My baby [name_u]Benjamin[/name_u] [name_m]Booth[/name_m] is due on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u] and I’m admittedly really nervous about how to handle birthdays and [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] once he’s here. [name_m]Will[/name_m] his birthday overtake the holiday or will the holiday overtake his birthday? [name_m]How[/name_m] do you celebrate both his big day and [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] together?
Any [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] baby moms out there who can give me some advice would be appreciated
[name_f]My[/name_f] son’s birthday is on 12/15. You start [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] shopping in Nov. and then give him his presents on his birthday. Then you start over with [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] shopping Other than that, it’s kind of like any other birthday.
When he’s little, I’d recommend buying some presents in summer so that he’s got a few things more appropriate for the next summer, especially if you have a garden. Realistically, the chances of him actually being born on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] day are low so you can just treat his birthday like a normal birthday. I’ve also heard of some kids celebrating their half birthday instead so that they can do outdoor activities with their friends, but that tends to be when they get older and can choose for themselves.
I’m a Boxing [name_u]Day[/name_u] baby and I love it!
Everyone’s off work and in a chilled-out mood, I never had to go to school or work on my birthday, [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] time feels extra special and exciting, and no one expects a big party (I’m not a fan of big, rowdy gatherings so this suits me just fine!)
I’ve never had an issue with my birthday overtaking [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] or vice versa. I do sometimes get joint presents, but that doesn’t bother me. I love the celebratory atmosphere and family time of both [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and birthdays way more than I care about the logistics of presents.
It’s also worth noting that a very small proportion of babies arrive on their actual due date — from memory, it’s only around 5%. I was due on 5th [name_u]January[/name_u], for example, and none of my three children arrived on their due date.
Congratulations and very best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
[name_f]My[/name_f] girlfriend’s birthday is on [name_u]New[/name_u] Year’s. She actually likes having her birthday on a date that’s always a school/work holiday. The only think she dislikes is getting less presents and only getting presents during winter. Maybe you could take another poster’s advice and celebrate his half-birthday for some summer presents, but mostly just make sure you make his birthday feel just as special as it would have been on any other day.
Well I don’t have children but my birthday is with in a week before [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. Growing up it was hard to have birthday parties on my actual birthday so sometimes they were a week before my real birthday. Almost my whole family has [name_u]December[/name_u] birthdays so it’s busy but we never give [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]/birthday gifts unless it’s something really big (a car for example). We’ve always tried to make sure we celebrate everyone and everyone has a special birthday!
My niece was born on 12/23 and my brother and sis-in-law make sure to celebrate both so she doesn’t feel they’re just lumped into one big holiday. The parties with friends usually happen either before or after [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] break from school. As an added bonus they are big on doing [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] in [name_u]July[/name_u] so she’ll get a few things for that as well. It sounds scary, but I think you’ll make it work. Congratulations and good luck!
My little one is due in [name_u]January[/name_u] and this is a concern of mine in case baby arrives into the world earlier than expected. [name_m]Just[/name_m] hoping it’s enough into [name_u]January[/name_u] that I can pick up birthday presents in the sales! But I’ll make sure to give him/her separate special days and presents (unless it’s something super expensive when they’re older)
I had my son on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] morning. I think his Birthday is special, I put his Birthday present out with the rest of the gifts. In our family we don’t do alot of gifts or big birthdays anyway so he actually gets more of a day. Then we have [name_f]Santa[/name_f] cake for dessert
My son’s birthday is on the 23rd although he was due on boxing day, we got to take him home on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] day. I have 5 children now (and he is the second oldest). We have to be careful to separate his ‘[name_u]Christmas[/name_u] presents’ from his ‘Birthday presents’ and make the two celebrations very different but he is still young (6) so things may change in the future. He likes his birthday to be celebrated in the same way as his siblings so its sometimes a struggle to make a clear difference between [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and Birthday but I love it and so does he!
My niece was born on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u].Her party for friends and birthday gifts were celebrated on the day they found out they were pregnant,so [name_f]May[/name_f] 18. Her real Dec 25 birthday is acknowledged with a special day trip during the school holidays.
I was due [name_u]January[/name_u] 2 but she didn’t arrive until the 17th so we are three weeks removed from [name_u]Christmas[/name_u], but still close. As others have said, we do try to get her some presents in [name_u]June[/name_u]/July, just to get something new and interesting in the house. We don’t necessarily have a celebration or wrap the presents but we let her pick something at the shops that’s a bit bigger than a “just because” gift.
Something I noticed is that it can be tricky to get birthday party invites out. Awkward timing. This past year we had to get invites out over a month in advance because daycare friends were leaving on holidays. It takes a lot of planning! Same with presents. For birthdays we tend to just do one big-ish gift anyway, so we try to plan which gift will be birthday and what will be [name_u]Christmas[/name_u], and try to convince relatives to give her money or hide some gifts to give later in the year, if possible, so we don’t get overloaded with stuff. We also try to have a toy clean out before [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] to make room for new presents since we get so many at once.
