Kids with birthdays close to Christmas

Do you celebrate at their regular birthday, half birthday, or another time? My twins got so many presents at Christmas and their birthday. So now they won't get anything until Christmas, which seems so far away. (I think I am going to have to buy a lot of spring and summer clothes). I did put away some of their gifts to get out in a few months. I will probably mark their half birthday in July with cupcakes just with our family. If you celebrate at another time, how do the kids respond to that?

If we decide to switch their big party to their half-birthday I feel like we would need to skip this half-birthday since everyone got them gifts in January.

 

My kids birthday is 12/26 and what we did this year is do a little celebration with cupcakes on their actual birthday and had the party on 1/2. They seem to be okay with that and I don't think we'll be pushing any of their birthday celebrations later then mid January as of right now. I guess we'll see how things work out as they get older.

 

My twins turn 3 at the end of January and we do celebrate but I don't buy them as much... I do put some money aside for summer and sprong clothes, toys and trips.
My oldests' birthday is May 29th and it's SOOOO much easier LOL.

 

I know, it kinda stinks, and my kids' birthday is 2 months after Christmas, so it could be worse. I just think it would be weird to celebrate half birthdays.. the whole point of celebrating birthdays is about that date... and I'd think the kids would be disappointed not to have anything for their real birthday anyway. But yeah, I skimmed down their birthday list quite a bit when I realized how insane Christmas was already, and will give some of the things I got during the year (puzzles, DVDs etc) and next Christmas instead.

 

My twins bday is the beginning of Feb. and we always celebrate it around their birthday. :good:

 

Mine have their b'day just before Thanksgiving, so it's not that close, but it still feels like they get a ton of presents in a 6-week period and then nothing. The first few years, we just socked a lot of the presents away in the garage/closets right away, so they'd be "new" later. Now that they're older, they remember what they were given, so we can't exactly hide them. But we do still rotate things, and that helps.

They also get plenty of "new" stuff during the year in the form of hand-me-down toys, random books that I find at yard sales, PJs I get at the consignment store, etc. Sometimes it seems like those things are appreciated more, because they're surprises and they come at random times, than the giant piles of wrapped gifts at the holidays.

My b'day is just a few days before Christmas, and I did celebrate my half-birthday for several years growing up. However, in that case it was because it was such a pain to have a "friends" party at that time of year -- half the kids were out of town for the holidays, and it was too cold to play outside, etc. So it was my choice to have the party in June instead. We still did my family b'day dinner on my actual b'day.

 

K and O's bday is 12/29 and this year we had their party on 12/26 since we were home for Christmas and their actual bday fell during the week. I know the timing isn't great (our anniversary is 12/23 and with Christmas and the twins' bday, it makes for an expensive month), but we make a big deal about the kids' bday anyway and we don't combine Christmas/bday gifts. The way I see it, it's not their fault they were born 4 days after Christmas. One great thing about having the kids having a birthday during the holidays is that when they are older, they will love (I'm guessing) being able to have their birthday party during Christmas break. To help break up all the festivities in Dec., we are going to start celebrating our anniversary in the summer when we have no other holidays or birthdays to pay for!

 

My whole family is in December...mine the 12th, DH on the 15th, son's on the 18th, and the girls on the 31st. We do not celebrate any other time then as close to their birthday as possible...my girls' celebration is always on the 31st no matter what day of the week it falls on. We have to save up all year for the month of December. I, personally, think we do plenty for them during the year and feel that having a half celebration for them during the year just because their birthday is in December is kind of like saying that it's bad to be born in December. I always make a big deal out of their birthday and make sure that we spend the same amount of money on them for their birthday as we do for Christmas. I make sure that none of their birthday gifts are ever wrapped in Christmas paper, but in birthday paper as I would for any other birthday kid. I try to make it as special for them as I possibly can, just like I would do if their birthday were in July. I guess it seems kind of mean, but they don't get extra toys during the year unless they fill up their chart and earn the toy. They do get a lot for Christmas, but if they get too much, I just pack some away and put in the attic and then rotate them when Spring comes, that way they feel like they are getting new toys.

 

My twins birthday is 12/7 and my youngest sons birthday is 1/16.... We celebrate their birthdays on or around.. If its a week night birthday we just take them to a special dinner and have their party on the weekend that's closer to the actual b day. it sucks bc then they go an entire year with not have a very special day but we work around it. They get their spring/summer toys for Easter and then we find special occasions for getting things through out the year. last day of school, good report card ect. You can make it work... just have to find a way that works for you

 

My girls are the 2nd week of December and we celebrate on their day. But while birthdays are fun, we don't make huge deals of them. I make a cake and usually a banner. I make these funny curly q's that hang from the ceiling in the dining room. And they get a couple of presents. When they're 8, 12 and 16, they get a friend's party. So it's not like it's that hard to celebrate, even in December.

When I was a teen, one of my best friend's birthday was on Christmas Day. His family did have a cake that day and sang to him. But they celebrated and gave him presents on his half birthday.

 

Good points about getting presents at other times during the year. My kids do get quite a few presents from the grandparents (clothes and toys) and I think that helps, even if the gift is just something small. I think we will keep their party around their birthday (Jan. 3) but I still want to do cupcakes on their half birthday.

 

My twins birthday is the 6th of January. We celebrate their day as a family on the 6th but with extended family, we get together when we can. We don't do half birthdays in our home. Never thought too. The kids get enough toys from Christmas and their birthday and then Easter (only 2-3 toys) so thats enough. I know I have been known to pick up a toy here or there at different times of the year just to spoil them!

 

I thought my friend was crazy for doing 1/2 yr bdays... her oldest is Dec 17th. But... in all actuality it's probably easier on all parents, in that they don't have to go to a bday party in the middle of the holiday season... anyway, I think they do a small family thing on each kids bday - like go out to eat. and then they have a party separate. so the oldest gets her party in June and the other child is an Oct bday so she gets hers on that time.

I have a mid January bday and we always celebrate near my bday and I never felt gyped... so do what you want...

 

If it's just about the party, nothing prevents you from doing it a month earlier or later really.

 

My oldest DD's b-day is on Christmas and usually we celebrate about 2 weeks prior to Christmas. Sometimes though she wants it the first week of January so we also do that as well some years.

 

My DS's birthday is Dec. 22. We usually celebrate with a party about 1-2 weeks before and then on the 22nd we do something together as a family. It is a lot to do in one month and the girls' bday is in November so it actually makes for a crazy couple of months, but I just can't see celebrating a birthday in June when he was born in December. But that is just my view on it. We do make sure that their bdays are special and separate from any holiday. The bottom line is to do what works best for your family. Good luck!

 

My boys' birthday is 1/6 and their two best little buddies' birthdays are 12/10 and 12/31. This year all three birthday parties had to get canceled for various reasons! Dec and Jan are just tough times to have parties--sickness, people traveling or being overbooked, etc. I am actually toying with the idea of doing something just the family for their actual birthday and then having a party on their half-birthday instead.