Those of you who have birthdays on the holiday can probably relate to this:
Showing one’s ID to a cashier and having them say, “Ah! New Year’s/Christmas baby!”
So I guess it’s a good thing that *Easter *isn’t on a specific date, or one might hear, “Ah! Crucifixion/Resurrection baby!”
:rolleyes:
Quasi
Think of the poor mothers…instead of partying or cooking or celebrating the holiday, they’re lying on a gurney, feet up in stirrups, sweaty and in pain, gritting their teeth and pushing!
Most times I say “Try not to have a child on a deity’s birthday.” or simply humor them and smile. Sometimes they even ask the present situation, followed by a anecdote about a father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate who also has a birthday around that time.
I do two separate gifts for our relatives. It’s only fair. You’re going to spend the money anyway, if the person’s birthday is in June, right? Make the effort. It’s the right thing to do.
Not a birthday… but my fiance and I are tying the knot in January, and we’ve already been told by my in-laws that we aren’t receiving wedding presents, and not to expect much for Christmas, because the wedding counts for all that. Which, of course, it wouldn’t if we were getting married in June, having the big wedding we had originally planned, rather than what we are doing now (a cheaper “open elopement” with the immediate family in Vegas in January).
That being said, we can’t really complain. After all, our wedding IS close to Christmas, and even as an open elopement it’s an expensive shindig. AND they’re paying for a Jamaican honeymoon. The fiance and I aren’t exactly rich, so these things mean a lot to us, as we would never be able to afford them ourselves. So frankly, counting these things as unbelievable wedding/Christmas gifts are nooooo problem. 
But if next year we get the same story for our first anniversary, heads’re gonna roll!
(just kidding.)
(kind of.)
Imagine how it is for the people born on April first.
I used to date a woman who’s child was born on the 25 and she used to have half year parties for the girl. I always that that was nice.
Yeah well they should have thought of that 9 months earlier.
When they were lying on a bed, feet up, sweaty, gritting their teeth and heaving away
Christmas Eve baby here. My parents habitually forget my birthday. If you say “Hey, when’s Drae’s birthday?” they’ve got the answer, but even though we’re a mixed-faith family and Dad shouldn’t have anything better to think about on Dec. 24th, it usually takes them quite a while to catch up. I’ve taken to avoiding the family gatherings on Christmas Eve, simply because it’s not how I want to spend my birthday.
Of course, I then end up sitting on my couch alone and watching cartoons while drinking schnapps because all my friends are with their families, but whatever. 
I have a combination My Birthday/Christmas extravaganza each year, and many of my friends learned the hard way that if they give me a combination present in December, come May or June I’ll show up at their birthday party with a card and a reminder that they got a present at Christmas.
Okay, I’ve never actually done that. Well, kinda. I told somebody that while their actual birthday present was hidden in the kitchen. It worked, though. Most of my friends go out of their way to make sure they get me a separate present–almost always wrapped in non-holiday paper, as well.
My college roommate’s birthday is Dec. 25th, and last year we decided that it was in our best interest to celebrate 48 Hours of 30th Birthday, and shipped her kids off to the grandparents, then spent two days in pajamas, drinking mimosas and watching chick flicks. Best birthday (and Christmas) I’ve ever had. This year, we plan to drink strawberry daiquiris.
Happy birthday, all you December Dopers!
Perhaps those of us with birthdays near Christmas should copy the example of the people of Poland and celebrate our Name Day instead. Mine would be on March 1st. (St. David’s day). That would give more separation between the two events for quite a lot of people.
Another December 28 b-day here, and as a child, my birthday was mostly ignored. Everyone was on Christmas holiday, off from school, so I never had baked treats in class like the other kids got (this is probably not even practiced these days!). I might have gotten a special dinner of my choice, but guests were non-existent, there was usually no dessert, and I honestly cannot recall any presents. To be fair, my weird parents didn’t celebrate the other siblings’ birthdays (in June and October) much either. We were pretty much a no-fuss family.
Then I turned 18.
Once it was legal to drink, my friends rounded me up every year and took me out on the town, and bought me dinner and drinks galore, and they (new friends & old) still do that to this day. As a result, I have become accustomed to my birthday being a “night on the town” celebration, and I am perfectly content with that. This year the new b/f plans on a night out with me: dinner, dancing and drinks… & even if we do that 3 nights later again, it’s still the way I like best to celebrate my birthday. Who cares about more presents? I’d rather have — an occasion!
Happy birthday to all you November-December-January babies!
–Beck
For me, my birthday is early enough in November that it never gets overlooked on account of Christmas. Unfortunately, my birthday is also one day before my wedding anniversary (yeah, I know I had control over the dates. It’s a longish story that I’ll tell if anyone cares enough to ask). The result is that everyone, including my mother, forgot my birthday the year I turned 27. Also, in 18 years of marriage, I’ve received a separate birthday card and anniversary card from my hubby exactly once.
I’m from January rather than December, but still closer to Christmas than some possible December birthdays so I guess I count. (January 8th for the record. Exactly 2 weeks after Christmas.)
Christmas and my birthday were always handled separately, from what I could tell. I would receive gifts on each and never noticed any difference in the number of gifts I got compared to my siblings/cousins of similar age.
I’ve since learned that while Christmas shopping, my parents would set budget extra money for my gifts and then, after they had bought everything, decide which gifts I would receive when. It strikes me as a pretty good system.
My birthday is January 5th, and I’ve never gotten a combined present unless I asked for it. I don’t get big presents for my birthday, but that’s how it is for all of my family, not just me (or my cousin born on December 21st!) We’re just not that big on birthdays.
Yeah, its probably a lot like that, come to think of it!
I was born on December 25. Whenever I tell people that, they always say, “Oh, that must have been awful, people would give you a gift and say it’s your Christmas and your birthday present.”
No. :mad:
Never.
My parents and other relatives ALWAYS gave me two sets of gifts on December 25. And two full gifts, not two half-sized gifts. Just as if my birthday were in June.
I want to know: why do people assume my family is a bunch of cheapstakes? :mad:
Anyway, happy birthday to Sissy Spacek, Humphrey Bogart, Cab Calloway, Annie Lenox, Little Richard, Jimmy Buffet, and Isaac Newton!
I have a December baby, the 17th. We always make sure to celebrate her birthday seperately. I learned from my Dad and Mom (the 26th and 11th) that having them combined was a bad idea. I start planning in early October so there are no surprises for me in December. My anniversary is the 31st and no one ever remembers. Of course December isn’t as bad as September for me, I have 6 birthdays in September including my own.
My birthday, on the first, is far enough away from Christmas that this was never an issue.
I am, however, the firstborn son of parents named Joseph and Mary, and born in December, so I still have that ego problem.
Ivylad is the third, and his parents gave him combo birthday/Xmas presents. He’s still a bit irked.
We’re not lucky with birthdays in my family.
Even my brother, who should know better because his birthday is on the 23rd Dec, has bought me combined presents in his time.
I have convinced myself that my birthday is the worst day of the year, and make my family and friends’ lives unbearable as a result. It’s 2nd January. It’s the worst because…
On the plus side, I can get a table in any restaurant of my choosing (as long as I don’t mind dining alone), and I at least get a birthday every year. My father, on the other hand, was born on 29th February :-0