I know I’m not the closest one to [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] here, but it is doable! I was so worried I was going to go a week early and have a [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] baby but it wouldn’t have been the worst thing. You will make it work whatever happens!
I’m due in [name_u]December[/name_u] too (beginning of [name_u]December[/name_u] so it’s not as crazy of a thought I guess!). But i had similar thoughts- doing a birthday and [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] in the same month feels challenging. People are so in holiday mode. Hopefully he will appreciate the spirit of the time of year and family time and getting time off school.
I like the idea of doing something in the spring or summer to balance out “needs.” I guess back to school could be a thing. Or throwing a kids party in the summer when there is more to do. I guess there doesn’t have to be a birthday to treat kids to something fun.
This makes me feel better! [name_f]My[/name_f] husband’s sister’s birthday is 2 days before [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. It really gets combined with [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and I dont like that. We open her birthday gifts, then [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] gifts. And we always have to remember to get her two gifts but it’s a little stressful when we have a huge list of others to shop for too! And shes an adult. I cant imagine going through that as a child.
Maybe it shapes who you are though because shes a very gracious person. She also loves giving gifts more than receiving them and shes a thoughtful gift giver so maybe that has to do with “sharing” her birthday.
I don’t have s [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] baby but I know someone who’s son was born on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] day and she decides to celebrate his birthday in Feb?
[name_f]My[/name_f] daughter was due in late [name_u]January[/name_u] but arrived on [name_u]December[/name_u] 28. I commented on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u] that we weren’t ready yet but had plenty of time. She’s just 1 so I don’t know her opinions on the matter, but the only real “issue” we experienced was traveling for the holidays and returning in time to host a first birthday party… and honestly, the time constraints probably helped keep us in check so we didn’t go overboard. As mentioned, family and friends were still in holiday party mode and it was nice having something between [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and [name_u]New[/name_u] Years.
I’m a planner and love giving gifts— I carefully organized my daughter’s presents to get the right balance for [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]/birthday… and was waaaaay off. It was overwhelming— remember that grandparents are doing the same thing. We actually just played with one of her [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] gifts for the first time a week ago. I LOVE the idea of picking out some summer-specific gifts now.
My first was due [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u] and came 12/20. He’ll be 4 this year. So far it hasn’t been an issue and is special in its own way. We did do a little “half birthday” celebration this year, just us, half a cake, and two gifts (which were really for me—new distractions for the social distancing). [name_f]My[/name_f] brother in law was born [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u] and he gets 3 birthdays the way I see it: honorable mention on 12/25, a party and gifts on 12/26, and a party and gifts on 6/25 his half birthday. He’s 31 years old and gets more birthday than the rest of us!
I’m a [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_f]Eve[/name_f] baby!
Pros:
I have a unique birthday
It’s a built in conversation starter for those annoying “share one cool fact about yourself” things
I never have to go to school/work on my birthday and I don’t have to make vacation time
Cons:
If you don’t celebrate [name_u]Christmas[/name_u], your kid might feel weird about it (people will assume he/she does if they’re born on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]
People will constantly ask you questions, such as “what’s it like???” (not necessarily a bad thing)
For just anyone to give birth on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u], it’s uncommon. However, if your due date is anywhere near [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u], I’d say you have a good chance. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom was due in mid-to-late [name_u]January[/name_u] but the doctors were afraid she would go into labor on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] when the more experienced doctors (high-risk pregnancy) were off, so they induced labor on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_f]Eve[/name_f]. I hear that’s fairly common, actually.
I have a friend whose son is a [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] baby and she told me that there was one year when she actually forgot his birthday. No judgment on my part at all, I could write a book about all the mix ups and bad parenting moments I’ve had, but it made a big impression on me. She hosted his birthday parties with cake, cards, friends and gifts on his “half-birthday”, because on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] day or around the Holidays, no one they invited would make it to the party. Then she would bake a cake just for him on [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_u]Day[/name_u], a candle would be blown and pictures would be taken, but it wasn’t a grand celebration because in her home [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] [name_f]Eve[/name_f] and [name_u]Day[/name_u] were a big family production, with religious and social implications. Well, one year she went to bed on the 25th, closer to the 26th and got up like the mom from Home Alone with the horrible realization that she had forgotten the cake in the pantry and nothing had been done to celebrate her son. Poor her, and poor kid. He’s an adult now, married and happy as anyone, so no long lasting traumas.
Yeah, definitely no on-birthday parties for us [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] babies. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom always threw us parties in [name_u]January[/name_u] ([name_u]November[/name_u] was too close to Thanksgiving). We always got a cake for on our birthday and a cake at our party. Never too much cake!
Other than that, it’s kind of like any other birthday.
She’s just 1 so I don’t know her opinions on the matter, but the only real “issue” we experienced was traveling for the holidays and returning in time to host a first birthday party… and honestly, the time constraints probably helped keep us in check so we didn’t go overboard. As mentioned, family and friends were still in holiday party mode and it was nice having something between [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and [name_u]New[/name_u] Years.