Birthday Ideas for My Son Who Was Born the Day After Christmas

I'm not a great party planner but it sounds like a perfect day for a luau/beach party theme day! <g>

My brother's birthday is less than 10 days before christmas, my Dad's is 6 days before Christmas, My aunt's Birthday is on Christmas day,and my 9 year old nieces' birthday is 5 days after Christmas. I recall all of them saying that they miss out, because school is out and everyone is busy to attend a birthday party, on my niece's b-day only 2 kids showed up. So what my sister has done ever since is to have my nieces' birthday the first weekend of December or the first or second weekend after school started in January.

Hope that helps.

My friend's son is also born a day after Christmas and this year they decided to celebrate his birthday a month early! He's still little, so he doesn't really know the difference. They are still gonna have a small family thing and cake on the actual day of his birthday though...

My daughter will be 5 this year in mid December. The first few years, we had a party on her birthday weekend and all of our close friends and family came. Now that she's getting a little older, we are doing her parties with her friends early (you can do the half birthday in the summer and make it a whole theme 1/2 an invitation, 1/2 a cake, etc.) Or like we did this year, had her party in October and called it an early Un-birthday party. Then on her actual birthday, we'll have family over for a simple dinner & cake. If you do it in December (like the beginning of the month), be sure to send invitations really early so people can mark their calendars. I used to send them out the day after Halloween, otherwise people get busy with Thanksgiving, etc. Then as it gets closer, you can follow up to get RSVPs. As your son gets older, you can brainstorm ideas with him. And always make the "real" birthday day special with your immediate family. Hope this helps.

My Grandma's birthday is December 26, and we always have a half party 6 months after the fact...

My daughter's birthday is in August, and we once even had a half party for her, because we had so much trouble getting everyone together in August (no school friends at the party). So, when she turned 7, she traded her party and presents in August for a half party in February with her school friends, it was AMAZING and fun!! We did half as a theme and cut everything in half, we served half hot dogs, half corn dogs, half everything... It was REALLY fun, the kids loved it, the parents were very supportive of the idea, and Rachel got to have all her school friends at her birthday party for the first time ever!

SO, I say pick a time to celebrate that is not near Christmas and go for it!! :D Your son won't know the difference this year, and when he is 1 and a half, he'll be more likely to understand that he is getting presents!

Huggles!!
~S.~

I have 2 daughters. birthdays are January 5 and January 18. I have done it several ways. One year I had a birthday party during Christmas break. It was fun because it broke up the break, but half of the kids forgot to show up because the were distracted by Christmas. I have pushed out the party as far as I can from the holidays too. I have had combo parties for both kids and separate parties. Every time it was memorable and special because we set aside a day (or two) to celebrate birthdays.

Your son is only one. This year, the birthday party is for you, not for him. He would probably be happier just to go the playground with you than have a bunch of people all concentrating on him and wanting him to act excited. Parties are pretty stressful for kids until about age three, and at that age they should be kept small and short - just a few kids but big on the balloons and decorations. At four, they can handle more friends and more than 2 hours of festivities.

You will do a good job because you want it to be special for him. for the first couple of years, keep it short and sweet - just the neighborhood for cake and a good photo-op (so you can prove that you always made a big deal out of his birthday). When he is older, you can theme it to his interest so it is obviously NOT a Christmas party!

hi my son was born dec 29 and I was two weeks early. I dreaded the same thing being so close to Christmas and new years. Our friends and family were great doing to small gifts if not just one for his birthday, since close family and us being the parents took care of Christmas. He will be two this year and his first birthday actually worked out well. We did a backyadigan Christmas theme and although it was mostly family it turned out great. U will find it hard for friends to come with their own plans. Either do it on a day that works for everyone or at least most, u have to be flexible and understanding. A friend had an idea have making a family day off it. Kids party early afternoon going into dinner party with adults and kids. (which could be family) For my sons it was kind of like having a family reunion lots of food activity for kids. I am sure I babbled, hope I have helped a little. But if u ask around to the people u will invte what their schedule is like it might help.

My B'day is right before x-mas. My Mom always celebrated my b'day a week or two before the actual date. You can do the same after x-mas. This will let your son have an actual b'day party that people will be able to attend as well.

I had the same question, my daughter will be 1 this december (CHRISTMAS DAY ) and i have no idea what to do.I was thinking about having a little family/friends party beg. of december,(and people are still happy and like xmas shopping) and to add to that my daughter shares her special day w/ her grandpa.I am up for fun bday ideas too. Wish you the best!!!!

