party and fun for him
grapefruit / 4455 posts
I just don't think birthdays are that big of a deal! Never have, even as a child. But our family is not really attached to specific dates. We even move Christmas some years. My kid had her first bigger birthday party with friends this year and the presents were almost an afterthought, so I don't think the combined present thing matters unless it's from parents or maybe grandparents.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@bees_knees: Haha I def did not CHOOSE to have 2 Dec babies but no regrets whatsoever, they came at the perfect time they are supposed to
nectarine / 2436 posts
My son will likely come Dec 20-Jan 10 and I feel like it's the worst days ever to have a bday. No one wants to do anything bc they're so overwhelmed from the holidays. My sister is on January 4th and she says it's literally too cold to go out and do anything and everyone is so burnt out from the festivities. My son is Jan 14th so that also throws a wrench in parties etc. Sucks but it is what it is I guess.
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