The sprog’s birthday is in August and he has yet to have a real birthday party. It’s difficult to round his friends up due to vacations and other summer plans. I got an e-mail about an indoor gym that offers birthday party packages and I thought that doing something like that in February would be a possible way to get around the summer birthday problem. On the other hand, his birthday is not in February and it might seem a little strange to have a half-birthday party.
For kids with birthdays in the summer, (or around Chrismas) I think this is a great idea. The reason for it is obvious, when you think about it, as any parent will agree.
You could have the best of both worlds for your eight-year old: a summer trip or camp-out in August with some friends who are available then, and a party-party with streamers and silly hats on some other date.
If you want a date with significance, you could either take the exact same date as her birthday, and have a party with the theme “opposites” or “halves”. Or combine it with far away relatives or friends visiting. “We’ll celebrate it in february because my grandmothers visits then”.
Or some festival or event the kid likes. He likes kites, have his birthday on a kite festival or during kite season.
Also fun: people used to celebrate not on their birtday, but on their namesake saint day. Find out what saint has about his name, and what is his day. If it is convenient, celebrate then. Make a hoohah about what the saint and he have in common. He’ll feel very special.
In my elementary school, you could bring a snack for everyone on your birthday, the summer vacation people usually did it on their half birthdays.
Since one of your choices are that it’s an obvious gift grab, I’d suggest that if you do the half birthday it would be for school friends only. As in no family (grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins), save that one for the real birthday.
It’s a neat idea for people whose birthdays are overshadowed by other things, but I’ve never known anyone that did this. I would explain it in the invitation, so your kid doesn’t end up explaining over and over again to guests. If you’re worried about it seeming like a gift grab, just say “No gifts, please” in the invitation.
When I was a kid, there was a boy down the street who was born on Christmas. His entire life he heard “This is a combined Christmas/birthday present” and as a kid, I’m sure that truly sucked. When he was older, his family rented a hall and gave him a half-birthday for 21 1/2, decorating for Christmas in June, of course. I thought it was pretty funny. And it was pretty much an excuse for him and his friends to get together and drink.
However, for younger ones, a half-birthday does smack of a gift grab. Unless you just invite kids to a party, and at refreshment time, you bring out a “Happy 10 1/2 Years, Ralphie!” cake and let it go at that. But I never had a birthday party as a kid, so my point of view may be skewed…
In college, I threw a half-birthday party for a friend whose birthday was in June. It was a lot of fun. I seem to recall folks who did it in grade school - I don’t see anything wrong with it.
It’s not a “gift grab” unless he gets that as well as a party on his actual birthday, is it? It’s just his birthday party, only held 6 months late. I’d say go for it.
I should point out that he’s never had a birthday party with his friends; he celebrates his birthday with either set of grandparents. This would be the first party with his school friends.
If he’s young enough to have half birthdays, I assume he’s having one on his real birthday as well. But, like I said above, I think as long as there’s little overlap in the guest list, you’re safe. I mean, what difference does it make (as far as gifts are concerned) if everybody shows up for one party or half come to one and half to the other.
I’m not a fan of the “half-birthday” idea. It seems to me to imply that you deserve or are somehow owed a party (an accompanying gifts) just for existing. Looking ahead in the future, I see one of those kids who complains that his college friends didn’t throw him a birthday party, not realizing that by that age you are supposed to be kind of over birthdays.
I say figure out a way to celebrate his birthday in a more spectacular but less people-intensive way in the summer- take a special trip somewhere, or take a couple of friends and do something really cool.
My half-birthday is on April Fool’s Day, a great day for a party.
For full-disclosure, I was a Christmas Eve baby. When I was in early grade-school, my family would throw a big birthday party a couple of weeks earlier. As I reached around 5th grade this got scaled back to something a bit more special with just a few friends, and honestly those birthdays are much more memorable.
The special trip is what we’re already doing. So far, we’ve been to Las Vegas and Texas, and the sprog spent his last birthday with his grandparents in Texas.
The reason this is coming up is because the sprog has never had a birthday party like he knows his friends get. He hasn’t verbalized this, but I know it bothers him when he’s at a friend’s party and the friend gets all the attention, and he’s never gotten that kind of attention.
I think it’s a great idea. And when you’re 8 years old, why yes, yes you are entitled to a birthday party. Why should everyone else get to have a fun party with friends on their birthday when you are left out just because your birthday happens to fall during the summer? I fail to see how having a birthday party with friends (for a child that has never previously had such a party) is going to turn him into a self-entitled whiner of an adult who thinks the world owes him something. Sometimes this message board makes me mental.
Anyway, yes, go for it, he’ll love it, the friends will love it, and as the parent of kids that are in this age range, I wouldn’t think twice about receiving an invitation to such a party. I think it’s a swell idea.
As a guest, you don’t bring a present because it’s the host’s birthday. You bring a gift because you’re attending his/her party. This is the same whether it’s a Christmas party, bridal shower, Labor Day picnic, or a birthday party. You bring a present to show your appreciation for being invited.
Wouldn’t work for me. My namesake saint’s feast is on my birthday! I always thought that was 
.
The boy I like from Winnipeg was born in late December and so didn’t get birthday gifts or parties (combined with the fact that he had some pretty severe family and emotional stuff going on when he was a kid).
Last year he happened to be visiting me on his 25 1/2th birthday in June, so I decreed that he would receive an Unbirthday Party and invited all my friends. We wore fabulous outfits and served tea and pineapple upside-down cake (what kind of cake could you have at an unbirthday party but upside-down cake?) It was his first birthday party since he was tiny and he very much enjoyed himself.
Your half-birthday isn’t an un-birthday. You ought to get half a cake - or two halves if you’re inviting a standard number of people. They could be frosted on the cut sides, and each have the proper number of candles plus half a candle.
Can’t you have it in late August or the first weekend of school, and still call it a birthday party? My 8 year-old self thinks that would be a little more … in line with what everyone else gets, if that makes sense. I mean, I would guess he’s not the only summer birthday at school.
Great idea. I’d just suggest not calling it a “half-birthday party.” Just let the kid know it’s an early birthday party or something like that. But whatever. Just as long as the kids have fun. Some of my kids’ playmates were born at awkward times of the year (summertime, around Christmas, etc.) and don’t always have good parties. I feel kind of sorry for them.
The first weekend of school is Labor Day weekend, and there’s not enough time for invitations to go out and RSVPs to come back. Also, a lot of after-school and weekend activities start around then, so arranging a birthday party around all that is a nightmare. Based on our own schedule, it’s easier to plan something for winter when there is not as much competition with sports and scouts and all that.
He’s not the only one with a summer birthday and he’s not close enough to the other kids with summer birthdays to know what they do.