My mom's husband was born Christmas Day - He always thought the big hubbub was because of his birthday. HIs parents always said he was the best gift they ever received and that it was extra special because it was also Jesus' birthday - that one only works if you're Christian. His family always did 2 celebrations ON Christmas day - he never felt gypped and still loves that his birthday is on Christmas Day. I think it is all in how you present it each year. He loves that he gets to see everyone on his birthday and that everyone is always in a great mood. Have fun, whatever you decided to do. And congrats.

Hi A.,

How about having a second birthday by celebrating the day (or around) the date he was conceived?

Birthdays are very important in our house I have one right after Thanksgivn and I plan to give her a bowling party and they make sure the ball doesent hit the gutter which make it fun for them. We have not stop celebrating since she was one.
This is their special day that the Lord has given you it's her or his birthday. CELEBRATE! I have a brother his birthday on the 27 of December we still celebrate it.

HI! My son will be one this year also! He was born the 21. We plan on having his parties a week or two early since people will likely be with family on and close to the 21. The 21 is strictly for HIS birthday ONLY in our house. We won't be doing early Christmas' with family on that day. (Normally we would since we can't all get together on Christmas) It's his day, and his parties will be a week or two early..no big deal. I agree that it is how you present the ideas to your son and families.

My daughter was born 2 days after Christmas so I understand the concern. At first I thought of celebrating her 1/2 birthdays and getting the celebration away from Christmas, and then thought what does that say about the day she was actually born, so we celebrate around her birthday, she had friends when she was younger and we would get the girls together and have a slumber party, go get their nails done and a "grown up" meal our. Maybe even a movie one year.

One of the girls was actually born on Christmas, so you just deal with what is, and make sure in all the hustle and bustle that the birthday is in there. And all the people I thought would not come or not give gifts, well actually she probably gets more, people plan, or they feel sorry for her and go bigger. So I would treat it as if it were June.

Have fun:)

L.

P.S. I also have 2 other kids that have January birthdays, so really I understand, it is all in the planning and budgeting. Plus things are usually on sale at this time of year.

My son was born 7 days before Christmas. We've always had a regular birthday party, with party favors, birthday wrapping paper and balloons - the same stuff he'd have if he was born in August. I tell everyone that if buying 2 gifts is a hardship, to make his Christmas gift something inexpensive (candy, dollar store toy) and give the "big" gift for his birthday. As he's gotten older, we occasionally do something like go to a pizza parlor or arcade for his party.

One word of advice: when he's old enough to invite friends, let him WAY OVERinvite. So many people have family obligations and can't make it. If you invite only 3 or 4 kids, he's likely to have them all be unable to come. One year we invited his entire class at school (27 kids), and 4 could make it.

A. ~ My 19 year old daughter's birthday is on the 22nd. We always celebrate her birthday on the day she was born. She has a "regular" party, just like everyone else does. She was in year round school for a while they were on break during her birthday and she stil had a housefull of kids. One year we had a jumper and it rained. The kids were jumping in the jumper, coming inside and changing clothes while I put their wet ones in the dryer. We even hung her pinata up in the rafters in the garage!

We have never celebrated her birthday on any day other than her actual birthday. We never used any holiday colors in decorating and it was specific to her birthday. Ihave a rule that you get a party for years 1-9 and then from year 10 forward she got to go somewehere and take a friend (had the same rule for my August birthday girl). We would spend the night at Disneyland Hotel, go to Knotts things like that once she was 10 but still to this day, her day is her day, she doesn't share it with Christmas. No one has every given her a birthday/christmas gift and no one has ever said they cannot make her party because it is too close to christmas.

My suggestion is celebrate it for what it is, her birthday. It's not her fault it 3 days before Christmas!

Hi there...my son is turning one on December 4th. It's tricky because it's so close to both Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year the theme is "The Big One." We are having a small party for family and friends that are special to us and have been a wonderful support system during our pregnancy and first year. The invitation is a large, colorful number 1 and I'm decorating with lots of color and balloons...very simple, but very festive. It's not holiday at all and I won't put up the Christmas decorations until after his party. This year we want the focus to be on this beautiful addition to our lives and not presents, so we have included the following in our invitation "Please, the only gift we ask for is your presence on this special day." I think anything that will keep the focus on the child, family, and friends will be a success. There don't need to be a lot of presents to make it a special day. (Besides my son is ga-ga for balloons!) Good luck and congratulations on your little one's first birthday!

