The holidays are hectic enough without adding birthdays into the mix. Many in my circle of loved ones have birthdays during this season. My husband has always told me that he felt slighted because everyone was out of town or just too tired to do something for his birthday which falls between Christmas and the New Year (plus he often received a combined gift). I threw him a surprise party almost two months in advance of his birthday when he turned 40 since it was clear that between the holidays and a new baby that he would get left out once again.
So how do you make their birthday special?
One of my extended family members has her birthday on Christmas day. What a special Christmas gift she was! When she was young we used to celebrate her birthday on the half year. That way, everyone was around on her birthday, but it didn’t just get rolled up in with Christmas. The added benefit was that the weather was generally nice and therefore gave better options for parties.
My daughter was born on New Year’s Eve. That’s right. She was my little tax break. Though I think this birth date will be fabulous when she is a teenager, at this age it’s kind of a pain. Both she and I were sick two years in a row for her birthday due to stress and overdoing it. Last year I got smart and celebrated it at the end of January. Everyone made it to the party since they had all recovered from the holidays and were back on track. This year I opted to have her class celebrate her birthday when they return from holiday break instead of the last day before winter break.
Of course, I want my daughter to feel incredibly special on her birthday so I’ve been checking in with people on what they do to make their child feel like a superstar.
- Celebrate on a different day or even month
- Let them choose what they want to do: Have friends over or go out?
- Let them choose all the meals for the day
- If their birthday is mid-December, hold off on getting the tree until after you celebrate their day
- If you must celebrate at the same time, make sure their gifts are wrapped in Happy Birthday paper not Christmas paper
- Have your child make a separate Christmas list and Birthday list
- No holiday décor up while celebrating – At minimum have a separate room in their chosen theme to have the festivities
- Don’t just slap a candle on that holiday pie – Make a special dessert of their choosing with Happy Birthday written on it.
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