Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
Seems like Christmas birthdays have been getting a bad rap in a couple of threads here lately. I say time for a new thread! Maybe we can all share the trials and tribulations of our own or friends and/or family member birthdays falling at an inconvenient time. Doesn't have to be just Christmas, either. I'm sure some of you aren't happy with a certain date just because it conflicts with something viewed as "more important" in your own family. Hopefully, if you have dealt with a challenging birth date you might have helpful hints to assist others with this problem!
Our kids were born halfway between Christmas and New Year, on December 29th. It takes a conscious effort to make sure your loved ones' Christmas season birthday isn't overlooked or slighted. When they were young, we'd pick up gifts for them throughout the second half of the year when time and budget allowed and hide them in the attic space above the garage. With access only via a pull-down staircase, we knew the kids couldn't see what we had. Then a few days before Christmas, I'd suck it up, put my winter coat and most nimble gloves on, and head up those steps when the kids were asleep. I'd divide each of their piles into "Christmas" and "birthday" and wrap accordingly. The split was roughly 65% Christmas, 35% birthday. That's because come Christmas day, if we suddenly heard "but I didn't get XXX from Santa!" we did have a few days to scamper out and save the day. AND be bigger heroes than "Santa".
The kids also were sad that their birthday parties were missed by a lot of their friends due to family vacations during Christmas. The only time it didn't bother them were the years we traveled to FL for our own "Family vacation" to visit Himself's side of the family at Christmas. So what's a Mom to do? Hold a half-birthday party! As a bonus, they got to play fun games outside like water balloon fights, tag, and all sorts of things we grumpy parents would frown upon as indoor activities.
What are your awkward celebration dates complaints? More importantly, what do you do to get around that "feeling cheated" problem?
Our kids were born halfway between Christmas and New Year, on December 29th. It takes a conscious effort to make sure your loved ones' Christmas season birthday isn't overlooked or slighted. When they were young, we'd pick up gifts for them throughout the second half of the year when time and budget allowed and hide them in the attic space above the garage. With access only via a pull-down staircase, we knew the kids couldn't see what we had. Then a few days before Christmas, I'd suck it up, put my winter coat and most nimble gloves on, and head up those steps when the kids were asleep. I'd divide each of their piles into "Christmas" and "birthday" and wrap accordingly. The split was roughly 65% Christmas, 35% birthday. That's because come Christmas day, if we suddenly heard "but I didn't get XXX from Santa!" we did have a few days to scamper out and save the day. AND be bigger heroes than "Santa".
The kids also were sad that their birthday parties were missed by a lot of their friends due to family vacations during Christmas. The only time it didn't bother them were the years we traveled to FL for our own "Family vacation" to visit Himself's side of the family at Christmas. So what's a Mom to do? Hold a half-birthday party! As a bonus, they got to play fun games outside like water balloon fights, tag, and all sorts of things we grumpy parents would frown upon as indoor activities.
What are your awkward celebration dates complaints? More importantly, what do you do to get around that "feeling cheated" problem?