A.,
I noticed you live in Las Vegas, so this might be a bit of a stretch with two young kids...but...
Even though my 2 kids are born in the spring, they get so many gifts for Christmas from relatives, that the thought of having a bday party and getting more gifts seems excessive. So for the most part, instead of having big birthday parties, we have always bought Disneyland passes each year (just as cheap as throwing 2 parties!) and make sure to take them either on their birthday or very close to it. Disneyland does a great job making them feel special on their big day. You can go to the Main Street City Hall and get them a special birthday button with their name on it, and every Disney employee that sees them, says "Happy Birthday (your child's name)!" My kids absolutely love it! They have never felt slighted for not having a party. We do get together with the relatives for a special bday dinner at some point where they get a few gifts though.

I have 2 kids born in December, so what we do is celebrate their half birthdays and have a party in June. Works for us, weather is good and we can celebrate outside. For their real birthdays they tell me what they want to eat and that is what I cook and we have a family only celebration. It has worked quite well.

I am currently pregnant and due right around Christmas. I have a friend who suggested that I give my daughter her birthday party a month before in November. This way she doesn't get gipped out of presents. My husband birthday is the 20th of Dec and he said he always got the two for one birthday/Christmas present. This is what I'm going to do for my daughter next year. You could always do a month later as well.

A.,

I have a son turning 14 a week after Christmas. I found that pushing his birthday celebrations to the farthest weekend after the holiday was enough time to seperate Christmas and his birthday. He still enjoyed it because his birthday was still on Christmas break but yet a small divider between the two. It has always seem to work for me for the past 13 yrs. :)

I have a niece who was born 6 days before Christmas. My sister would usually throw her birthday parties in mid-January, when more kids were likely to come (I think once she tried a December party date and most kids couldn't make it). On her actual birthday it would be just with the family, and we would give her presents separate from Christmas presents. My birthday is 5 days after Christmas, and while I was little I would have separate presents, but now as an adult I'd often get my birthday presents on Christmas, which was unfortunate, but then I don't usually see my family on my actual birthday anyway.

You may want to do half/yr parties in July.

What about a Gingerbread house making party?! Work with the theme and have fun with it!

My son was born on Dec 21st. He will be turning 5 this year. Each year for his birthday, we struggle because this is such a busy time for everyone. We typically celebrate on his actual birthday rather than the weekend, otherwise we have to compete with all the Christmas parties going on, and attendance at our party suffers for it. This year, his birthday falls the weekend before Christmas, and I'm assuming that a lot of people will be leaving town to visit family. We therefore decided to have the party a couple of weeks early, in early December. We'll still do a small family-only thing on his actual birthday, but this way his party with friends can be better attended. Good luck!

My daughters birthday is Christmas Eve. We usually have her birthday with her friends the first week of December. We then have a small family only birthday on the day of Christmas eve. We keep her birthday presents separate. We have five children, so sometimes it is difficult when she gets more gifts, but we are consistent and explain that she does not get gifts in Feb, June, July and April like the others do. Some people I know have their kids birthdays 6 months before, but I just don't subscribe to that. It works for some, and our works for us. We figure that she will want to celebrate with her friends on her actual birthday when she is a teen. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Hope this helps.

This will be a situation for school, also.

Have an intimate celebration at home on the special day, but decide on second "birth" day adn a birthday party in another month but not a Summer month. Do NOT depart from this second "birth" day date.

Hello Aylcia,

How are you doing? My sister is very good at parties and themes. Let me know what you would like to do what your vision is and she can make it happen guarantee. My phone number is ###-###-#### and my name is A.. Blessings

Didn't get a chance to read through all the responses (so many great ideas!!), so if this is a repeat, sorry. I was born on Dec 12, and my father was born on Christmas. I didn't really have a problem since mine was before the "big day" but remember that it was tough only getting presents once a year (even if it was twice in one month). My grandmother (my dad's mom) solved the problem of a Christmas birthday by celebrating my dad's birthday on June 25th and having a smaller family celebration on Christmas. Of course even now my father gets upset if he doesn't get a least a card on both "birthdays" (he is 72!!).

My mother in law's birthday is four days before christmas, and she always has a separate party and demands separate presents! But really, have a separate party, but I would say a few weeks after so that you aren't contributing the craziness of the holiday season! Anything after Christmas is a party that can be enjoyed without stress!

I am in my forties and my birthday is the day after Christmas and I can tell you that it has always been a strange day for me. As a child it was never a very exciting day as everyone, including myself, was tired and kind of disappointed that the day we had all waited for (Christmas) was now over. Now, as a mother, I am very excited about my children's birthdays and my husband's as well, but mine is still just that "exhausted and messy" day after Christmas. My whole life everyone has tried to get excited for it, but it's just hard after all of the excitement and anticipation of the day before.

Here are some thoughts of when I was young.

My happiest birthday memories were when I would have a birthday party, before the actual day, when everyone was in a festive holiday/party mood. This always made my actual bithday have less pressure on it.

My mom always suggested that I should "change" my birthday, and maybe celebrate it at a whole different non-holiday time. I never did that, but it may have been smart, like maybe having a pool party for my 1/2 birthday on June 26th.

If you want to go out somewhere on the 26th, go somewhere busy and exciting to add to the celebration. My parents, nicely, used to take me to nice restaurants and every year the waitress would say, "why would anyone come out to lunch on the day after Christmas".

Make sure the birthday gifts are wrapped differently and kept separate from the Christmas gifts. Often times I would open a wrapped gift on Christmas and my Mom would say, "oh no, that's your birthday present".

If I were in your situation, I would probably try to set up a yearly tradition for your son that you do every year on his birthday. This could be going to the movies, going bowling, etc., but it would be about putting a lot of enthusiasm into the doing of something that is exciting and at the time time predictable, and would involve other people being there so you don't have to supply the atmosphere.

I would also try and have a birthday party before Christmas and I would be sure to do something in the classroom as well. In fact, maybe even pick a day like December 16th and say, "this is your pre-birthday birthday". Maybe doing something where there is a pre-event day and the actual day will take some pressure off of the feelings on the 26th.

I am sorry if this is not more positive, but it's just my personal experience. Hopefully some of the other moms will have more positive things to say.

Your are a very nice mom to be intune with this already.

Hi A.,

My son is going to be three on December 27. I have usually celebrated his birthday on the Saturday after that date, so it's a little bit more past Christmas than two days. We have had big parties, and have tried very hard to make it a big deal, but I have already decided that when he is older, I am going to start having "Half Birthdays" so he can celebrate in the summer with his friends. Just an idea...and another reason to have a summer party!

A friend I grew up w/ always had a 1/2 birthday at the end of the school year. Another friend, that I know as a grown up has the 25th as a bday. they always celebrate xmas in the morning. and then clean it all up-xmas is over-and it is her bday. I have a Jan 1 bday, and never noticed being gyped as a kid.

I hope you are fining everyone's ideas helpful. I know exactly what you mean because both of my son's were born in December and we have alot of family members that were born then as well. I usually let them pick a fun place for the family to go together on their actual birthday to celebrate the day andthen they get to pick a date of their choice to have a party with their friends. Family members are very good about getting them both birthday and Christmas gifts and not giving them combo gifts. If they do want something that is rather expensive, they know that it is going to be a gift for both holidays. My aunt did the half birthday theme for my cousin every year and it always went over well with the family and friends. My younger son wants to do the same this year because he wants to have a water slide party and it could be a little chilly for that in December. Best of luck to you and be sure to let us know what you decide!

do a half birthday next year and celebrate it in the summer.

Aloha A.,
My birthday is on Christmas Eve. My mother would have a birthday party for me in January. I could never have a birthday party on my actual birthday anyway, so celebrating as close to January 24th made it (for example) a 10 year and 1 month old birthday. When your son is in school, most of his classmates will not be able to attend a party during the winter break anyway. The drawback? Re-gifting unwanted holiday presents =P Good luck and Happy Birthday to your little one!

My daughter's birthday is 9 days before Christmas. Like the others have suggested, for the first 3 years we did a separate party on her birthday weekend. This year we did a 1/2 birthday in June where she got her presents and cake. So on her actual birthday we'll still have some cake (who doesn't love an excuse for cake) and a small gift from mom and dad, it just won't be an "event".

My husband's birthday is Christmas Eve. When he was school age, his mom would throw his Birthday party on his 1/2 Birthday. It's over the summer so it's not really competing with anything. Now that he's an adult we just celebrate on his Birthday and do a small cake. He never regretted a holiday Birthday and loved that he got 2 Birthdays. The family still celebrated his actual Birthday Christmas Eve of course. I think with how young he is now you can just have a party the week before. I think the most important thing is that you never make him feel like he may lose out because of Christmas.